Wicked Local
  • MY RIDE, MY STORY: Chicken coop rescue for 1960 Corvette

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  • The last installment of "My Ride, My Story" featured a gorgeous 1957 Corvette  from Marlborough restored in beautiful red and in showroom condition. This week, our story is another first generation Corvette but with far less glamour.
    The rough-looking exterior on this car from Hudson is a dead giveaway that the vehicle went through a tough patch in life. The way the car drives and the smile on the owner's face is proof that its reincarnation was a rescue worth the work.
    The owner: Jeff Taylor, 58, Hudson
    Occupation: Owner/operator of Abcon Air Heating and air conditioning
    The car: 1960 Corvette roadster (convertible)
    When and where did you get this car?
    Late July 2012 I was asked by a friend if I knew of anyone that would be interested in a 1967 Chevy that he had put in storage in a local chicken coop 25 years ago. As it turns out, the owner of the chicken coop was going to take the building down and all the cars that were in there had to go.
    I had told a friend about the Chevy and we went down to look at it. As he looked over the car I walked around the barn to look at the other cars that were in there and came across the Corvette stuck down in the back corner half covered up with a thin sheet. I started asking the building owner about the car and he told me that it had been in there for so long that he forgot the name of the owner but would look through his paperwork and find out for me.
    How long had it been in storage?
    Come to find out later that the car had sat outside uncovered for 15 years and then was put in the chicken coop for another 19 years until I found it. It took about a month and I got a call from the owner who now lives in Virginia (all this time I was told by people that I would not be able to get the car for under $10-15 grand and had almost given up hope). As it turns out, the owner was more then happy to sell me the car because he was still paying rent all this time ($15 a month) and we made a deal for $3,000 and out of that I had to pay the owner of the building the back rent due ($450) and send him the balance.
    I was in my work truck on my cell at the time (pulled over on the side of the road) and finished the call and was so blown away at the fact that I just got the barn find of lifetime and was shaking so bad it took about 20 minutes before I could drive my truck home to tell anyone. This all took place on a Friday and it took about two days before it sunk in that I now own a 1960 C1 Corvette.
    Page 2 of 4 - What type of damage was done to the car given those conditions?
    After about a week, I was able to get the car out of the barn and get it home. This gave me the chance to really look over what 34 years of neglect had done to it. The paint had been baked in the heat of the barn and was chipping and cracked all over. The mice had taken up full residency and everything they had collected was in the front seat, the trunk, and in the motor. Also, it smelled so bad you could not get in it.
    What made you think it was salvageable or restorable?
    There comes a time in every motorhead's life when you ask yourself, "Can I save it or not?" Well the answer with this car was simple: it was 80 percent there and most of the missing trim ended up being in the trunk and no matter what, it was a C1 Corvette. So yes, it was to be saved.
    Were you surprised the car survived the 34 years of basic neglect and abandonment?
    The one thing that did surprise me was when we put a battery in it the clock started and kept time like it was shut off yesterday.
    What was the work you did to get the car running?
    The first thing I needed to do was to pull the 1965 327ci 360hp motor that was put in back in 1970. The stock motor would have been a 283ci and was long gone.
    I had just built a 1962 327ci motor that I was going to put in a different car but as fate would have it I sold the car two weeks before I found the Corvette and this motor is now powering my C1. The rest of the work was total brake system rebuild, complete wiring (thanks to the mice) and some front end work along with a good pressure wash (inside and out) to get the smell out and as they say in the song "on the road again."
    The car is not perfect, but you kind of like that. Why?
    The car is in no way perfect and it's not meant to be. I have had C1 'Vette owners that have showroom condition cars come up and tell me to leave it just like it is because once you're done bringing it back it its former glory you may love the car but you'll never have as much fun driving it as I do now. They worry so much about their cars that it takes the fun out of owning them.
    My last car took me seven years to restore and I was never more then 20 feet away from it anytime I took it some place. On the other hand, I would love to have my 'Vette back to new again but then I would not let my wife drive it as much as she does now and she takes it out more than I do.
    Page 3 of 4 - What did your research about the car's ownership tell you?
    Talking to the owner after I bought the car, I found out that the car came from California where he was an airman at a USAF air base (he didn't say where) and that he got it from another airman that was shipping out. It turns out the car was on the base for most of its life and was passed from airman to airman as each was shipping out.
    I was able to track down the airman that he got it from (who is now a doctor near Boston) and when I called him he was shocked to hear that I found the car in Hudson because he sold it in California and he wanted me to send him some pictures of the car as I found it. He also asked me if I had found the hidden fuel shut off and the kill switch (at the time I hadn't found them) but they were right where he said they would be.
    How does this car fit into your own personal car history?
    My wife and I both love this car and found that out of all the cars I built and owned this is by far the best one yet. It's mostly because of all the little things that happened that led up to finding it. One would think that the car wanted me to find it and had an influence on events to make it happen. Think about it - a 1960 Corvette in storage 34 years for $3,000. I think the car gods were looking out for both of us and wanted us together.
    What is the allure of this generation of Corvettes?
    The C1 Corvette has always been a classic and I love the older body styles from 1954 to 1967. All you need to do is look at them and you can tell what it is and what year and a lot of the time what motor it has without looking under the hood. Today's cars, you can't tell half the time what they are. We don't make too many cars today that turn my head as they go by.
    How did you get interested in cars? Was there a moment that you were hooked?
    I've been a car guy all my life and had a lot of help and guidance from what at the time were older guys and are still very close friends today who helped me see the beauty in a pile of rust and told me all I had to do is let it tell me what it wants to be. It's funny but every time I start a project I have an idea of what I want but I'm not sure how I'll get there. Every time it's done I have a feeling that the car, bike, boat or whatever it is led me through whole project right to the end. You have to wonder why we do this time and time again and it's because we are car guys and someone has to. Think of a world without old cars, hot rods, muscle cars and antiques - oh, shoot me now.
    Page 4 of 4 - (Got a car story? Contact Sunday Editor Rob Haneisen at 508-626-3882 or rhaneisen@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Rob_HaneisenMW.)
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