Murray Sawchuck is known best as a world-class stage illusionist, magician, and resident expert historian on all things magic-related for History channel's hit show "Pawn Stars," but he's also a big-time car guy. That passion was instilled in him from his father, who would point out cars while they were driving down the road and instantly call out their makes and models. Now he's the proud owner of - among other cars - a 1973 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray he bought from an old farmer in a small town in Tennessee.
Auto World News spoke with Sawchuck about his '73 Corvette and bonding with his dad over a love of cars.
AUTO WORLD NEWS: How did you find the car? Do you know its history?
Sawchuck: I always wanted to have a Corvette. I love classic cars, I love old cars because they have so much style. Cars today - every car - looks the same. A Chrysler 300 in the dark looks like a Bentley in dark. I like the old cars. I was touring Hawaii and I had a pickup truck, but I started looking and I always liked the 73 Corvette. That was the last year they had chrome on cars because the '74 had chrome on the front and back only for safety. That's one of the reasons why I liked it.
As for the history, I actually looked on eBay. There were four different Stingrays there at the time and I thought, "Man if I get them all I'll be in trouble, I only need one!" [laughs] I got this one in Greeneville, Tenn. from a farmer who lived an hour away from the nearest airport. He had a 25-acre little house and a wooden shed in back with a super long gravel driveway. He had the car parked in there, and he loved the car. He was in the process of restoring and it bringing back to original shape. But he was older and couldn't get into the car anymore. He was in his 70s. His name was Raymond, and I found out he passed away a year ago.
Did you always have a love of cars and, if so, why?
I always had a love of cars. My father loved old cars. He thought they had lots of style and class. When we would go driving when I was younger, my dad would name off the model of any car under 1985 or older. I pretty much bet on the year and maker of any car. When they dropped me off from the hospital, he had a '93 Grand Pontiac that he gave to me a couple years ago. It was the car that brought me home from the hospital as a baby. So he taught me to appreciate cars - and he really liked the chrome.
And what does your dad think about the Stingray?
He loves the Stingray; he always liked those cars. The only problem is that it's a sports car, so you only can fit a briefcase in it [laughs]. But he really liked chrome and I wanted one I can work on. Old cars are easy to fix, with the new cars it's almost impossible with the computers in them now.
Did you always want this model?
Yeah - the Stingray! I love the fact that it has a big engine - a 350 8-cylinder engine. You can't beat the power of that car and the engine. The inside of the car has the old wood paneling, stripes on the inside and black on black. The original car was green, he [Raymond] changed it from green to red and the interior used to be red. I love the power and strength it has, and I kept everything original.
What are the technical specifications?
It's a manual, 350 cubic engine, 8-cylinder engine. It's a two-wheel drive automatic.
Was it hard for you to find original parts?
I didn't realize this until I owned it, but I've had it for five years and it's not that hard to find Corvette parts. They always make Corvettes. The Corvette America site has a full line of original parts. They also have knock offs and they're cheaper. But they only make the parts once every couple years, like the panels. I had to look for someone to remodel and put them on the actual car. It was a little hard to find, but when I got the car, it was half restored. I had to search online and keep an eye out for a couple of things.
Any great stories about driving it? Or special memories attached?
It's funny because getting in those cars is really hard because when you're sitting in the car you're on the ground and the dashboard is eye level. When my father first drove the car he said, "When you're in this car, you wanna make sure you know where you're going because you're stuck in it for a while!" [laughs].
What's also funny is that when my mom and dad both came to visit me, I had a truck that's a stick and this one [the Corvette] is automatic, I wanted an automatic. But stick shift was not an option for my mom because she can't drive stick. So she came to visit me in Vegas and I told her to drive the Corvette because it's automatic. I told her, "You'll be fine!" So she takes the Corvette to the grocery store and she got some interesting looks - you know, this old lady buying milk and eggs and driving a Corvette [laughs]. It's not your typical shopping car!
What did you do to the car? Was this a "nuts and bolts," frame-off restoration or a drivable survivor you've just maintained?
Well it had a great paint job and a great interior. It had carpet in it, the moldings, and the door panel was rough. These cars, if they're left out rain, allow water to leak into the seals, the paneling, seats and carpeting. The dashboard and engine were all redone, it has the all original bottom half. I got new tires, new rims and the original rims were chrome. Then there was the back-end breaks, mufflers - so I did all the stuff you don't see. All the stuff he [Raymond] did was the fun stuff. All stuff that I did was to keep it running because it was pretty weathered.
Who designed/handled the restoration?
I do most of the stuff myself. There are various body shops in town that got to work on the actual car. Recently, there's this new shop, Ronny's in Las Vegas. There's a guy, Tony Goldberg, who is a great mechanic in Vegas. He's one of those guys who knows all about cars. He knows everything. This generation now, they're not learning about old cars. With the new cars, all you have to do is hook it up to a computer. And other another mechanic, Sam from In & Out Tire & Auto in Vegas has done a lot of work as well. It's got good bodywork done on the back from the Jack of Diamonds Auto Body shop. They do body and paint; they do a lot of police department cars in town. There's an Australian guy over there, so different people around town so it's good when you're picky.
Any customizations? Or will you be making changes?
I'm pretty much done. The only thing is to overhaul the whole engine but it hasn't been too bad.
Have you entered it in any car shows? If so, have you won any awards?
Yeah, I did a couple car shows, two of them. I did one in Tivoli Village, it's an Italian area with little shops and cigar bars. They had a Halloween car show and I dressed up the car for Halloween, made it with a devil tail and horns. That was kind of fun. It got an honorable mention for that. Then there was this show at a bar in Nevada. It's a little bar in the middle of nowhere with famous stories attached to it. The car placed 2nd or 3rd for Best Classic Vehicle. I didn't do it to win the competition. A lot of guys who compete don't drive their cars. I like to drive mine in the evenings to event or a show. These guys drive their cars on a trailer. We use our car - it's no fun having it if you don't drive it.
Also Pictured: Murray Sawchuck's wife and assistant, Chloe Crawford, a former Playboy Cybergirl and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model.
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
