Historical Club Treasures

Founded in 1957, Corvette Cleveland has a long history. This page is dedicated to the presentation of some of the more interesting documents and events collected by the club. We hope you enjoy your visit while viewing the exhibits.

Use the feature to view historical documents.

ar‧ti‧fact

an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest.

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  • C1 - 1953 to 1962

    It all started with the production of 300 cars in 1953. Four years later the excitement and popularity of the Corvette grew to the point where a new car club was formed in Cleveland, Ohio.

    1955

    Andy's 55 Andy Baumgardner buys a new 1955 Corvette.

    1957

    Corvette Cleveland is founded by Andy and a group of 5 to 7 other guys.

    1957/1958

    The first newsletters go out. See the progression of the newsletter title and cover art from the early days.

  • C2 - 1963 thru 1967

    The 60's were an exciting time. Corvette Cleveland was growing, NCCC was growing as well. And the famous 1963 Split-Window Sting Ray entered the scene.

    Our club became more interested in racing when a road course called Nelson Ledges was modified to support serious pavement racing. Only 40 miles from Cleveland, this road course is still a destination for the club today.

    1962

    Nelson Ledges Road Course The ole potato farm is officially paved, 'The Carousel' is added, and Nelson Ledges Road Course becomes highly interesting to Corvette Cleveland.

    1965

    The 2nd Annual NCCC Convention is held in Cleveland.

    1966

    Newsletter changes from 'Fuel Injector' to 'Mako Ray'.

  • C3 - 1968 thru 1982

    Only 5 years had gone by, and the 3rd generation Corvette is introduced. The all new body styling in 1968 was based on the Mako Shark II show car.

    1970

    NCCC introduces new numbering system.

    1972

    Corvette Cleveland has 95 members.

    NCCC announces that members joining in 59, 60 and 61 can become Charter Members. Check out the Membership Card History!

    1976

    The first Corvette Cleveland club shirt was adopted in 1976. It was affectionately referred to as the 'bowling shirt'.

    1977

    500,000th Corvette at the NCM March 15th, the 500,000th Corvette is produced! This Corvette is privately owned, but was on display at the National Corvette Museum.

    1982

    The club celebrates it's 25th Anniversary.

  • C4 - 1984 thru 1996

    Oops, what happened to 1983? No Corvettes were sold in 1983, the year the C4 Corvette was to be introduced. Actually, 44 1983 Corvettes were assembled. All but 1 have been destroyed. That remaining car is housed in the National Corvette Museum.

    So, the generation is known to begin in 1984.

    1984

    Newsletter changes from 'Mako Ray' to 'Cross-Fire'.

    1990

    Club membership dwindles to 53. The club starts to push for a membership drive.

    1991

    National Corvette Museum The National Corvette Museum is planned to be built in Bowling Green, KY.

    An invitation goes out to the club to join the museum membership.

  • C5 - 1997 thru 2004

    The C5 broke onto the scene 4 years later than originally intended. Scheduled to be the 40th Anniversary Corvette, it wasn't until 1997 that we finally saw the radically redesigned version of Chevrolet's legend.

    Corvette Cleveland was making some changes of its own. And the final year (2004) marked another exciting event in the clubs rich history.

    1999

    Corvette Cleveland News launches in April as the new Newsletter.

    Under Construction Work is started on the first CC website.

    2001

    View of Historical Website CorvetteCleveland.org is approved and the Corvette Cleveland website is born.

    2003

    The 1st Corvettes at Corsa Car show is held with 85 cars entered.

    2004

    Corvette Cleveland is invited to attend the North American debut of the 2005 Corvette (C6) at the the Cleveland Auto Show.

  • C6 - 2005 thru 2013

    The club continues to represent Corvette as history marches on. Continued support is demonstrated through numerous activities and our participation in one of Cleveland's longest running custom car shows - The I-X Piston Powered Auto-Rama, presented by Summit Racing.

    2006

    Mako Ray is reinstated as the CC Newsletter name.

    2007

    Corvette Cleveland celebrates its 50th Anniversary!

    NCCC recognizes Corvette Cleveland in Blue Bars over the years.

    The club has had many talented artists over the years. Check out some of the drawings posted in past newsletters.

    2013

    Getting Ready for Piston Power Corvette Cleveland at the annual show!

  • C7 - 2014 to 2019

    From the time the C7 arrived on the scene, our club has grown its number of these new entries. New and old members alike have been attracted. Several brand new ZR1's lead the current trend.

    2017

    Corvette Cleveland celebrates another major milestone - Its 60th Anniversary!

    Enjoy our 60th Anniversary Memory Book. Click View Topics and pick from the list.   View Topics

    President Dan Tuck (2014-2018) kicks it off with a Welcome note, our Motto an some interesting Tidbits.
    The Return of Hootie, past Presidents and Team Kahuna are celebrated.
    Newsletter cover history, past Governors and an EOR Parade.
    Celebrating Tom's 50th year as a member, The Tophie Tradition.
    Our 25th and 50th Anniversaries, and our road trip to The National Corvette Museum to celebrate!
    NCM Ambassadors and Corvettes at CORSA.
    Rich Racing History at Nelson Ledges.
    AutoX Racing is standard fare for our club.
    Car Show memories.
    Bring your car, have some fun. We have fun without our Corvettes too!
    Banquets Memories - It's all in the way you kick! Cherished traditions.
    Remembering those who have gone before us.
    Memories. Short reflections on some of our members.
    2019

    Corvette Cleveland takes 1st Place for our display at the IX Piston Powered Show! See page 6.

    Club ZR1's Mike, Danny and Fred show off their latest 2019 ZR1 acquisitions. Since this photo, Danny traded his white for red!

    Special Feature

    Review the generational history of Corvette, as written by Andrew Wendler and Kevin Wilson of Car and Driver magazine in 2013.

  • C8 - 2020 to Present

    The C8 has ARRIVED!.

    2020

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