EarlyCorvettes Home

Photo Collection

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VIN Number Info

Noland's Books

Russ' Websites

I approach Noland about two years ago with the idea of letting me build a website with some of his Corvette materials. Noland is a uniquely generous man, and gave me the green light without hesitation. His one request - he wanted me to encourage people to join the Solid Axle Corvette Club and the NCRS.

The more I scanned, the more I realized that Noland had invested a great deal of time, effort and money in building his collection. I personally do not believe that Noland's financial rewards have been commensurate with his investment. And I started to realize that time constraints would prevent me from publishing his entire collection on the web in the near future.

So I approached Noland about the idea of selling digital copies of his collection. This would allow many more people to access Noland's collection. This would also allow the Corvette hobby to thank Noland for his efforts at a time when Noland is well into retirement. Noland liked the idea of selling digital copies, and encouraged me to pursue the idea.

Thus, we are going to sell digital copies of Noland Collection, with all the proceeds going to Noland.

Reason #2 - The Digital Collection is AWESOME

Noland's Digital Corvette Collection contains a vast amount of information regarding 1953 thru 1967 Corvettes. This collection tracks the history and growth of the Corvette restoration hobby. Noland acquired much of this information directly from GM or from Corvette hobbyist over a 40 year period of time. Thus, Noland's collection is both unique and vast. Scanning Noland's collection required 18 months and the use of three scanners (often all at the same time). Nobody will ever again make that effort. So the offer is a one-shot deal.

The collection contains 4 main groupings - photos, documents, GM diagrams, and VIN related info (survey forms, letters from hobbyist, etc).

The Photo Collection is incredible. GM gave Noland many color and black and white negatives, generally 4in x 5in. I scanned these at very high resolution. Converting these scans into a large poster is about a 3 or 4 click operation over the internet. The detail and quality of the pictures is just stunning - you will see things that you have never seen before (click here to see a comparison of a Noland book photo with one of my scans). I believe that hobbyist will see things in these high resolution scans that will challenge conventional wisdom. GM also printed off thousands of 8x10 photos for Noland. I scanned most of these at very high resolution as well. The quality of these scans is fantastic, but not quite as good as the scans directly from Noland's GM negatives. But it is still very easy to make a large poster form the 8x10 scans as well. Noland's photo collection also includes thousands of scans of personal photos - photos that either Noland shot or that were sent to Noland by hobbyist. These are not nearly as nice as the GM stuff. But still some great pics - some of the pics appear in Noland's books of course. I scanned all of these photos in a pretty high resolution as well. I scanned about 22,500 GM and personal negatives and hard copies (this number includes the backsides of some pics if Noland had identifying info on the backside). Copyrighted pictures will contain a heavy watermark with the copyright holder's name. Most pictures are not copyrighted, however.

The Document Collection is impressive as well. I scanned roughly 3700 letters, memos, brochures, articles, etc. Probably about 30,000 pages of information. This collection spans from about 1970 thru 2000, which is when Noland was very active in the hobby. The Document Collection contains a wealth of information and insights, including a number of internal GM documents that are not in the public domain. Zora apparently gave Noland some interesting documents over the years, because Zora's initials appear on some of the memos. This collection is just fascinating. For C2 fans, the collection includes the only known copy of the 1966 AO Smith AIM. Personal information will be redacted to the extent possible in the Document Collection.

The GM Diagram collection is unique. I scanned approximately 3400 GM diagrams relating to C1s and C2s. I don't know how useful these diagrams are to restorers - most of the parts in the diagrams have been reproduced now so I don't think the diagrams will help produce more parts. But the diagrams do reflect a great deal of information - and will likely cause some to rethink conventional wisdom regarding certain parts.

The VIN Collection is absolutely unique. Thousands of Corvette guys and gals sent Noland info regarding their cars, identified by VINs, from the late 1970s thru the 1980s. Noland saved all of this stuff. Noland probably has car specific information relating to 3000 or more 1953 thru 1967 Corvettes. One day, while I was scanning boxes of loose papers, the thought hit me - why would I ever buy a Corvette that was not reflected in Noland's database? (Side note - When I purchased my gold 1953 #276 car, I knew it was a real deal 1953. Ed Thiebaud gave me a pic of the car from 1972, and I could tell it was the same car). Noland's VIN info allows you to see old info on a car you might already own, and scope out the next car you might want to buy. Each document containing VIN info will have a file name reflecting the year of the car and the 3, 4 or 5 digit VIN. This makes it VERY EASY to search for a car on your computer. For example, if you see a 59 Corvette for sale with a VIN of 6279, you simply run 6279 thru your computer search function (focus on file names), and you will instantly see if Noland had any info related to the car (owner's names and addresses will be redacted).

Here are the terms of sale:

1. All proceeds (less the cost of the storage media and shipping) go to Noland.

2. You must agree not to build a competing website using Noland's Collection. You are allowed to create a website using up to 25 photos, 25 documents, 25 diagrams, and 25 VIN info items.

3. You can post low resolution photos, documents, diagrams and VIN info items on Corvette related chat groups (NCRS, CorvetteForum, CorvetteActionCenter, etc) within reason. You agree not to post more than 5 items from Noland's collection per day.

4. You can email low resolution photos, documents, diagrams and VIN info items within reason. You agree not to email more than 5 items from Noland's collection per day.

5. You will not otherwise sell, distribute or transfer the Collection to any other person (except an immediate family member).

The Noland Adams Digital Collection ships on December 10, 2010 (or thereabouts, but in time for Christmas). All of the work is done.

Pricing:

1. The Base Model - $199 (28GB of data):

Contains Noland's entire Digital Collection described above. Pictures will be approximately 1100 x 1100 in size, all watermarked with "Noland" if not watermarked with copyright holder, and will be lightly compressed jpeg files. GM Diagrams will be 2000 x 2000 in size, all watermarked with "Noland".

$150 for Noland's Digital Collection

$34 for an 120GB USB Hard Drive

$15 flat fee for shipping and handling

Paid to Noland via check, money order or PayPal.

2. The Airbox/L88 Model - $349 (117GB of data)

Contains Noland's entire Digital Collection described above. Pictures and GM Diagrams will be approximately 3000 x 3000 in size and will lack the "Noland" watermark (Copyrighted photos will contain a watermark reflecting copyright holder). All photos are high quality jpegs.

Paid to Noland via check, money order or PayPal.

To Order:

For Checks & Money Order:

Noland Adams
P.O. Box 1134(415)
El Dorado CA 95623

You must also send me an email with shipping instructions:
Russ Email

For Paypal:

Nolands paypal address: noland.adams@gmail.com

You must also send me an email with shipping instructions:
Russ Email

Contact Russ Uzes:

Russ Uzes
(415) 389-9030
Russ Email