I'm not sure at what age I became a fan of the Corvette, but apparently I used to give my Dad near heart attacks when I was about 8yrs old any time I saw one while we were out in the family car. "OOOHHH, LOOK!!!" from out of the blue in the back seat would startle my Dad every time. There was just something about the shape of them that set me off (we're talking the C3 era here) with my personal favourites being the '74-'82 models. When I was about 11yrs old and we were living in Sask at the time I remember sending off a letter to a Sask based Corvette Club asking if I could be an honourary member and damned if I didn't get a letter back with a membership card, decal and a warm welcome! Still remember how excited I was the day that letter arrived.
I promised myself that one day I would get me a Corvette, but then life stepped in and there was always an excuse not to pull the trigger... pregnant wife, kids needing clothes, house needing repairs, etc. But I had also bought my first motorcycle at 19 and for the next 39yrs they always had priority for any extra cash lying around after all the bills were paid (and sometimes when the bills were not paid). I still admired the Corvette, but could never justify/afford the cost of adding one to my stable.
Earlier this year that all changed when I received a settlement from Veteran's Affairs for a work related disease and suddenly I had a bit of money to spare. A brief but intense search was launched for a C3, which was abandoned after realising there weren't many around my area that didn't require a lot of work to get up to par and I so started looking at the C5/C6 era. Just wasn't interested in the C4's at all, mostly because of the wonky space age dash and the "doorstop wedge" styling. Don't mean to insult anyone who has one, I'm just sayin'. Anyway, in late Sep this year I found a nice (or so it seemed at first) '97 coupe about 1.5hrs away and after viewing it decided to buy it. It wasn't until a few days after taking possession that I found out the many issues it had. Several weeks and about $3k later it is almost where I want it to be, just needs to have the paintwork buffed (so many scratches!), the RFA module replaced (TPMS and keyfob issues) and the cause of the 1-2 bangshift sorted out.
I've put a little over 2000km on her so far and every time I take her for a spin I can't help but smile. It is everything I'd hoped it would be and now I really wish I had been able to get one when I was younger.
I promised myself that one day I would get me a Corvette, but then life stepped in and there was always an excuse not to pull the trigger... pregnant wife, kids needing clothes, house needing repairs, etc. But I had also bought my first motorcycle at 19 and for the next 39yrs they always had priority for any extra cash lying around after all the bills were paid (and sometimes when the bills were not paid). I still admired the Corvette, but could never justify/afford the cost of adding one to my stable.
Earlier this year that all changed when I received a settlement from Veteran's Affairs for a work related disease and suddenly I had a bit of money to spare. A brief but intense search was launched for a C3, which was abandoned after realising there weren't many around my area that didn't require a lot of work to get up to par and I so started looking at the C5/C6 era. Just wasn't interested in the C4's at all, mostly because of the wonky space age dash and the "doorstop wedge" styling. Don't mean to insult anyone who has one, I'm just sayin'. Anyway, in late Sep this year I found a nice (or so it seemed at first) '97 coupe about 1.5hrs away and after viewing it decided to buy it. It wasn't until a few days after taking possession that I found out the many issues it had. Several weeks and about $3k later it is almost where I want it to be, just needs to have the paintwork buffed (so many scratches!), the RFA module replaced (TPMS and keyfob issues) and the cause of the 1-2 bangshift sorted out.
I've put a little over 2000km on her so far and every time I take her for a spin I can't help but smile. It is everything I'd hoped it would be and now I really wish I had been able to get one when I was younger.