Why a Corvette? Why not a Thunderbird or a Plymouth, etc?

[Bob H.]

When I was 10, my family moved to Florida. Accross the street from our home were brothers that both had 53/54 Corvettes. They raced them and were always working on them. What I recall and stuck with me were those cool headlight covers. That was my first love affair with a car. One day a ride in one of those cars sealed the deal for me.

My next and most memorable experience was when Buzz and Todd came to Ft Myers and filmed some Route 66 episodes. Of course they filmed during the week which led to me skipping school for the very first time. I'll never forget the new 63's brought in on a carrier. I spent every moment I could in and around those cars.

Growing up very poor, it took a long time to acquire my first Vette but I have made up for lost time in recent years.

What's your story?

[Valeria H.]

Re: Why a Corvette? Why not a Thunderbird or a Plymouth, etc?

I was driving my newest Corvette yesterday (Trixie) 2005 Millennium yellow when a little boy (at the most 4 yrs old) and his mother were crossing the street. He was mesmerised looking at my car, body turned towards it and pointing trying to get his mother's attention. It was amusing to see how young males are when they truly appreciate a "work of art on wheels". He was truly "in Love". My husband who was in the passenger seat commented, "Oh Yeah, he is in love with your car and in 10 years he will be trying to steal it from you."

Now to your point - 30 years ago I was getting ready to purchase my first car after graduating from nursing school. I wanted a foreign sportscar but my father worked for a GM dealership and insisted I buy American made. I did not like the new corvettes at the time but loved the C1's. 1 week later I answered an ad in the Reading Eagle about the sale of an ugly 1960 in brown primer. Much to my father's objections I purchased the car and we have been together ever since. She has cost me dearly over the years but she has been worth it. My corvettes are my children.

Why not another car? Because they are just cars.

BUT, A CORVETTE IS FOREVER!

[Kenneth F.]

Re: Why a Corvette? Why not a Thunderbird or a Plymouth, etc?

When I was a junior in high school in 1962, one of my classmates had a 1961, 270h.p. 4:11's. It was black with silver coves, and red interior. That car started my interest.
I got a demonstration of speed in a 1968 427 with three carburetors and a high red line tach, this same guy owned in 1968. I thought my skin on my face was going to pop. We were going down a fairly steep hill when he opened it up. We were quickly over a hundred. He had taken possession of the 1968 in Denver, and coming through Nevada he said he he opened it up and watched the fuel guage move.
He had also owned a three carburetor 1967, 427 I never did get to ride in, but he said the 1967 was a lot faster than the 1968. I wish I could see the numbers on that engine.
We lived near S.F. and there were lots of Corvettes around there in the 1960's.
Ken

[Jim S.]

Re: Why a Corvette? Why not a Thunderbird or a Plymouth, etc?

My brother-in-law had a new 1966 425 horse 427 and then a new 1968 435 tripower. The 1968 turned a 12.38 at 112/113 at the NHRA Tri-City Dragstrip with just 7 inch cheater slicks, 4.56 gears, and open exhausts. He always said that the 1966 was faster although he never had any official time slips on it.
Jim

[Stuart F.]

Re: Why a Corvette? Why not a Thunderbird or a Plymouth, etc?

In answer to your specific question; I never planned or coveted having a Corvette of any year or vintage. Back in the day, most of my hobby time and money was spent on Chevy cars - most with Corvette derived engines. Sveral of my more afluent friends had Corvettes or new early muscle cars, and I worked on a them for street and strip mods.

However, while in the service down at WSMR, New Mexico, I planned to buy a Chevy Biscayne with a 409. I'd saved my coins and was fairly confident that I would spend my entire enlistment there and get back to my Hot Rod youth days when I got out. However, a close buddy of mine there, also from Wisconsin, talked me into putting my money into a new 63 Corvette. His Mom was a restaurant owner in a small town and a member of their Chamber of Commerce along with another member who owned the small local Chevy Dealership. He was alloted two new Corvettes and offered to sell one of them on special order to her for her son (and me as the silent partner). We speced the order around what we could afford and he arranged to sell it to us at his cost (I think he had a thing for my Buddy's Mom).

We ordered the car in April and went home to take delivery in August. No sooner did we drive the car back to New Mexico when I came down on levie to go to SEA for the balance of my enlistment (13 mos). My buddy, being a Berlin Crisis draftee, got out about the same time as I left so we only had a few months to enjoy the car, i.e. trip to the Grand Canyon, trip to Las Vegas, and blasting around the back roads of New Mexico and west Texas.

After that, the car had a very involved history including several years of storage both in my buddy's possession and mine until he passed away in 1975. His wife offered to part with her inherited stake in the car for $10. as she knew he would want me to have it, and she could not drive it (4-speed, metallic brakes and fast ratio steering).

