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Meet the Chevrolet Corvette That Shouldn’t Exist

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1967 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible

The Michigan/Missouri 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible
Image: Barrett-Jackson Auctions

When the Chevrolet Corvette hit the road, it was manufactured with bodies from Ionia, Michigan, and assembled in St. Louis Missouri. In the 1967 model year, production was moved entirely to Missouri. And yet, a 1967 C2 Corvette that was built on a Michigan body is on its way to the block at the famed Barrett-Jackson Reno Tahoe auction house.

A.O. Smith was the contractor chosen in Michigan to build Corvette bodies. This particular Corvette’s body was built on the third and fourth day of 1967 production at the Michigan plant with the iconic VIN of #365.

Building of car #365 was held to examine the hood stripes, as there was an issue with them at the A.O. Smith factory. They were hard to produce, and management decided to move all manufacturing to St. Louis in that time. This body, though, still made it to St. Louis to be turned into a complete Corvette.

The owners of this vehicle took extremely good care of it. It’s fully loaded with the big V8 engine, and has been treated to a frame-off restoration to its original condition. Even with all of those facts, there are still people who claim that there are no 1967 Chevy Corvettes with Michigan bodies.  Even experts who agree that it’s possible say that less than 10% of 1967 Corvettes would contain any parts from the Michigan plant. No one knows how many cars built actually had Michigan parts, as many have been lost to age or accident.

It’ll be interesting to see how much this rare car fetches when it goes to auction on August 8th.