I first saw Corvette Summer when I was 10 years old on HBO in 1979. That Stingray would leave a lasting impression on me over the next 30 years. The movie was a modest success for Mark Hamill who had just starred in a little known movie called Star Wars.
There were two prop cars made for the movie by Korky Kustoms out of California. Korky retained owenership of both cars after production wrapped and put them on the touring circuit for the remainder of the 1970's. I remember seeing an ad advertising the Stingrays for sale in the back of a Hot Rod magazine in the early 1980's.
One of the Stingrays was sold to an Australian collector, but that car was totaled in a transport accident in Australia where it ended up at the bottom of a river. The car was eventually salvaged and somewhat restored to resemble the movie car, but the only original parts remaining on the car were the doors.
The second car was sold to a Corvette museum in the early 1980s. The museum went out of business and the car was sold along with the vette from Death Race 2000 to Mike Yager at MidAmerica in Illinois in the early 1990's.
I was in the process of making a replica of the car, when Mike put the original car up for sale in early 2009. After Mike and I came to terms on the Stingray, I left it on display in his collection until this past fall when I finally brought it home.
Here are a few pics of my Corvette Summer Stingray: My ultimate on screen used prop! Enjoy!
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