Jacobi enjoys his car hobby

When looking to purchase a show quality car, one looks for the unusual or the one that speaks to them. Wayne Jacobi found both in his 1963 Corvette Stingray.  The Stingray was only produced from 1963 to 1967 and the ‘63 version of this iconic car has a split rear window.

“It’s very collectible because of that back window,” Jacobi said. 1963 was a new design year and the engineer for the new model, Bill Mitchell won the battle with GM corporate officials to put the split window design into production. There were about 10,000 coupes produced that year in addition to that many convertibles.

Mitchell’s victory, however, was short lived, only lasting one year as the board overruled him for the production of the 1964 models.

Jacobi had always admired the split window coupe but was sure he couldn't afford one. “A friend of mine knew of one for sale. I could afford it, so I bought it,” Jacobi explained. He has owned the car about 15 years now.

“I wanted it basically for a show car but I have been playing with cars since I can remember – all my life.”

When he purchased the car it had a white exterior. “It came from the factory red, but the previous owner had painted it,” Jacobi said. “I had it repainted to the original color and put in a new interior.”

Jacobi and his wife, Vicki, live in Palmyra and when they are not going to car shows, they like to take the car on weekend excursions. “It’s basically a weekend, good weather car. We gather a lot of attention wherever we go,” he said.

It’s challenge to drive with the split window so they don’t travel very far. “It’s hard to see and little bit challenging. I just use extra precaution when driving.”

Jacobi retired from Phillip Morris and spent about 15 years helping build homes.

He and his wife have one daughter, Jennifer who is a nurse in Indianapolis. They have two grandsons, ages 8 and 10, Brody and Zachary, who right now are more interested in sports than cars. However, Jacobi recently took the 8 year old to a drag race and he seemed to enjoy it.

Besides he and his wife’s daily drivers, he has another car in his garage - a 1931 Chevrolet Coupe Street Rod. It has a modern drive train and 350 V8 cubic inch engine, automatic transmission and air. Basically, all the modern day conveniences have been included in the classic car.

He restored it, breaking it down into what Jacobi said seemed like a million pieces before strategically putting it back together.

“I’ve messed with cars all my life. It’s a good hobby to be in,” Jacobi said. He also enjoys woodworking and building furniture when he is not working on his cars.

See more stories like this in The Salem Democrat in the Bumper to Bumper special section.