Stingray

[Havachat9]

Can someone tell me what year the last Stingray was built? Cheers.

 

[KANE]

Here we go....:W



Just Kidding. That question comes up a lot.



The last year the phrase Stingray graced the side of a Vette from GM was 1976.

However, the 3rd generation body style typically associated with the name Stingray ran from 68-82.

 

[killain]

I have a picture of a 76 or 77 which has the 'stringray' emblem on the back of the front fenders, but I can't find any others. So I think 1976 was the last official year?

 

[gmjunkie]

1976 was the last year for the script"Stingray" on the front fenders!!1977 script was replaced with Corvette Cross Flags!
1968 didn't have script or emblems on the fenders!!

 

[DRTH VTR]

The midyear Corvettes (63-68) all had "Sting Ray" badges as well, didn't they?

 

[Havachat9]

Cheers DarkShark. I had heard that the 1976 Stingray was the last of the Stingrays by word and mouth but no actual written information, though what u say makes sense as I haven't seen any after 76 with badges.

 

[Havachat9]

76 is a hard one cause that was the year they changed from the L48(Early) to the L82(Late) wasn't it? Badges must have been one of those things they changed also.

 

[gmjunkie]

The midyear Corvettes (63-68) all had "Sting Ray" badges as well, didn't they?

63-67 are Mid-Years!!68 is a C3 and had no badging except cross flags on the front and fuel door,with lettering on the tale panel "CORVETTE"!!

 

[gmjunkie]

76 is a hard one cause that was the year they changed from the L48(Early) to the L82(Late) wasn't it? Badges must have been one of those things they changed also.

1973 was the first year for L82!!

 

[6880 Mike]

76 is a hard one cause that was the year they changed from the L48(Early) to the L82(Late) wasn't it?...

L48 and L82 are engines introduced in 1973. The L48 was the base engine (no options); the L82 was the optional, higher horsepower engine.

Good stuff here:

 

[DRTH VTR]

63-67 are Mid-Years!!68 is a C3 and had no badging except cross flags on the front and fuel door,with lettering on the tale panel "CORVETTE"!!

My bad! I knew that. It is what I get for posting before my morning coffee.

 

[67HEAVEN]

The midyear Corvettes (63-68) all had "Sting Ray" badges as well, didn't they?

'63-'67 Corvettes were badged as Sting Rays (two words) and "nicknamed" midyear by enthusiasts, while the later cars (69-76) were badged Stingray (one word). The '68 and post-'76 cars were not badged in either fashion.

 

[Gunther]

Hi

My 68 has STINGRAY badges.

I like it because people then know the car :" Wow, it's a Stingray "

Rgds. Günther

Yes, I know it's not originally correct, but who cares.

 

[XLR8]

Hi

My 68 has STINGRAY badges.

I like it because people then know the car :" Wow, it's a Stingray "

Rgds. Günther

Yes, I know it's not originally correct, but who cares.

Günther...
And a beautiful Stingray it is too... it's even the best color!!

Jane Ann

 

[fine69]

...Yes, I know it's not originally correct, but who cares...

I agree, who cares! Your car is beautiful!!

Ralph

 

[Tom73]

Hi

My 68 has STINGRAY badges.

You should have gone with Sting Ray emblems rather than the Stingray because in lit and ads Chevy refered to the 68 as the Corvette Sting Ray.

tom...

 

[Gunther]

Hi

GM should have called the 68 a ShARK or even MAKO SHARK , like it's show car, the Mako Shark II in 1965 and kept the Sting Ray for the C2.
Jane Ann & Ralph , thanks for the compliments. It was kind of a barn find in 2000. Was parked for 5 yeras in a shed under a cover and hay due to death of the owner. Looked horrible and was in a rather poor shape.

It is now a headturner, specially over here , noisy and the tripower solid lifter BB is just sick.

Where they out of their mind in the late 60th ?

Rgds. Günther

 

[minifridge1138]

I drive a 1982 and people usually tell me that they, "love my stingray."

I seldom correct them, but when I do they ask what's the difference and I tell them they didn't write "stingray" anywhere on the car.

All of the 1968-1982 Corvettes are "Shark" body corvettes.

 

[speedbird1229]

But C3 generation is still known as the Stingray generation by most people. People who are not Vette owners or fans don't ever get to the details when the emblem was actually used by GM on the car and when it wasn't. Although GM has stated that Stingray was just an emblem and nothing else, the 69-76 years promoted this name with their Stingray emblems and perhaps the newer ones don't have it anymore simply because everybody already knows it anyway

 

[lagnaf]

I drive a 1982 and people usually tell me that they, "love my stingray."

I seldom correct them, but when I do they ask what's the difference and I tell them they didn't write "stingray" anywhere on the car.

All of the 1968-1982 Corvettes are "Shark" body corvettes.

I can't remember where I read this, but in 1968 when the C3 hit the market, the "Sting Ray" moniker was noticeably missing... likely due to the fact the the car was fashioned to resemble the Mako Shark as mentioned above. I suspect that the term Sting Ray was given to the mid year cars because of their visual design as well.

Customers were upset that the name sake had been dropped from the car, so Chevy responded by putting the label (Stingray) back on.

It may have been more appropriate to label the car either "Shark" or "Mako Shark", but as they say... the rest is history.

Incidentally, online I've seen some little chrome shark shaped emblems that one can replace the "Stingray" emblems with on the fender of their C3. Not my thing, but they look pretty cool.