Our family has been through a lot since then and we considered selling it several times, but my wife understands the intrinsic value it has for us and would not part with it. It will probably go to my son(s), specially my one son who is an NCRS member as well and already owns a 96 G.S. and a 08 Pace Car.

Stu Fox

[Jay G.]

Re: Why a Corvette? Why not a Thunderbird or a Plymouth, etc?

While growing up in a Small town of 500 people. During the Summer about 8-10 of us gang would always go down to Powers Cheverolet.
On Sun AM. To see the latest wreck.
The guys graduating H.S. in late 50 and early 60's were a drinking bunch.

So every Fall always look forward to the NEW Chevy's being introduced. Sept 63 @ 11 yrs old walked into the showroom to see Silver on Red 63 Split/ F.I. Never forgot it. Looked Just right for the New Space Race to the Moon that was happening then.
Plus always loved to see 1957 Black Corvette built by Kevin Murray with a BB 409 in it.
Murray later on became pretty famous building Drag Rails shiiping all over the Country.

[Michael J.]

Re: Why a Corvette? Why not a Thunderbird or a Plymouth, etc?

It has taken quite a while for me to warm up to Corvettes, partly because of the bad experiences (mechanical, electrical, fit and finish) I had early on with them. Of course in high school, in the mid-late '60s, they were much sought after. But in my small NM town, very few existed, just too expensive for most anybody. Most of my friends had Mustangs, Camaros, GTOs, 442s, and Mopars.

I sat in my first Corvette, a used 1970 LT1 roadster, after grad school in the mid-70s. Bought it on the spot. Little did I know it had a badly bent frame from a major accident and the steering pieces had been reattached to the frame in newly drilled holes so it looked straight. It was then I found out how expensive these cars are to fix. I then traded that for a new 1981 Vette. It was so badly underpowered, and the interior trim and fit were so shoddy, but it was fun to drive and looked cool. In a few years the electrical and trim started having many problems, so I swore off Corvettes until 2004. I bought a new LeMans edition convertible, at a huge discount from new, as the C6s were coming out and nobody wanted the last C5s. It also had electrical problems (ate a battery about every 6 months, a leaking gas tank, and again poor quality interior trim and fit and finish. It was fun to drive too, and looked cool, but the front end scraped on almost any driveway and was a pain to park anywhere with concrete parking borders since you can't see anything up front. I traded it off too within a few years.

Then I decided to try older ones. I got a '66 L79 coupe, I loved it, no problems at all, and I could fix it if there ever were. Got another C2, a '67 L71 coupe, again wonderful and this time very fast and powerful too. I love these cars and am a true Corvette fan now. I still have other muscle cars from my youth, a '64 Dodge Max-Wedge and a '68 Shelby GT500KR, but I like the Vettes the most, I think, but those others are also fun.

[Martin N.]

Re: Why a Corvette? Why not a Thunderbird or a Plymouth, etc?

Back in 65 (I was 13 years young then) our neighbor brought home a new black 65 convertible on a Saturday mornin'. Dad & I went 2 doors down to congradulate him on his newest "family" member. He gave me my first "top down" ride in a vette! Been in love with them ever since.

Marty

[Dennis O.]

Re: Why a Corvette? Why not a Thunderbird or a Plymouth, etc?

In 1967, I had been married to my first wife for 2 years, and we had finally saved enough money to buy a new car. I had my heart set on a L79 Nova, while she wanted a Chevelle or LeMans 2dr hardtop. We kept pestering one of the salesmen at the local Chevrolet about price and options, and somehow, we compromised (?) on a Corvette. He made us a hell of a deal ($4130 for a car that stickered at $4995) just to get rid of us, I think. I special ordered it in March (a L79 coupe with a 4-speed, power brakes, tinted glass, the AM/FM radio and a leather interior), and it was delivered about June 10th. I turned 25 on June 19, but couldn't wait to get my new car. I ended up paying through the nose for the first 10 days of insurance, but it was worth it. The best day of my life was picking the car up at the dealership on my way home from work. 24 Years old, a new Corvette, and a beautiful (large-breasted) 23 year old wife waiting for me at home. The wife didn't last, but the car sorta did. I sold it after a couple of years, and went Corvette-less until 1987, when I got a nice '67 Goodwood green L79 coupe from Texas through Steve Hendrickon (if you know who he is). I still have a '67 L79 coupe (at my age, Goodwood green is a better color than Sunfire yellow). I ended up with the Corvette I always wanted, and Hendrickson ended up with my wife. I know I'm happy the way it turned out; you'll have to ask him what he thinks.

[Jim S.]

Re: Why a Corvette? Why not a Thunderbird or a Plymouth, etc?

