Mary and Leonard’s 1963 Corvette
The Corvette was introduced by GM in 1953. 300 Corvettes were hand built that year in Flint Michigan while a St. Louis Missouri factory was being prepared for full production. In 1954 3,640 Corvettes were produced in the St. Louis factory. Over its 10 year production cycle (1952 to 1962) just over 69,000 first generation Corvettes (C1) were produced. The second generation Corvette (C2) was introduced in 1963. The C2 is one of my personal favorites. The car was an immediate success and Corvette sales increased 50% over 1962 sales. C2 production ran from 1963 to 1967 and during that span over 117,000 Corvettes were produced, a 70% increase over the C1 Corvette production figures.
In 1963, 21,513 C2 Corvettes were produced and of those, 10,919 were convertibles. Leonard and Mary Pellissier of Angels Camp are fortunate enough to own one of those 10,919 cars. In fact, the car has been in their family since 1965. Prior to being purchased by the Pelliissiers, this Saddle on Saddle color coordinated convertible was run on a drag strip in Fremont CA. Racking up a quarter mile at a time kept the overall mileage down. Mary's father purchased the car in 1965 but with a mechanics shop to run and other classics to maintain the Corvette ended up being parked for the next 46 years.
In 2010 Mary's father passed and she inherited the car. With both Mary and Leonard being car enthusiasts they decided to restore the Corvette using NCRS (National Corvette Restorers Society) manuals to guide the nut and bolt restoration. Leonard and friend Dave Ingles spent the next twelve months (Leonard on weekends and Dave full time) bringing the car back to life. The project was started in 2012 and completed in 2013. When you see the car at one of our Calaveras Cars & Coffees you will be amazed, as I was, by the quality of the restoration. They restored the car to stock specifications with the exception of a more aggressive cam and vintage air for added comfort on our hot summer evenings.
Since completing the restoration, Leonard and Mary use their Corvette for local shows and cruising Calaveras roads for some top down fun. They take the car out for a spin religiously at least once a month to keep everything operational and lubricated. The car runs like a dream and looks even better. They have a color matched hardtop in addition to the black soft top which further adds to the car's appeal. Keep your eyes peeled for this C2 beauty on Calaveras back roads and be sure to give Leonard and Mary a thumbs up in appreciation of their NCRS quality ride!
One more important point about this car that makes it very unique - make sure you are sitting down when you read this... With the limited early drag race miles and 46 years of storage, the car currently has only 3,455 miles on the odometer. Given the fully documented CA history on the car (including original black plates and license plate frame) topped with the exceptionally low mileage - all I can say is WOW, what an incredible automotive time capsule! This car is another example of the amazing assortment of cars we have up here in Calaveras County.
