Back in the fall of 1962, I was a sophomore in high school sitting in the library. As I was glancing through some car magazines, I saw it! They called it the "Stingray" and this was the new Corvette I couldn't believe my eyes. Nor could I believe it, when my homeroom teacher, Mr. Yerkish, drove one to school shortly thereafter. A red split window fuelie. I got my first ride in his Corvette when he took me to the optometrist to have my eye glasses repaired, so I could play in the JV basketball game that afternoon. I was hooked.

In 1966, Uncle Sam moved me from my hometown of Crafton, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Travis AFB in northern California. I bought a 1964 Malibu SS with a small block 327 for go power. Not enough. So, one of my Air Force buddies, Mike Hayden, helped me put a 396 big block in the Chevelle. Now were talking.

About that time Terry McLaren drove onto base from Alice, Texas in his 1967, sunfire yellow, black stinger, black interior black soft top 427/435 Corvette roadster. What a car! He actually let me drive it once.

In the summer of 1969, Terry ordered a new Silver 427/400 horse car from the local Chevy dealer. (Terry wanted NC).

All of us wanted to buy "Gopher", as the 67 was affectionately called. (Terry always used the 67 to "Go for this" and "Go for that')

Only, no one could come up with the $2,800 it took to pry the 67 from Terry. Mike Hayden had just come back to Travis after spending 30 days at home in Ohio. After selling everything he owned, and working during his leave, he was very happy to hear that "Gopher" 'was still available. Mike and Terry came to terms and the deal was done.

The 67 was sitting off base at a local body shop for some wheel well repair. (When they tried to start her,"Gopher" just coughed. It seems someone had taken her for an unauthorized test drive. Since this car had a 5 year 50,000 mile warranty, the next stop was the local Chevy dealer. After much discussion with the service manager, a new fitted block and new intake were supplied and installed by GM under warranty.) At the time, "Gopher" had 28,000 miles on the clock and a lot of those were on trips to and from Texas.

Mike let my wife, and I use the 67 to go on a three day trip to my father-in-law's birthday party. That was April 14,15,16 1970 (The same time Apollo 13 was in trouble). In May of 1970 the car was stolen and stripped.

The body was recovered in August of 1970 and most of the interior was recovered in September 1970. Mike actually went with the police and he physically removed ^t'Gopher's" parts from several different cars. The door panels to this day have the police markings from when they were recovered. The man who stole the 67 would steal Corvettes and strip them down to a shell. He would then buy the shell at the insurance auction and put the cars back together and sell them. But us poor G.I.'s only had the minimum liability insurance coverage, so there wasn't any auction. The thief was caught when he started selling the individual parts.

At that same time Mike got his orders to Viet Nam. The car sat in Joe Cruces's body and custom shop in Vacaville, California for the time Mike was in Nam. Mike would think of ideas while over there and send them home to Joe. Joe worked on Mike's ideas and added a number of his own.

When Mike returned to the states, he decided to finish the project himself; as money was a little tight. It took him until the fall of 1977 to finish. During the customizing a 1968 Buick Riviera grill was molded onto the front of the car to give it the "Mako Shark" look that 'was so popular at the time. (Joe had done three of these). Mike also had the wheel wells radiused and flaired. A mild spoiler was added to the rear and 1967 Mustang taillights replaced the round ones. The hardtop was fitted with a rear window from a 1968 AMX and molded onto the deck lid giving "Gopher" a fastback look. Most of the exterior chrome was removed. The interior was left stock. (Actually, when sitting inside the car you would be hard pressed to know you were inside a custom car.) The engine was never located so Mike bought a 1969 350/350 with a Muncie 4-speed to motivate him. After that he just trailered the car around the Western States to car shows for a number of years.

I had moved away in 1970 and lost track of Mike, then In 1984 I moved back to Vacaville. I saw Mike one day in a local store. After talking over old times the conversation got around to "Gopher". Mike said he still had her, so we went over to his house to see her. I told him I would like to have a Corvette myself. After years of talking, in April of 1988, Mike finally agreed to sell me the 67. (A decision he regrets to this day).

Every time Ryan, (his son, who is now 12), sees "Gopher" he asks his dad "Why did you sell?" Mike just gives him a blank stare.

As before, small blocks don't do it for me. (I test drove a ZR1. I'm sorry, I wasn't impressed). So one of the first things I did was trade the 350 for a 427. (Mike Hayden rebuilt the 427 for me. Then he added aluminum heads and a tri-power intake.). Next I repainted the car. I also found a new rear deck lid, a convertible top frame, big block hood and other miscellaneous parts in Hemmings. (I still have the custom hardtop. So whenever I want a fastback, I put the hardtop on).

In the meantime, my son decided he wanted a Camaro. We found a damaged 1967 RS that was minus an engine and trany. So we bought back the 350 that was in "Gopher' and slid it into the Camaro. Now, three years later, my son has a nice driver.

As a repayment for the money I spent on his project, my son decided I needed 17" cast "Lotus" Boyds wheels on the Corvette. (1 7x91/2 on the rear and I 7x8 on front) So "Gopher' is now shoed with 275/4OZR's on the rear and 235145ZR's on the front. (Goodrich Comp TIA's)

About 6 months ago, I was looking at the wedding guest book from my marriage back in 1969. All of my old buddies that I hadn't seen or heard from in 27 years were in the book. As I came across Terry McLaren's name, I noticed he listed his Texas address instead of the Air Force base address like everyone else, So I thought I would write and see what happens, since I hadn't seen or heard from Terry since 1970, I was not hopeful. To my amazement a week later I received a letter. Terry's mother still lives in that same house, and she said; she would give Terry a message.

I have often thought of selling her, (I know I have two buyers chomping at the bit, Mike & Terry); but, I would have to contend with my family. My son is my biggest contention, and he thinks he will own "Gopher" some day. He just might, but not without a price. (I have two daughters and when it comes to the "Vette", all my children think alike. Once a Corvette gets in your blood, especially a big block mid-year, there is only one cure.