Happy Birthday Bob Vollmar: Corvette owner for 50 years!

September 27th is Bob Vollmar's birthday.  He is a Corvette friend.  Bob's first Corvette was a 1963 Stingray Coupe; his current Corvette is a very fast 2009 Z06.

Bob is one of many Corvette friends who are also pilots (Larry Barnes, Bill Brandon, Doug Clark, Don Kingery, and me!).

Bob purchased his first Corvette, a 1963 Sting Ray Coupe, while living in Arizona.  In the days when people actually typed letters on typewriters, Bob first wrote to General Motors asking for advice about the various options for the new model Corvette.  What is more amazing, General Motors wrote back to him!  See the correspondence below.

                                                                                                         6630 Monte Rosa Ave.

                                                                                                         Scottsdale, Arizona

                                                                                                         February 12, 1963

Chevrolet Motor Division

General Motors Corp.

Detroit 2, Mich.

Gentlemen:

With the advent of the 1963 Corvette I find it compulsory (for the last several years I have had the inclination) to offer you my most sincere congratulations on a superlative achievement.  Ten years ago a new market in the automotive field seemed to be developing--that of the high-performance sports car.  Others retooled mainly their advertising programs.  Chevrolet chose the more difficult course, setting out to actually produce the car.  This was accomplished, and if I may say so, to a fare-thee-well.  In these somewhat cynical eyes the Sting Ray stands as perhaps the finest example of integrity, honesty, and courage on the current American business scene.  To find these qualities exhibited by a gigantic corporation is, to say the least, encouraging.

My interest in the car is not entirely in the abstract, and I would greatly appreciate the following information.

               1.  Performance figures on the coupe with 300 engine, positraction, comparing the 3.08 differential with the 3.36.  (4^th gear mph/1000 rpm, 0-60 and 0-100 times.)

               2.  Your comments as to whether the 300 or 340 engine (and which rear-end ratio) might best suit my needs.  I drive 20 mi. daily in medium traffic and 400-500 mi. per month of open highway driving.

               3.  Will factory air-conditioning be available and if so, when, and will it be limited to the lower revving engines?  (If you haven’t driven the summer desert, this is outrageous--if you have, the compromise becomes justifiable.)

               4.  Is the 37 ½ gal. Tank available as a separate option?

               5.  Is black leather an available option?

               6.  Will the aluminum wheels stand-up as well as the steel?  (That is, will an “out-of-it” type station attendant be likely to damage them, bend rims, etc. Are maintenance problems more likely with them?)

Thank you for your attention to my request, and again, my congratulations on an engineering masterpiece.

Yours very truly,

Robert B. Vollmar

Here is the reply from GM:

As you can see below, Bob purchased the 300HP car with the 4 speed, tinted glass, posi-traction, special paint, and air conditioning!  He bought the car from the family Chevy Dealer, Vollmar Motors in Holstein, Iowa, for $5,326!  Bob reports that the sales tax on the Z06 was more expensive than the entire price of the 63 Stingray!

Happy Birthday, Bob!