Tale of Bob Rapp’s Two Red Sting Ray/Stingray Convertibles
Bob & Carolyn Rapp’s C2/C7 Generational Corvette Perspective
Story, Photos, and Graphics by K. Scott Teeters
This story was first published in the June 2023 issue of Vette Vues Magazine.
When the mid-engine C8 Corvette made its grand debut on July 18, 2019, in Tustin Hangers in Southern California, it was huge! The possibility of a mid-engine Corvette had been relentlessly taunting Corvette fans since the early 1960s. The C8’s arrival was so big it overshadowed all previous new Corvette debuts. So let’s get into the Vette Vues Time Machine and set the dials to October 1962, when the new 1963 Corvette Sting Ray made its grand debut to the automotive press.
The 1963 Sting Ray Was a Total Game-Changer
The new 1963 Corvette also had a new name; it was now a “Corvette Sting Ray”! It was as close to an “all-new” Corvette as buyers would get. Except for the engines and transmissions, everything was indeed all-new. Four elements were most prominent: body, interior, frame, and suspension.
The body was like nothing else the general buying public had ever seen. The new Sting Ray could have been marketed as “The Corvette From Another Planet!” People who knew little about cars were stopped in their tracks! “What’s that?!?!?” “That’s the new Corvette Sting Ray, son. The line forms to the right!”
The Sting Ray’s interior was as beautiful as the body. The twin, rounded dash pods met in the middle to form a vertical center console. All the important gauges were directly in front of the driver and easy to read.
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The Sting Ray had an all-new steel perimeter frame that was stiffer, allowing the seats to sit lower, which in turn helped lower the passenger compartment and the car’s overall center of gravity. The Coupe Sting Rays had a B-pillar that formed a roll bar to further stiffen the car’s structure and better provide rollover passenger protection.
But arguably, from a performance perspective, the most advanced feature was the four-wheel independent suspension. When the original Corvette frame and suspension were being designed in 1952, the box perimeter frame and the straight rear axle were the standards for sports cars of the day.
As the years rolled by, sports car technology quickly advanced to the point where Zora Arkus-Duntov had taken the straight rear axle and suspension as far as he could. Four-wheel independent suspension was the way of the future. Four-wheel disc brakes were in development and arrived in 1965. The overall structure of the new Sting Ray was so good, it served as the C2 and C3 platform until the arrival of the C4 Corvette.
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As great as all that was, from the perspective of every Corvette from the C5 to the C8, the C1 to C3 Corvettes pretty much drove and rode like a fast pickup truck that handled well. In the mid-’70s, I owned a 1965 small-block Sting Ray Coupe with a four-speed and factory side pipes. The two major complaints I heard were, “Your car rides rough!” and “Your car is so LOUD!”.
For the Corvette faithful, we hold C2 Sting Rays and C3 Corvettes dearly for their timeless, classic good looks. The Sting Ray is an American beauty, and the Mako Shark-themed C3 Corvettes set the basic shape for all future Corvettes. Kudos to the designers and stylists who didn’t let the Corvette look drift off into something other than a “Corvette”.
Between 1963 and 1967, only 117,966 Corvettes were built. Compare that to 542,861 C3s built between 1968 and 1982. Today, one hardly ever sees C2 Sting Rays on the road. So when I learned that fellow Highlands County Corvettes member, Bob Rapp, owns a C2 Rally Red 1965 Sting Ray Convertible and a C7 Torch Red 2014 Stingray Convertible, I thought, “Here’s a man with some ownership perspective.”
Meet Bob & Carolyn Rapp
Sebring, Florida resident, Bob Rapp, has been into cars since the days when you could fix most car issues with a good set of Craftsman tools and a good jack. Bob’s car passion started in the 1950s when he was a kid growing up in rural, 0.39 square mile, Beaver, Ohio, population 247. (Since then, Beaver, Ohio’s population has soared to 422!) His first vehicle in the late ’50s was an old Crosley that his Dad bought. Bob completely disassembled the car, cleaned the parts, rebuilt it, and got the Crosley running again. The body was completely shot, so the family used what was left as a tractor.
After graduating from high school, Bob went to Ohio State University and earned a degree in aeronautical engineering. Early on, Bob’s rides included a 1958 Olds Super 88 that was later replaced by a 1964 SS Chevelle Convertible, thus beginning Bob and his future wife’s passion for convertibles. When Bob and Carolyn met, she had a 1967 Olds Cutlass Convertible, so they were both “open-air motoring” kindred spirits.
Bob and Carolyn were married in 1968 and are still together. They started their family and pursued their careers. Along the way, they got into antique cars. Bob rescued and restored an abandoned 1930 Ford Model A from a chicken coupe. Then Bob spotted a 1932 Buick Model 87 with a Straight-Eight engine advertised in Hemmings Motor News. The old Buick was partially restored and eventually sold.
Around 1990, Bob switched his old car passion focus to something a little more modern, with easier-to-get parts if needed. While antique cars are mechanically simple, getting parts is becoming challenging. These were the days before the internet and eBay, when you had to go to old car swap meets and junk yards. He’d always admired Corvettes, but with a family, they’re not especially useful to have. However, with their children all grown up and starting their own careers, it was time for some Corvette fun!
