Your Best Memories

[Steven B.]

I just read a few messages about remembering "the good old days and Corvettes". What are some of your best Corvette memories?

[Roy B.]

Re: Your Best Memories

When I started Vintage Corvettes of Southern Ca.in 68. Those days was the best when we all were new learning about the Corvette helping each other work on them and driving 53's 55's . Then the club was only for 53 to 55. But later we aloud 57's.

[Ray G.]

Re: Your Best Memories

Hello;
One would be watching Corvettes and metal cars at Great Lakes Dragway on weekends;
and then seeing the same cars trying to get warranty on the physically expanded parts assemblies the following week.

OH, the good old days.
Ray

[Jack C.]

Re: Your Best Memories

45 years ago, getting my first ride in a new 63 from a neighbor as I was walking home from a Little League game. From that day on, I said "Someday I'll own one of these" Fast forward to today, I'm on my 35+ Vette.

[Stuart F.]

Re: Your Best Memories

Ray;

Corvettes weren't so big when I raced at Great Lakes (57 thru 61). My fondest memory there was with my good friend Johnny Kehoe who raced a new 58 Fuelie until he wanted something more. He went out and ordered a new 389 Pontiac Tri-Power engine (had to have muscle!) and sold me the 58 engine for a song with only about 3000 miles on it. I plunked it into a 50 Chevy coupe thinking that was the closest I would ever get to owning a Corvette. When I finally did order my own, a 63, I have kept it ever since thinking they could never beat perfection. To this day I stand back and look at it and say; Man! What a beautiful car!

Stu Fox

[D S.]

Re: Your Best Memories

While living in a small west Texas town of Rule, population of 800, in 1962 a high school senior rolled into the school parking lot with his graduation gift, a new red 1962 Corvette. That was my magic moment. Until then the only Corvettes we saw were in new car brochures.

Scott Sims
Texas Chapter

[Tim S.]

Re: Your Best Memories

1. My memories of when I was real young and the affect my Fathers 67 400hp coupe had on me. (he still has it today)
2 Bloomington at the old fairgrounds & running up and down Veterans Pkwy at night. (went over by the Holiday Inn more than a few times)

Happy Thanksgiving,
Tim

p.s I am going over to my Fathers house today, perhaps I can take another run at him about selling me his 67!!

[Jay G.]

Re: Your Best Memories

In Oct of 69 Going into my senior yr of H.S. Saw ad for 58 Vette dual quad for $600.00 Convinced my ol' man to front me $300.00 With the money from my gas station job we went over to see it. It stood on 4 jack stands. The Trans hanging out of it. (held by rope). But looked ok. No one believed we got for 600.00 even then. Winter project w/Dad. Spring of 70, Car was rebuilt on the road. My first hole-shot from the H.S parking lot with my then screamin' girlfriend was pretty hip. Lotta muscle cars, TR6s and MG's later. Still love Vettes.

[Paul J.]

Re: Your Best Memories

It's hard to say which one is best, there were so many good ones. Cruising the strip in 73 on Friday and Saturday nights and riding with top down with my girl on Sunday afternoons. Spending time and going to events with my Corvette club buddies. The day my Dad agreed to go in half on it, or maybe just polishing it on sunny afternoons.

[Clem Z.]

Re: Your Best Memories

i have 2,leaving with mrs clem on our honeymoon in 1959 in a brand new corvette and bringing home our only child,a son from the hospital in a new 1966 427 450HP corvette. no baby seats in those days as mrs clem held him on her lap.

[John G.]

Re: Your Best Memories

My oldest daughter came home from the hospital in a Corvette (1973). The mama held her in her arms.

It was 1968. Were were 18/19 years old and on this night a bunch of us were hanging out at our local meeting spot. Our cars were a mix of '55/'57/'60 Chevies, a 327 powered Nova, Olds 442, some Fords, etc. .. I think it safe to say that the 327 was the engine of choice, at least for Chevy powered cars, at that time. Of fairly recent introduction, no one we knew was running (nor could afford to buy) a BB powered Chevy.

