Ruffis

Now it's been 23 years since the ASSC Corvette was living it's glory days. But much like us all, it still tells the stories of it's amazing youth.

This story is far too long to tell in full. It's been posted on the net before. It was featured in Corvette Fever Magazine in May of 1994. Now 23 years later its on the cover of Vette Vues Magazine!

This Corvette was made famous by Craig Pai and ASSC. It was in a feature in Corvette Fever magazine where they called on the best builders in the country to race. This Corvette beat famous names like John Lingenfelter and Doug Rippes who brought two cars each. This Vette won the entire event!

Sadly Craig passed away at a very young age and his beloved Corvette faded into automotive anonymity. It changed owners, lost it's identity, was stripped of it's motor, had it's writing scraped off, and the story was over. It was sold to several people, each who cared a little less than the last person. At it's lowest point it was advertised on the internet as "a once great car that was now good for parts".

When I found it, it was sitting on a hill along a road in Antioch, IL, with a "for sale" sign in it. The owner did not care about its past but did mention that it once had writing on it that said "ASSC" but he scraped it off.

I bought it and researched "ASSC", finding that they still existed as LRS ASSC. They were extremely helpful and told me about it appearing in Corvette Fever Magazine in May of 1994. I got the magazine off eBay and I posted the first story on this very Corvette Forum!

This Corvette Forum changed everything! As fate would have it Ryan Christensen (son-in-law of Craig Pai), just happened to search online and find this site! IMAGINE THAT 22 YEARS HAD GONE BY AND JUST A WEEK OR TWO AFTER I POSTED ON THIS FORUM THAT I FOUND THE CAR HIS FAMILY JUST HAPPENED TO GOOGLE THE CAR!

We set a date for the family to be reunited with the car at the Volo Auto Museum in August of 2016. Craig had 6 young daughters who were now adults and have kids of their own. Sadly his grand children never met him, but now they are part of the story of his car!

This Corvette was featured in Vette Vues Magazine this month (Jan 2017)!

23 years after their father made this Corvette famous and got it featured in a magazine, his family has now gotten it onto the cover of another magazine!

SEE THE JANUARY ISSUE OF VETTE VUES MAGAZINE FOR A FULL FEATURE OF THIS STORY! GOOGLE ASSC CORVETTE OR CRAIG PAI CORVETTE FOR MORE PHOTOS AND INFO OR SEE MY PHOTOS IN MY ALBUMS.


Ryan Christensen took this photo of Craig Pai's Corvette. 22 years after its glory days! 2016


22 years after their father owned this Corvette, his daughters and their children were reunited with it at the Volo Auto Museum in Illinois,


Glory Days! Craig Pai's Corvette as featured in Corvette Fever Magazine in May of 1994.


Vette Vues Magazine January 2017 Craig Pai's Legendary Corvette made the cover after 23 years gone! It found it's way home again!