CorVace Photos!

[289ACE]

Ovlov1, I have sent you a PM about the Corvace.
Jay

[ovlov1]

You would have been even more amazed watching the Italian gypsy body man beating it out by hand. He used nothing but hand tools and sand bags. He even cut the hood by hand. If memory serves me, it only took him about 3 hours sitting in a chair with the hood partial on a saw horse and his lap. We all stood around with our mouths hanging open watching him. A local body shop that worked on sports cars offered him a full time job on the spot but he said no. Didn't want to be tied down. He could have made some real good money. People with that kind of talent always have fascinated me. Always wondered where he wondered to and what cars he worked on in his travels! Again if memory is correct Roger paid him $ 25.00, which is what he asked for.

[KM480]

I just ran across this thread and have a little experience with a Chevy powered AC. Back in 1987 my buddy and I got a job detailing and prepping a 57 AC Ace for a lawyer that was getting ready to take it to Arizona to sell at auction.
My buddy did detailing and I was a mechanic and machinist so I dialed in the carb, tuned it up and made sure the brakes (aluminum finned drums) were working well.
The car had a 283 with a carter 4 barrel if I remember correctly with a 4 speed. Bright red paint with a louvered hood and wire wheels with knock offs.

It was an unforgetable experience for the two of us. I was 18 and my buddy was 20 and this lawyer, that had taken the car from a client that couldn't pay his bill, knew nothing about cars and somehow thought it was okay to have 38 years of total life experience in charge of his car.

For two friends that grew up watching Gumball Rally over and over again to have a car like that for the weekend, to work on AND "test drive" all over town... Well, just awesome!

The guy took it by trailer to Arizona and we heard that a tie down or chain had let loose and smacked the side of the car all the way down there, resulting in a sale of only $10,000 or something like that.

I have video of the car if anyone recalls seeing or hearing about it. It did not say CorVace on it so we thought it was just a hot rod someone built back in the late 50's or early 60's.

[289ACE]

KM480,
I would like to hear more about the car. I have sent a PM.

Jay

[ovlov1]

I have found Roger Wing, the son of the Roger Wing who built the CorVace, thought you would find interesting.

Hi Ronald, it was so good to hear from you. Thank you for helping to
put out the story of the CorVace and thank you for the information
about my Dad and Mom and thank you for being such a
good friend to them. I don't know a lot from that time after all I was
only 7 in 1956 so this all is great for me to hear. I did manage to
find all of those pictures about a year ago. I also found 2 B&W photos
that I'm sending to you.

Man I wish he had kept that car and given it to me, but I did get that
Mustang he built later on. I remember that Dad had taken the CorVace
to the Chevy Company and asked them to
go into production with it and they said no thanks we already have the
Corvette. I also remember Shelby coming over to our house for Dinner
one night and Dad told him about what the Chevy
company had told him and then he took Shelby out for a ride in the
CorVace, and I believe it wasn't long after that Shelby also order one
from England and put the Ford engine in it and when to the
Ford Company and the rest is history, I also can't believe he never
gave Dad any credit for it. As far as the inverted scoop on the hood,
I seem to remember Dad telling me that he got an extra 4 or 5
horsepower out of the engine by doing that and do you remember that
Shelby later on put 3 inverted scoops on his GT500 Mustang, I think he
got that from Dad too.

On another note, I don't know if you know but Richard died from bad
health in April of 2010, My sister JoAnn is still kicking and we both
live down here in Florida now.

Anyway it was really good to hear from you and if you remember
anything else about my Dad or Mom I would love to hear about it.

Roger Wing

[fjrgary]

wow, very interesting history! hope we get to see some photos!!!!