Car Spotlight: 1973 Corvette Stingray

By Owen Somerville

For the majority of student drivers, driving to school in the morning is a menial task. It just consists of the time between being at home and walking into your morning class. However, for BGHS senior Noe Calderon, his car is his passion. Noe recounts the deep history of his ‘73 Corvette Stingray, his current efforts to maintain the car, and his future plans for the luxury vehicle. 

The 1973 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is a rear-wheel-drive two-door sports car and a transition-year model. The front end of the vehicle is made from ‘72 parts, and the rear end is made from ‘74 parts. It was only produced in 1973 for 8 months.

The original owner of the Stingray built the car by himself from scratch. He entered the car into local car shows and was very successful. According to Noe, “the car had 13 trophies won on it.” The man was very proud of his car, and it was a hobby that he maintained for years. Eventually, he grew older and decided to share his experience with the next generation.

He sold the Stingray to a father and son, who were able to enjoy the car together, and they bonded over it. Decades went by, and the father passed away. The now elderly son was devastated over the loss and drove the Stingray in memory of the time spent with his father.

Only days after the father’s death, the son accidentally crashed the Stingray by driving under a dump truck in a head-on collision. The car was totaled; miraculously, the son was safe.

The son had maintained the vehicle for years and years, but now, being in his seventies, he was too old to repair the Stingray. He was going to leave the car in the field and give up on it, but he remembered the previous owner’s thoughtfulness. He had sold the car to the father and son; he had given to the next generation and sparked a passion for car shows and working on the Stingray. After reflecting on the previous owner’s values and his own, he decided to sell the car to the next generation.

Noe Calderon was searching for a car with his dad and made an offer for the Corvette Stingray. Noe and his dad met the previous owner of the car, and the owner decided he wanted to sell his car to the Calderons. Satisfied with his decision and at peace with his troubles, he sold the car at a very low price and used the funds to pay for his father’s funeral.

From the moment that he owned the car, Noe has been working on it until he was able to drive it to school last August. Now, he faces the cosmetic issue of the Stingray’s missing candy apple paint that was scraped off in the accident.

Candy apple paint is extremely unique because it’s unique to the painter who applied it. Each painter has their own technique they use to paint “candy,” because there are multiple steps. The first layer is the silver, bronze, or gold base, the second layer is the candy apple paint, and the third layer is the clear coat. Each painter varies in their portions of each layer, and so it can be very difficult to replicate a specific painter’s style.

Additionally, the ‘73 Stingray has weak brakes. According to Noe, “the calipers last about a month, and then they get bad.”

The purpose of brake calipers is to squeeze the brake pad against the rotors to slow down the wheel, which slows down the car. With weak calipers, the car would progressively get more difficult to slow down and eventually would have a very small effect on the velocity of the car.

Earlier this year, Noe has already had a problem with the calipers on the road. He was on his way to school on a rainy morning, and he was approaching a T-intersection. As he reached the point where he needed to turn either left or right, the car began to slide out due to the faulty calipers. After a quick judgment call, Noe drifted the corner so as not to continue forward and crash the Stingray into the house that lay ahead. He continued to drive to school slowly, and that was the last time the calipers have caught him off guard.

Noe has a lifetime warranty on the calipers, but he has to fix them himself monthly. While this process works temporarily, it is not a permanent solution. Noe says, “I’m trying to buy a better kit, but it’s like $5,000 for four calipers, and that’s a lot.” Until Noe is able to afford a more permanent option, he will have to undergo monthly repairs on the Stingray.

Eventually, when the hard work is completed and the car is in pristine condition, Noe plans to enter the Stingray into car shows. Carrying on the car’s legacy and the values of the owners before him, he will stand proud at car shows and become part of the car show community. In the meantime, BGHS students can only gaze wondrously at the historic car as they make their way to their parking spots.