One of just 41 1965 Chevrolet Corvettes built with the N03 36 Gallon Fuel Tank, known in the Corvette hobby as the “Big Tank” or “Tanker” option, this is the only known 1965 Tanker to also combine the Rochester fuel-injected L84 327/375 HP small-block V-8 with Tuxedo Black paint. Produced on February 18, 1965, it was further equipped with the Muncie M20 wide- ratio 4-speed manual transmission, power-assisted 4-wheel disc brakes, Kelsey-Hayes finned aluminum knock-off wheels, off-road exhaust system, power windows, leather upholstery, Soft Ray tinted glass, a teakwood steering wheel on a telescopic column, and F40 special heavy-duty suspension. The car was delivered new for export and shipped to Lima, Peru, and it was apparently raced extensively. In one of those coincidences that add special luster to the provenance of a collector Corvette, in 1974, Roy Sinor of Tulsa, Oklahoma, happened to be in Peru on business when he saw this 1965 Tanker Fuelie coupe while visiting the Southern Peru Copper Corporation in Lima; Sinor, of course, would go on to become a widely respected Corvette expert and, beginning in 1996, the National Corvette Restorers Society’s National Judging Chairman for 17 years. After 32 years under the ownership of South Americans Gerald William Kloos and Egilio Muller, in 1997 the car was returned to the U.S. and purchased by Dick Ferrando of D&A Corvette in Gillespie, Illinois, on behalf of his clients, Alvin and Ronnie Steinman of Connecticut. It remained in Ferrando’s care for two years until he was able to obtain verification of the car’s authenticity by a group of NCRS judges. Ferrando then commenced an in-depth body-off restoration to award-winning, as-original condition while retaining such original components as the aluminum wheels, goldline tires and off-road exhaust. The completed car immediately began collecting the top awards in the Corvette hobby. A 2002 inductee into the Bloomington Gold Special Collection, it has also earned multiple NCRS Top Flight awards and two of the Corvette hobby’s most prestigious honors: the Performance Verification Award and the NCRS Duntov Mark of Excellence Award, requiring the Performance Verification Award as a prerequisite, followed by another 97% score at a National event, all within a three-year period. In 2015, the car was invited to the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals’ First Annual Corvette Invitational Display and Bloomington Gold’s 50th Anniversary Salute to the 1965 Corvette. In addition to the Steinmans, this Big Tank Fuelie coupe has also been in the John Justo Collection and the Lindquist Corvette Collection, evidence of its unimpeachable quality and exclusivity. The car’s exceptional documentation includes engine stamp and trim tag affirmation by Al Grenning’s Classic Car Affirmation Service, LLC; an NCRS/GM Shipping Data Report; a signed appraisal from Tomas Martinez Cuajone, mechanical dept. de Lima, Peru; Peru license plate No. PE D G1-1356; photos of the car in South America; registrations, a bill of sale and documents from Ministerio de Transporties; a title in the name of Nicolich Muller Egilio; and all recent show awards.
