1963 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray & 1973 Chrvrolet Corvette - C2 C3 See These!

Recently we've brought you stories of distinctively styled Corvettes, milestone Corvettes, and movie-star Corvettes that all spend their days indoors, meticulously preserved in their original (or close to it) conditions. This article isn't about Vettes like that. Instead, this one's about a father-and-son-owned pair that have logged hundreds of thousands of miles between them while seeing the U.S.A.

Jeff Montgomery bought his '63 Sting Ray coupe in 1970 while he was in college at the University of Arkansas, when you could find a good-condition midyear for under two grand. Jeff says that he and his '63 grew up together. "It's done it all, it seems like." he says. "I got it when I was 19 years old, and I didn't hold back." His first modification was four-wheel disc brakes he scrounged off a wrecked '65. Next up: Cut the fenders out and put big tires on, but not until he'd made rubber body mounts that better isolated road noise than the stock mounts did. "When I got to where I could afford it, I cut the fenders out [more], had it painted really nice, and put on Appliance wire wheels. Then, in the '90s, I put it back to original-looking."

But having a silver '63 split-window that looked like every other silver '63 split-window wasn't for him. As the '90s dawned, so did the Vette-Rod era in this car's history. As Jeff says, "I've always said I was a restomodder before it was cool!"