'75 Stingray - my second Vette

To say I loved that '74 L82 Corvette Stingray coupe with custom headers and that incredible Mille Miglia color would be an understatement.  Never have I owned a car that was so exciting to drive as this, my first Corvette.  The looks I got from people at stop lights, and wonderfully, girls as I passed them on the open road - like nothing I ever owned before or since.  I purchased two more since this love affair began and I hold each one dear with memories attached to each.

Corvette number two was a beautiful '78 Stingray, Silver with Oyster interior.  I bought this one right off the showroom floor - what a rush!  The new 1979 models had just arrived with their increased sticker prices so I was in the mood for a new '78.  The '78's were becoming scarce due to the sticker shock attached to the '79 and while shopping I found myself on the showroom floor of a Corvette only dealership in Fort Worth, Texas negotiating for a bit of an oddity.  These guys had a new '79 on the showroom floor that was imported from France.  Why and how they had this particular car I can not remember, but they did and I wanted it.  French or no French she was beautiful.

As you can imagine it was pretty much the same Corvette, the word Unleaded written in French and other small things like that were the only differences I can recall.  Here was something just different enough to make me want it.  But the car gods were not  shining down on me this day, I wasn't able to get the price where I needed it.

 
Disappointed indeed, but not for long.  I was lucky enough to find a '78 in Oklahoma and had it shipped in. Three days later I was sitting in my new Silver and Oyster model.  Don't know why it was called Oyster, but that is what it was.  And it is the only time I can remember a Corvette with partial leather and cloth seats.  As with a lot of other folks during the disco '70's I lost my '74 L82 in a divorce and found myself craving another Vette - this one came into my life at just the right time.  I paid $12,500 for this car, kept her clean and garaged.  I held onto her for 15 months and sold her to a newly wed couple for just under $15,000. 

These days I can be found cruising around Dallas with my wife in our 2002 C5 convertible, the one you see across the top of this blog.  We were shopping for a new car for her - looked at ragtops by Mercedes, Jaguar and a couple of others, but when she sat in this C5, it was all over.  She was hooked and I was once again happy, happy.  This baby was individually owned by the dealer and had been totally loved - extremely low mileage and showroom condition.  We bought it on the spot and it stays garaged except on nice weekends when we go down to Keller's for burgers and beer.
George -

50th Anniversary Edition

I have a friend who, in 2003 purchased a new 50th Anniversary Edition Corvette. Every 2003 Corvette built is a 50th Anniversary Corvette - but as we know Chevrolet created a limited edition series, and this is what my friend Charlie bought.  And it is a beauty.  Charlie purchased the car and put it in his garage, and there it remains.  He feels very strongly that when he sells his baby it will bring him a profit and I believe it will.  Another friend, Warren, did the same thing.  When Plymouth created the Prowler - Warren purchased the Purple Prowler and stuck it in his garage, and there it sits.  Now both guys will bring the cars out to clean and make sure they continue to start and that's cool.  As for me, I'm not inclined to do this.  Yes I have a C5 and my wife and I love it.  It stays pretty much in the garage, only to come out on pretty days (usually on a weekend) when we can take the top down and cruise.  Sometimes we just take it down to Keller's - the best car hop burger shack in Dallas, order cheeseburgers and a beer and watch other guys in their custom cars and others on their bikes.  Great times.  But back to the 50th Edition and Charlie.  I started thinking about his car and jumped out to the internet - typed in 50th Anniversary Corvette and was amazed at what I found.

The 1953 Corvette was and is a remarkable car.  The design contains some of the greatest lines ever placed on a chassis.  It started the love affair for a lot of us.  The C5 is also a great design bringing the Corvette back to the muscle it was missing in the 80's. No offense C4 dude's. So to mark the 50th Anniversary special Chevrolet gave us the Limited Edition series.  Ah, but, there is another version of that beautiful C5. 

"What if someone took the look of the original 1953 Corvette - and updated it to fit onto the high-tech chassis of the C5 Corvette?"  Well that's just what a former GM designer, Steve Pasteiner did.  His company Advanced Automotive Technologies took a C5, made some design changes and created the "1953 Commemorative Edition".  Jump out to their site and take a look.  You decide, and if you like the design, you can own one of these babes. I must admit the look is very intriquing, you have the '53 look on both the front and back end, some changes along the sides and they made some nice additions to the interior. 

From the AAT Cars website - 'Our 1953/2003 Commemorative Edition combines the retro styling of the original 1953 Corvette with the modern power and comforts of todays Corvette. By blending the classic styling of the 1950's with performance, comfort, and technology of the 21st century, the 1953-2003 Commemorative Edition offers the best of both eras.' 

AAT says they have delivered 155 of these models.  More information and some terrific pictures are available at http://www.50thcommemorative.com/ This is a web site that Chaz Cone, owner of CEC #11 has begun and shows where each vehicle has been shipped and many stories and pictures from each owner. 

This site is where I found the 53-C5 photo above.

George -

My First Corvette

In 1967 I was in a parking lot in Fort Worth Texas on my way to a barber shop with my Father and Brother when I saw it.  It in this case was a beautiful red '63 Corvette Sting Ray Coupe.  I just stopped and stared and said something like 'someday I'll own one of these'.  No matter what I uttered the fact is I was in love.  It wasn't until much later that I found out exactly what the car year and model were and much later Gary, my writting partner on this blog, tried to convince me I could afford a Sting Ray.  Together we found a '62 owned by an individual that gave me a chance to test drive.  The handling and short stroke of the shifter increased my love for this automobile.  But, timing was wrong so I wasn't able to purchase this particular car, either my offer was wrong or his price too high - it doesn't matter because what counted most was I finally got to drive a Corvette.

Years later I bought my first Corvette.  I found a beautiful 1974 L82 Corvette Stingray coupe with custom headers, Mille Miglia (a red/orange) on the outside and medium saddle on the inside.  Absolutley beautiful. It was owned by a guy that had too many cars and owned too many companies.  Everything was perfect and I finally had the car of my dreams.  The Corvette pictured here is very close to my first Vette - a tad bit more red than what I had and this one is not an L82.  Never the less she's a real beauty.
George -