How old were you?

[Gerry P.]

[Bill M.]

Re: How old were you?

i was 19 in 1976 and i bought a 65 coupe flared wheel wells duck tail hooker side pipes sun roof keystone classics with 50's and 60's and i thought it was the best looking car ia ever saw. I wish i had it today it would be a real example of what was cool in the 70's.

[Robert J.]

Re: How old were you?

It was 1963, I was 19 years old. I had more fun in that car. Didn't have a soft top so we would fill the compartment with ice and beer and head off to Half moon Bay........It's amazing I lived through those years.....My mother sold it in 65 when I went into the AF.

What ever happened to my old 57

[Brooks G.]

Re: How old were you?

In April of 1967 I was 20 years old when I bought my first Corvette which was a black 1957 for $650. It had been a drag race car and I started trying to bring it back to stock. In June I received a phone call from a fellow wanting to buy the 4-11 geared rear end from my '57. I told him I wasn't interested. A few days later he called again and told me he had something he wanted me to see. He came to our house driving a maroon and white cove '56 Corvette. He knew I wanted something that was closer to stock and this '56 was it. We took a drive in the '56 which at that time had a 327 engine and 4 speed transmission. Later in the afternoon we finally reached an agreement to trade bodies. I was not the proud owner of a stock looking 1956 Corvette with no modifications to the chassis for headers or whatever. Over the next couple of months I gathered parts and pieces in order to get the car running. My friends back in the day who only heard about the car but not seen it, referred to it as the "Figment" which was short for "figment of my imagination". On a Friday evening some time in early August of that year, I got my '56 running and made some friends of mine eat crow. Today some 42 years later I still have this same '56 Corvette which is now like one of the family. Over the years I have had a lot of things to come and go in my life but my '56 is still with me. I retired last year and after catching up on my "honey dew" list, I decided it was time to restore my beloved '56. A good friend and I took my car to a shop in North Carolina where most of the exterior body panels were replaced. At a distance the body looked OK but closer inspection showed extensive UV damage along with other body damage sustained before I bought it. My '56 came home at the end of July. Since then the body has been taken off its frame and gone to the painter. It is going to be painted its original colors--Aztec Copper and Shoreling Beige. Roy, you are not the only one who likes copper. I have a long way to go on this project but at least my wife knows where I can be found (in the garage). This project is definitely a labor of love that has definitely stood the test of time.

[Steve B.]

Re: How old were you?

i was 23 in the summer of 1999. About 3 months out of college I found '71 LS5 with 15,000 miles on it. In 5 1/2 years I put about 2000 more miles on it, took home 2 top flights, a BG Benchmark, and and Triple Crown. Sold it in early 2005......

[Thomas N.]

Re: How old were you?

It was 1979 and I was 18 when I got my own first Vette. It was a project but had lots of potential. It was a 63 early. It took me about a year to get it on the road. People that saw it in the before state (that were not gearheads) had a hard time to fathom that I actually paid money for the car. I've enclosed before and after pictures. Knowing what I know now, there are quite a few things (especially in the interior) that are not Typical Factory Production.

When I was a youngster, my dad had a 66 and I used to ride back in the rear parcel shelf. I distinctly remember looking at the dash from that perspective, and have been hooked on midyears ever since! He sold that car when my sister came along and bought a 69 big block Chevelle because of the back seat.

[John H.]

Re: How old were you?

1974 i was 16 years old. put a $100 down on a '63 convertible. Went home and told my parents...luckily i got my money back the next day!
Fast forward to 1980 i was 22 and had been working about a year after graduating college. Came across a '64 coupe in the paper and bought it that night. I still have it!

[Robert R.]

Re: How old were you?

It was 1973. I always loved the White '62 owned by the neighbor next to my cousins home. He would never sell it (and never did; when he died, his nephew got it) but would help me do work on it if I found one. Well find one I did. It definately needed work, mostly mechanical, and the price was right, $1,500. It was originally Hondouras Maroon (repainted red), 327 / 240hp, 4spd and missing the hardtop. The guy I bought it from only wanted that and resold the car to me.
My Dad and Mom thought I was nuts for buying a 12 year old car when I already had just finished paying off for my '71 Camaro, but I new better, yes I was nuts, nuts about owning that car, my first Corvette!

[Jerry K.]

Re: How old were you?

I was 26 and single, and a cop in 1969. Bought a '69 t-top white w/ red interior 350/350 for $5,200. Payment was $112 a month. Traded in my 442 because all of my friends had vettes. Mostly 65-67s. We were renting a beach house in the Hamptons on Long Island at the time. The best summer ever!!!. I thought the payment would save me from affording marriage, but it didn't. Got married late in '70, but had that "69 until 1980 and sold it for $6,000, to buy a 280ZX (big mistake). Marriage didn't last and neither did the body on the ZX. Second marriage and second Vette. Just two weeks ago bought a '66 Laguna blue/ black top, 327/300. Not because I'm 66, but because the car is beautiful!! and has been restored great. Just joined NCRS and trying to fit in! I started this thread b/c I thought guys would like to talk about their first love affairswith their Corvettes!

[Jerry K.]

Re: How old were you?

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, apparently I buy a vette every 40 years.

[Ralph S.]

Re: How old were you?

I had just turned 18 when i took delivery of a new 1969 yellow 435hp coupe in Dec 1968 and wrapped it around a telephone pole on a snowy Feb 1969 day. The car was totaled with only 1,275 miles on it.I still have the build sheet and bill of sale.

[William C.]

Re: How old were you?

Have you checked to make sure it hasn't been resurrected as an L-88 since then?

[Patrick H.]

Re: How old were you?

i was 23 in the summer of 1999. About 3 months out of college I found '71 LS5 with 15,000 miles on it. In 5 1/2 years I put about 2000 more miles on it, took home 2 top flights, a BG Benchmark, and and Triple Crown. Sold it in early 2005......

And I believe that many of us know where this car is today, correct?

[Tom L.]

Re: How old were you?

My wife and I always had an intrest in older vettes but as it is for so many...the house came first. Unfortunately my mother in law was dying of cancer and knowing there would be little left for her kids she asked them to buy "something that would make them happy".

About a year later we went off to carlisle to see what we could find. upon arriving the only guidelines were the best '71 (The year my wife was born) we could afford. After spending most of the day looking at cars one was slowly driving off the field and my wife said "I want it to sound like that", I responded by saying "then you want a big block".

About 4 months later we bought a '72 big block and began the resto. The nicest feeling we get is every time we go for a cruise it reminds us of mom.

[Edward C.]

Re: How old were you?

Bought my first Corvette in 1959 at age 21. It was a 1957 black with red interior both tops with 270hp 3 speed. Wish I still had it. Sold it for $1600 in 1961 and bought a family car as kids were on the way. Ed