Silver Blue 1963 Corvette Sting Ray Split Window Coupe v.s. Carlisle Blue 2012 Corvette Grand Sport Coupe

At Thanksgiving, Tina and I got a very special opportunity to meet Patrick and Valerie and compare our two similar Corvettes!
Patrick and Valerie own a 1963 Corvette Sting Ray Split Window Coupe in Silver Blue.
Tina and I own a 2012 Corvette Grand Sport in Carlisle Blue.

This story starts back in 1964 when Valerie's dad bought his 1963 Sting Ray when it was only 6 months old.
I wonder if the first owner sold it because they did not like that "Split Window"!
What a mistake that was!
Her dad drove it for about 30 years until one day the engine seized up.
So, he parked it in a building in his back yard.

The other side of this story starts in 1974 in a barn in Indiana, when an old farmer in Tina's home town showed her his 1963 Corvette Sting Ray Split Window Coupe, in Silver Blue, stored in his barn.

Tina instantly fell in love with that car!  A love affair that will last the rest of her life!

Then in 2012, Chevrolet Corvette came out with the Carlisle Blue color.
Tina said "That is the exact same color as the '63 Split Window I have loved since 1974!"
We did not want to pay full price for a new 2012 and decided to bide our time.
Then in late 2014, we saw a Carlisle Blue Grand Sport C6 coupe at our local Safeway and were once again captivated by its beauty and graceful lines.
We went home and checked prices for a 2012 Carlisle Blue Corvette on the internet and found our "Carl" in Santa Rosa, CA.

Story picks back up again 3 years ago when Valerie's dad died.  She and her siblings inherited all of "Grandpa's" stuff.  As she and Patrick went thorough Grandpa's various back yard buildings they found this '63 and also an XK-E, along with a few other cars.  Her brother got the XK-E, but she and Patrick took the '63 Coupe and started their restoration project .

The following photos show the similarities between these two beautiful Corvette coupes:
1963 meets 2012 - also be sure to check out the performance and dimension comparisons below.

Video of Patrick and Valerie going home after our meeting:

"Tale of the Tape" Comparing 1963 to 2012
Data from "Corvette Black Book" TM by Mike Antonick, 1953-2015
1963 Performance Data from:  Road & Track of 1963
2012 Performance Data from:  Motor Trend of 2012                           

Criteria                          1963             2012
-----------------------        ----------       ------------
Base Price ($)                $4,257          $59,525   
Length (inches)             175.1"          175.2"
Width (inches)                 69.6"            75.9"     
Height (inches)                49.8"            48.7"
Curb Weight (lbs)          3,015 lbs     3,333 lbs
Wheelbase (inches)           98"            105.7"
Tire size                         6.70x15"     P285/30ZR19" Front; P335/35ZR20" Rear
Front Track                     56.25"           63.5"
Rear Track                         57"             62.5"
Fuel Tank                           20 gal         18 gal
Displacement (c.i.)           327 ci          376 ci             
Horsepower  (hp)             300 hp         430 hp
Build Quantities:
   Coupes                          10,594         7,876
   Convertibles                  10,919         2,889
   ZR1                                   n/a               404
   Total                              21,513        11,647
   Paint Colors                       7               10
0 to 60 mph (sec)                5.9              4.1
1/4 mile (sec/mph)          14.9@95    12.5@115
Top Speed (mph)                142             186
Braking 60 to 0 mph (ft)    ???              101 ft.        
Lateral Acceleration (g)    ???              1.09 g

Corvette Black Book is available from many sellers on the web, here is one:
http://www.westcoastcorvette.com/p-12690-1953-2018-corvette-black-book.aspx

Link to 1963 Corvette Production Facts and Statistics:
http://www.vettefacts.com/C2/1963.aspx

Schematics for 1963 Corvette

C5 Window regulator Replacement for the Plastic Tube that Breaks

My C5 Corvettes have a design flaw that causes the electric windows to break after about 12 years.
My cars had low mileage, so the windows were not used all that much, but the little Blue plastic tube broke at the shoulder which then allowed the spring to push the tube up past the end of the cable shield which then loses all the cable tension.

