Important News & Events
Corvettes of Bakersfield was established in November by a group of Corvette enthusiasts. The first ATM, Strikes by US teaching staff throughout country for pay increases, The first Super Bowl played between Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs, Six Day War Arab Forces attack Israel beginning the Yom Kippur War, the first Boeing 737 takes its maiden flight, the Concorde is seen for the first time in public, Apollo 1 destroyed in a fire on the launch pad, Pulsars are discovered, Texas Instruments releases the first pocket calculator.
Cost of Living
Year end Close Dow Jones Industrial
Average 905
Average cost of new house $14,250.00
Average income per year $7,300.00
Average monthly rent $125.00
Gallon of Gas 33¢
Average cost of a new car $2,750.00
Cost of a base model Corvette
$4,240.75
Movie ticket $1.25
The Federal Minimum Wage is increased to $1.40
an hour
Culture
The continued presence of American troops increased further and a total of 475,000 were serving in Vietnam and the peace rallies were multiplying as the number of protesters against the war increased. The Boxer Muhammad Ali was stripped of his boxing world championship for refusing to be inducted into the US Army. In the Middle East Israel also went to war with Syria, Egypt and Jordan in the six day war and when it was over Israel controlled and occupied a lot more territory than before the war. Once again in the summer cities throughout America exploded in rioting and looting the worst being in where 7000 national Guard were bought in to restore law and order on the streets. In England a new type of model became a fashion sensation by the name of Twiggy and mini skirts continued to get shorter and even more popular with a short lived fashion being paper clothing. Also during this year new Discotheques and singles bars appeared across cities around the world and the Beatles continued to reign supreme with the release of “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band” album, and this year was also coined the summer of love when young teenagers got friendly and smoked pot and grooved to the music of “The Grateful Dead. Jefferson Airplane and The Byrds”. The movie industry moved with the times and produced movies that would appeal to this younger audience including “The Graduate” Bonnie and Clyde” and “Cool Hand Luke” . TV shows included “The Fugitive” and “The Monkees” and color television sets become popular as the price comes down and more programs are made in color.
The 1967 Corvette
The 1967 Corvette Sting Ray was the last Corvette of the second generation, and five years of refinements made it the best of the line. Although it was meant to be a redesign year, its intended successor the C3 was found to have some undesirable aerodynamic traits. Duntov demanded more time in the wind tunnel to devise fixes before it went into production.
Changes were again modest: Five smaller front fender vents replaced the three larger ones, and flat-finish rockers sans ribbing conferred a lower, less chunky appearance. New was a single backup light, mounted above the license plate. The previous models’ wheel covers gave way to slotted six-inch Rally wheels with chrome beauty rings and lug nuts concealed behind chrome caps. Interior alterations were modest and included revised upholstery, and the handbrake moved from beneath the dash to between the seats. The convertible’s optional hardtop was offered with a black vinyl top, which was a fad among all cars at the time. The 427 was available with a 1282 ft³/min (605 L/s) Holley triple two-barrel carburetor arrangement, which the factory called Tri-Power. The ultimate Corvette engine for 1967 was coded L88, even wilder than the L89, and was as close to a pure racing engine as Chevy had ever offered in regular production. Besides the lightweight heads and bigger ports, it came with an even hotter camshaft, stratospheric 12.5:1 compression, an aluminum radiator, small-diameter flywheel, and a single huge Holley four-barrel carburetor. Although the factory advertised L88 rating was 430 BHP at 4600 rpm, the true rating was said to be about 560 BHP at 6400 rpm. The very high compression ratio required 103-octane racing fuel, which was available only at select service stations. Clearly this was not an engine for the casual motorist. When the L88 was ordered, Chevy made several individual options mandatory, including Positraction, transistorized ignition, heavy-duty suspension, and power brakes, as well as RPO C48, which deleted the normal radio and heater to cut down on weight and discourage the car’s use on the street. As costly as it was powerful – at an additional $1,500 over the base $4,240.75 price – the L88 engine and required options were sold to a mere 20 buyers that year. With potential buyers anticipating the car’s overdue redesign, sales for the Sting Ray’s final year totaled 22,940, down over 5,000 units from 1966 results. Meanwhile, Chevrolet readied its third-generation Corvette for the 1968 model year.
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