I was a young engineer at Saginaw Steering Gear Division, GMC in late 1974. At the time, Corvettes were on allocation such that there were only 15 available for Saginaw Division salary employees to be able to order. I placed my name for a 1975 convertible. Unfortunately, I did not have enough seniority to make the top 15.

The next year, the 15 people that obtained 1975 Corvettes were eliminated from contention, and I was able to make the list for a 1976 Vette. It wasn't a convertible but I was happy.

Jim

[Domenic T.]

Re: Why a Corvette? Why not a Thunderbird or a Plymouth, etc?

I was in a model airllane club giving a flying demonstration at a highschool field on the 4th of July and was proudly walking thru the parking area with my airplane that I thought would get attention.
Instead every one was gathered around a new red 63 coupe, That was it I fell in love.
Later I worked on them in a body shop when they thought fiber glass was hard to work on. The owners son & I were school buddies and we did a lot of vette work as they became vette specialists.
I married and moved to CA and worked a chevy dealership where I struggled to make ends meet.
A service writer came up to me and said "theres a vette you ought to buy it's wrecked" I didn't have much of any thing but time so I looked at it and it was a 67 coupe 427/435 with headers, yes glass packs, and modified exhaust. I hated big blocks then and dark green wasn't the color I would choose with dark green interior. BUT it was affordable because of it being wrecked and all signs of being beaten by some idiot.
so I borrowed the money and bought it. It took about a year to get it up and running. It had about 22,000 hard miles on it with a 4:11.
I put a 365 HP 327 in it and showed a few big blocks a thing or two. My body shop buddy gave me a 65 small block hood so that the big block would not get the credit when I dusted someone.
Then I found it, a red 63 coupe on blocks, in a farm yard, with front end damage and a few cracks where the boat he was towing hit him.
The guy said he wanted the engine and trans along with the radiator, wheels, tires, and radio so he could put them in his JEEP.
And yes the rest was mine for $150.00.
I enjoyed the 67 with the SB for years but now in it's in a frame up and go's back to what it was when it was born.
The 63 coupe is in progress now after 39 years and the 67 is ready for paint and the body to be reunited with the frame.
I CAN'T WAIT

DOM

[Chuck L.]

Re: Why a Corvette? Why not a Thunderbird or a Plymouth, etc?

When I was a senior in High School in 1960 I had a '59 Impala white/red convertible. I had fallen in love with my Chevy's 348 4bbl power by then. One Sunday I saw an ad for a 1958 Corvette and decided to check it out. It was owned by a dentist and was a white/red 270 HP 4-Speed. We took it out for a drive and he told me to floor it. It pushed me back in the seat!
I went home and told my Dad I wanted to get a job and buy it.

He said OK, you can get a job first and buy the car or you can go to college. I was completely devastated. For some reason I decided on college and paid my way through for 4 years. Near the end of the 4 years, my Mother said you can buy a new Corvette and we will split the payments. I ordered a 1963 red roadster in December of 1962 and my parents picked it up in June of 1963 while I was still at school. I could not wait to get home and drive it! It was $4400, and we paid on it for 2 years before I had a permanent job and got married. Then my wife and I paid the final payments.Except for a period from 1969 to 1976 we have always had a Corvette in the garage.

[Jon S.]

Re: Why a Corvette? Why not a Thunderbird or a Plymouth, etc?

[Clem Z.]

Re: Why a Corvette? Why not a Thunderbird or a Plymouth, etc?

i had wrecked my new 1959 348 3X2 4 speed impala and it was at the dealership to be repaired. i stopped by one day to see the progress and the dealer had 3 new 59 vettes in the show room,a crown sapphire,a black one and a white one. i bought the crown sapphire because it was the only one with a hard top but after the first Pa. winter the hard top never went back on. YES we drove them in the snow back then. the other 2 went to people i later met thru the corvette club of western pa. elmer foley who bought the white one and bill shields who bought the black one. small world

[Dick W.]

Re: Why a Corvette? Why not a Thunderbird or a Plymouth, etc?

I bought my first Vette, a '61, in late '62. At that time, just another used car to me. Something to drive a little while and flip for a few bucks profit. I will always remember that I made over $700 on that car, a small fortune back then. I went thru a menagerie of cars, letter series 300 Chryslers, new Dodge Chargers, Plymouth Superbird, old style Dodge PowerWagon, etc before I bought another '61 in '70. The purists here would have a heart attack if they had seen that car when I sold it, front bumpers removed and the opening closed up, six tail lamps, tunnel ram sticking thru the hood, epoxy metalflake paint. Whew! Fast forward a few years to a '74, another "creation", then the '69 L/88, '64 365 A/C coupe, '66 425 hp coupe, and finally "Kermit" the '72. I am sure that I missed one or three there. Been a lotta fun, met a lotta friends.

Latest projects are two IHC trucks, and I do mean projects. How do you put a pile of rust back together? Have most of the pieces