1974 Corvette Convertible 4 speed 454

[Jmcdonald]

Interesting car, interesting history... taking me back 40 years. I sold Chevrolets next door to Marengo, in Rockford 1971-1974... was president of Northern Illinois Corvette Club one year... had friends with Corvettes from Marengo... ordered my girlfriend's 71 Camaro from that dealership in Marengo... bought a new Corvette in 1973 (with a 350)... and recently owned a 73 454 4 speed convertible. One of the reasons I bought it was because I realized how rare it was. Did the calculations of convertible, 454 and 4 speed for mine, and it was probably one of about 80 made in 73. We sold a lot of Corvettes at Lou Bachrodt, but I don't think I even saw one in our inventory with a 454 during that period. No one wanted a convertible, or a 4 speed, and especially not a 454. We were in the middle of an oil embargo. People were lined up at gas stations to get gas that was rationed. I moved from Illinois to Phoenix in March of 74... took me 3 days to make that trip because gas stations were only open limited hours during the day. Hard to imagine that anyone would have ever ordered that car... particularly with all the toys. That's probably one of the most expensive I ever saw in 73-74.