Located close by our hangout spot was a bar. We noticed a '66 Corvette parked amongst the mix of cars. The distinctive 427 badging drew our attention and we walked over for a closer look. Not long after a couple of guys came out of the bar. From a distance one of the guys gets our attention and immediately starts running his mouth, thinking we were messing with his car. The guy appears to have downed more than a few brewski's. . .. He gets in and starts up the '66, then backs it up closer to where our cars are parked. The guy gets out and stands up on the hood of the '66 - calling us out! .. There were about 10 of us. We can see this guy is borderline drunk, and let it go at that. .. The guy's buddy has his upper lip sticking to his teeth trying to get the guy calmed down, before a fight breaks out.

The mouthy guy calms down and gets off the hood of the Corvette. We come to find out that this guy is a used car salesman and he and his bud are out cruising the '66 around. Soon, the talk gets around to racing. .. One of the guys in our group, Larry, has a 327/350 hp powered '55 Chevy with 4:56's in the rear. As far as is known Larry has never lost a race and his '55 is considered to be fast.

Not far away the stage is set. .. Larry's '55 and the '66 Corvette go at it. Larry gets the jump on the '66 and is banging away on the gears. We thought Larry had it. .. But, the '66 comes ALIVE .. The Corvette powers by Larry's '55 and that's all she wrote! .. We had just witnessed the power of a BB. . . And here we thought Larry's car was 'fast'!

After the race we head back to the hangout spot. Larry was kinda quiet the rest of the night. .. .. We never did see that 427 '66 again.




A guy I once worked with told me a story about he and his girlfriend. They were out cruising one day in his '57 Chevy when some guy in a '57 Ford pulls up alongside, goosing the gas pedal for a race. He's also trying to get the attention of the girlfriend, who's a looker. . . At a stoplight the cars are lined up, first in line. The guy starts revving the engine, raring to go. The light turns green and the guy drops the hammer. About 300 feet ahead is an entrance to a strip mall. An old lady has slowed down to make the entrance turn. My bud says he could see what was about to happen. The guy in the '57 Ford is looking left. He finally looks forward, see's the old lady's slowed/stopped car, jams on the brakes, and BOOM! ..

[Mike E.]

Re: Your Best Memories

In my 62 Gulf Oil racer, (for which I paid $3500 in 1980 and which sold this summer at Monterrey auction for $1,485,000) going into the hairpin at Laguna Seca in 1987, following Frank Buck in his 57 team car, and looking in the rear view mirror, I saw:
John Fitch driving, Zora in his yellow helmet as passenger in the old GM SS racer, and they're racing against Dick Thompson who is driving the SR-2. We were told this was a "performance demonstration", and they were going at it!!
Many wonderful Corvette memories, but I don't know that I'll every top that one!

[Stuart F.]

Re: Your Best Memories

John;

The mistake your buddy Larry made was going to a 327. By that time (mid-60's), the 283's (292+) were well developed screamers and we used to shut down many a big block in the quarter simply thru experience with traction, power shifting pulling the 4.56 gears. My 57 post was consistently doing the quarter in the low 13's at 106 mph. If a BB Vette made one slight mistake against me, he lost - too much wheel spin off the line, bogging his holley 4-barrel or Tri-power, no guts to power shift, etc.

Stu Fox

[Roger W.]

Re: Your Best Memories

Back in 1966 my buddy had just gotten home from Nam and was discharged from the Army. He really had his heart set on getting a GTX, but when he saw a 63 Fuelie Coupe at a used truck dealer, he had to have that car.
One night he was at this road where everybody use to drag race their cars. Two friends of ours were racing with cars that were not too fast.
My buddy thought he would show off and pass them both after they started. Unfortunately some woman that nobody had seen was going slow at the end of the road. To avoid her my buddy had to go over an island. He got a couple of bent wheels and minor body damage and needed an alignment, but it could have been allot worse.

[Russ U.]

Re: Your Best Memories

In my 62 Gulf Oil racer, (for which I paid $3500 in 1980 and which sold this summer at Monterrey auction for $1,485,000) going into the hairpin at Laguna Seca in 1987, following Frank Buck in his 57 team car, and looking in the rear view mirror, I saw:
John Fitch driving, Zora in his yellow helmet as passenger in the old GM SS racer, and they're racing against Dick Thompson who is driving the SR-2. We were told this was a "performance demonstration", and they were going at it!!
Many wonderful Corvette memories, but I don't know that I'll every top that one!

Mike-

Seeing Fitch/Duntov in the CorvetteSS and Thompson in the SR-2 in your rear view mirror is a heck of a story. Is Thompson the guy in the SR-2 below???