My friend, Jim, made a replacement tube out of Aluminum which is much stronger than the plastic tube from Chevrolet.

My replacement aluminum rube must have the slot in order to slip it over the endless cable.

Burt after I slipped the Aluminum piece into place and slipped the cables back into the corner pulley sheaves, I still could not get adequate tension back into the endless cable.  The cable seems to be routed correctly, but is still too loose.  I don't know what to do.

Notice the Aluminum replacement tube in on the left. The other Blue plastic tube on the right has not broken and is still working fine.

John's Investment Links

Information on Annuities:
Fixed: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fixedannuity.asp

Variable: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/variableannuity.asp

Spreadsheet comparing Fixed v.s. Variable
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XVtX3lhjWkezn-G-xh6z9QRTIaVQHsDMmpPnMPDksIY/edit#gid=0



Schwab Fixed:

Schwab Variable:
FinViz Stock Screener
http://finviz.com/screener.ashx?v=111&f=fa_debteq_u0.8,fa_div_o1,fa_ltdebteq_u0.8,fa_netmargin_pos,fa_payoutratio_u70,fa_pb_u2,fa_pe_u20,fa_ps_u2,fa_salesqoq_pos,ta_highlow52w_a0to10h&ft=4

GoogleFinance Stock Screener
https://www.google.com/finance/stockscreener?&c0=MarketCap&min0=794630000&c1=PE&min1=2.09&max1=17.81&c2=DividendYield&min2=0.97&max2=6.75&c3=High52Week&min3=2.71&max3=59.2&c4=Low52Week&min4=1.18&max4=49.59&c5=QuoteLast&min5=1.51&max5=54.65&c6=TotalDebtToEquityQuarter&max6=68.98&c7=NetProfitMarginPercent&min7=0.9&max7=53.06&c8=RevenueGrowthRate5Years&min8=0&max8=121&c9=Price13WeekPercChange&min9=-75.37&max9=-8.61&region=us&sector=AllSectors&sort=&sortOrder=

Commodity Prices and 52 Week Range
http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/DG/M?anticache=1383471758 

Gold Monthly Prices for the Past 8 Years
http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/DG/M?anticache=1383471758

WTI Light Crude Oil Prices for the past 8 Years
http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/CL_/M?anticache=1383470013

Unemployment Rate for the Past 60 Years
https://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=z1ebjpgk2654c1_&met_y=unemployment_rate&idim=country:US&fdim_y=seasonality:S&hl=en&dl=en

Camp Creek Falls, Cave Creek, AZ March 11, 2017

On Saturday, March 11, Tina and I took this wonderful, easy hike with a very nice, little, waterfall at the end.  About 1.5 miles mostly though a dry wash.  But this time of year, the water was flowing nicely because of our recent rains.
Here is the link to the trail information:  Directions to Camp Creek Falls

Parking lot:  Take Pima Road north off the 101 until you "T" into Cave Creek Road.
Then go East on Cave Creek Road for 6.5 miles to the little parking lot on the right side.

Follow the trail down from the parking lot to the dry creek bed called "Blue Wash" because of the Blue Gray stones that are every where.  Follow it East til you "T" into the bigger stream bed which is Camp Creek, 

Turn left (North East) and follow Camp Creek for 1/4 mile to the falls.

  

Several horses came by with their "Dude" riders and trail guides while we were eating our snack.

The falls is only about a 10 foot drop, but looks great and sounds great!

View from top of the falls back down the Camp Creek.

Tina leaning over the falls to show she has No FEAR!

Standing right at the waterfall.  Great waterfall roar, from such a small flow of water.
I wish I had taken a video to catch the sound.

On our way out we saw a Gila Monster ambling along the wash.  He would not stand still for us, so I had to borrow this photo off the web.  But, I think this one is related to the one we saw!!

 Parking lot again.  Time to go back to civilization.