Bob and Carolyn Decide It’s Time for a Vette!
Fortunately for Bob, his son, Rob, shares his passion for cars. In 1992, Rob spotted a Rally Red 1965 Corvette convertible on a used car lot. The car had been owned by a dentist and was complete, but on the rough side. The car ran, but the L79 327/350 small-block blew a little blue smoke, had stainless steel exhaust pipes and no mufflers, so it was very loud. The stock 6.70×15 bias-ply tires were bald and mounted on a set of aftermarket knockoff wheels. Overall, the body was in good shape, but the springs for the convertible trunk lid needed to be replaced. Everything was sound, just tired, and the price was right. So Bob and Carolyn bought their first Corvette convertible.
By this time, Bob and Carolyn lived in western Pennsylvania, not far from Don Yenko Chevrolet, in Canonsburg. To get the car through Pennsylvania State Inspection, some work had to be done. The tired L79 engine was rebuilt to stock specs by one of Yenko’s mechanics, and stock mufflers were installed. New tires were needed, so Bob got a set of correct size BF Goodrich T/A Radials. Bob commented, “I couldn’t believe what a huge difference the radials made. I can’t imagine what it was like driving around back in the day on those bias-ply tires on a Corvette, let alone racing on those things!” Once everything was repaired and refreshed, Bob and Carolyn had themselves a sweet classic Sting Ray convertible to enjoy.
Then There Was the Polo Green C4 Corvette
There was another Corvette Bob and Carolyn owned that didn’t have a happy ending. Bob recalls. “I always liked the color combination of the Corvette Polo Green Metallic with the tan interior. I just love the look. So in 1995, we found a very clean, nice 1994 Corvette Coupe with only 6,400 miles on the odometer and the exact color combo we wanted for sale by a private owner in North Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was nice having a modern Corvette to go along with our classic Corvette.”
“Around this time, we were making our retirement plans to move to Sebring, Florida and realized that we had one car too many. Since we knew that one of our neighbors very much liked the C4, so we sold him the car. Not long after, the neighbor’s son took the Corvette out for a drive and stuffed it under a guard rail. The son was okay, but the Corvette was totaled.”
A New Life in Florida
Bob’s career had gone from aeronautical engineering to the field of natural gas production. The last thirty-five years of Bob’s working career were with Columbia Gas System, where he worked on building gas plants, pipeline systems, and in marketing. When it came time to decide what their retirement life would be like, after many years of living in the cold parts of America, the warm climate of south-central Florida was the perfect place to live.
In 2000, when Bob and Carolyn moved to Sebring, Florida, they rented a house while their house with a three-car garage was being built, and stored the ’65 Corvette in a rental garage. When the new house, with plenty of space for their vehicles, was completed, Bob and Carolyn settled into Florida’s relaxed lifestyle.
While having a classic Sting Ray Convertible is sweet, by 2015, the car was fifty years old! Something newer with modern amenities was looking very appealing. Bob explains, “Carolyn wanted a red convertible as her daily driver. We were thinking perhaps a C7 Convertible would be nice, but we were having a hard time finding what we wanted. We found two or three between Florida and Texas, but typically they were sold quickly. After looking far, far away, we found exactly what we wanted in Kissimmee, Florida, about one-and-a-half hours from Sebring. The 2014 Torch Red C7 Corvette Convertible had only 4,000 miles on the odometer, an automatic transmission, the NPP Performance Exhaust, and the Kalahari interior. Two red Corvette convertibles look good together.”
Comparing the C2 Sting Ray with the C7 Stingray
For the last eight years, Bob Rapp has been driving his and Carolyn’s Sting Ray / Stingray Convertibles and has some observations. “We’ve had the Sting Ray for nearly thirty years. It’s an old car, so I’m not interested in pushing it. To date, I’ve replaced the radiator, fuel pump, brake calipers, brake lines, and tires. We’ve never had a bad accident, just a few minor bumps. I was backed into once and had to replace a few panels. But nothing has ever been seriously damaged. Since the car is garage-kept, I usually leave the top down and only drive it on nice days and evenings, which are pretty common here in Florida.”
Compared to the C7, the car’s ride is rough, but the car was designed nearly sixty-five years ago. The gas mileage is around 14 mpg, just about right for 1965. It’s been a great car and we’ve had a lot of fun with it. But when I get into the C7, it feels like Cadillac luxury. Everything fits tight, it’s quick, fast, has great brakes, probably has over twice as much horsepower, and gets double the gas mileage.”
“The C7 is Carolyn‘s daily driver, and she could not be happier. The bottom line is this. We’ve had both cars for a good long time and love them both for different reasons. For us, they’re perfect!”
We wish Bob and Carolyn Rapp of Sebring, Florida, many more years, many more miles, and lots more smiles with their red convertible Sting Ray / Stingrays. – Scott
This story was first published in the June 2023 issue of Vette Vues Magazine.
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