Ed Thiebaud - Vintage Corvette Club

(Ed and his family - at Ed's Turkey Ranch in Central California)

Ed Thiebaud was one of the first REAL collectors / restorers of vintage Corvettes. In the early 1970s, Ed owned Corvettes #3, #5, #13, #60, #157, and maybe one or two other 1953s. And that's was just the 1953s he owned. Ed also started one of the very first Clubs dedicated to collecting and restoring Corvettes, the Vintage Corvette Club. During 1969 to 1975, the VCC added members rapidly, and published a very slick quarterly magazine.

Thus, along with Noland Adams and a handful of others, Ed Thiebaud can rightfully claimed to have left an indelible mark on the hobby of corvette collecting.

About Ed

Ed was a turkey rancher in Central California. Ed purchased his first corvette in 1963, a red 1963 Stingray. Ed attended a Western States Corvette Council Convention in 1967, and saw a restored vintage corvette at the convention. Ed was hooked. He purchased his first vintage Corvette (a 1954) in June 1967. Ed restored the 54, and took the car to a number of shows, winning a number of awards. Ed started buying more vintage corvettes (which were not very expensive to buy at that time).

Ed advertised three of his vintage corvettes for sale in the May 1968 issue of Road & Track. He received dozens of letters from all over the country inquiring about parts, cars, etc. Ed thought it would be a good idea to form a club so that people could communicate with each other, buy and sell parts and cars, and find other vintage corvette owners. Ed created the Vintage Corvette Club and placed an ad seeking members in the September 1968 Road & Track magazine.

Ed and he Vintage Corvette Club has a heck of a ride from 1968 until December 1975. During that time, Ed owned the oldest surviving corvette and a number of other ultra desirable cars. Ed appeared on the cover of the Corvette News magazine. And Ed's Vintage Corvette Club grew from a handful of members to over a 1000 strong.

A divorce and other financial setbacks forced Ed to sell his corvettes and basically give up the Corvette collecting hobby. Ed's phenominal run from 1967 to 1975 deserves to be remembered and admired.