2010 with a score of 99.3. It also took home NCRS Top Flight awards at the Regional and Chapter levels in 2010. The following year a special event was hosted at Superior Chevrolet (formerly Van Chevrolet) to reunite the original owner Dave Parsons, crew chief Garland Wilson and co-racer/sponsor Randy Stafford with the Corvette they had campaigned more than 40 years prior. During that same weekend, the car was given a platinum award by the Kansas City Corvette Association. More accolades followed in 2015, when the Big Tank Fuelie was invited to be part of Bloomington Gold’s inaugural Gold Collection, which recognized a special group of 1965 Corvettes for a 50th anniversary salute. Later in 2015, the car was displayed at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals, where it won Concours Gold, the Judges Choice Platinum Pick for stock Corvette class and Triple Diamond Certification. The Corvette earned its third NCRS Top Flight award at the Meadowdale Raceway judging event in 2018. One of six Big Tank Fuelie Corvettes built in 1965 and the only known example with original paperwork, this car’s extensive documentation includes the buyer’s order (including rewrite), the original window sticker, new car invoice, all glovebox paperwork (including the radio tag, instruction sheet and AM/FM booklet), warranty book with Protect-O-Plate, owner’s manual, survey with letter and return envelope, original Corvette owners kit with wallet card, lapel pin, jacket patch and a letter from Bunkie Knudsen. As for racing, documentation includes vintage racing photographs, programs and papers compiled by Dave Parsons from SCCA events, Parsons’ racing suit, helmet and fire extinguisher, dash plaques and trophies won by Dave Parsons during his racing career. This Tanker was also inducted into the Registry of Corvette Race Cars by Jim Gessner. Ownership history is documented with copies of all previous titles back to the original MSO, correspondence between Stahl and previous owners, extensive research documentation, and two binders filled with restoration photos. David Burroughs, the founder of Bloomington Gold, was extremely impressed by the restoration of this car. While on display for Bloomington Gold judging, Burroughs referenced how accurately the vehicle duplicated the exact factory look. This Corvette became the poster car for a new judging criteria called “The Spirit of St. Louis Award,” which Burroughs described as “the most unique challenge in collector car restoration.” The award was intended for completely restored Corvettes that accurately represented the true “Industrial Art” as it rolled off the St. Louis assembly line. While the Spirit of St. Louis award never came to fruition, the endorsement from David Burroughs stands as a testament to the extreme accuracy of this Corvette’s restoration.
