Thinking tonight about some of the things I have seen that have impressed me greatly and stopped me in my tracks.
One of the things that came immediately to mind was walking to high school in the Fall of 1962 after parking my dented and rusty 51 Chevy on the street. A gorgeous new red 63 Corvette slowly rumbled by me and I knew I had to have one. It was a view similar to this:

I put that close to seeing our oldest daughter being born. Most of the other things that came to mind have to do with things I saw during the Vietnam and Gulf wars. The awesome firepower of the mini guns on a US Air Force plane as it worked over a battlefield, the sight of an MP trying to kill a Vietnamese civilian with his .45 simply for running a stop sign with his moped, the majesty of riding in an armored vehicle across the desert during an armor assault. These are things that I will remember to my dying day.
I find it interesting that the sight of that Corvette could affect me that way. I did eventually purchase a black 65 vert with white interior, black top and a 4 speed with the300/327. Still miss that car along with all the hair I used to have!
What is burned into your brain? (keep it G rated)

 

My dad coming home in a blue 60 Corvette. My dad was not a car guy at all. But for whatever reason he bought this 60 from a family friend in the mid 70's and he loved that car. He drove it to work every day except in the winter. It was a 270 horse 4 Sp car. I remember him always complaining about the gas mileage. He pasted in 2001 and never did get to see my 60. I built it to look like his. Triple blue just like his was. It's funny cause I still live in the same house. I bought it from him when he retired and moved to Montana. So I drive the same streets he did all the time. His car planted the Corvette bug in me and don't think it will ever go away. This one is mine. I only have one old photo of his that I keep in my den.

 

Around Christmas time in 1962 at the age of 12 I went to the Great Lakes Mall in Mentor, Ohio with my parents and inside on display was a SWC. I knew I had to have one someday. Three years later got to drive a 66 4 sp coupe. Well, 43 years later I bought my first corvette- it was worth the wait

 

I remember it like yesterday. I was 11, outside playing in the yard of my parents house in Elkhart, Indiana when suddenly I see a Golden 64 coupe coming down the street. Much to my surprise it pulls into our driveway. I had never seen such a vehicle before. The body was all curves and the sound of the engine was like music. The driver was a buddy of my older brother. Van was 16 and had just picked it up from the chevy dealer. Rather than brush off a curious kid, he took the time to explain what kind of car it was. I asked him if it was fast and he said, "Get In."
We drove a short distance to a long, straight empty road on the outskirts of town and he brought it to a stop. I watched the Tach needle bounce as he revved the engine and then felt an incredible rush as he popped the clutch. Suddenly we were flying as he banged through the gears without letting off the gas.
He brought it back down to legal speed and we turned back toward my street. I remember the sound of that exhaust ringing in my ears and the smell of the burning fuel in my nose. From that day on, every time Van would come over to the house I'd run out and beg him for another ride. He'd laugh and we'd do it again. It became a ritual. He never turned me down. Van was drafted a short time later and now his name is on the long black wall in Washington. He only made it to 21, but his kindness to a goofy 11 year old along with his gleaming golden (Saddle Tan) car left a lifetime impression on me. Over the years, I've often come close to buying my own midyear hoping to recreate those glorious sensations.
Until recently, the purchase of one had always seemed to be just beyond my financial capability. Now I have one of my own. Every time I fire the engine, I think about that Indiana summer long ago and the young man I will forever look up to as a role model. I registered the car and ordered a custom license plate. It reads, "IMOVANC." "In memory of Van (Evangelos) Caranasious.
Rest in peace my friend.

 

Back in 62/63 when I was 14 my next door neighbor's good friend had a 56 black with silver coves. Our houses were only about 20" apart. He would pull in the driveway with the off-road mufflers rumbling. You never forget that sound. I ended up with the car in 68 and sold it for $1800 just before going to RVN in April 69. Bought a 62 when I came back. Sold two years later when I got married ($2500). Now 40 years later I feel very fortunate to have two 62's (#29 & #10975). "Save the wave".

 

Bruce, you might be interested in this:
http://thewall-usa.com/guest.asp?recid=7794

 

WOW!!!
I was never in the service..

Really brings it all into perspective.

I just searched my home town of birth....

And my hometown now.......What a shocker...

Thanks for the link.


66jack

 

Second year in college and a classmate pulls up to the dorm driving a brand new 64 two top roadster, Fuelie none the less.
True story, his name was John RICH.
Also in 1966, I was hanging around with an older, working crowd. One summer one friend comes home with a triple black tri-power GTO.
Finally, same crowd one guy pulls up with a 66 Nassau Blue 427/450 HP coupe. Took me for a ride. Pulled a slow u-turn and jumped on it. Smoking tires through 3rd gear and immediately lost it to a 180 degree spin. Ended up looking back down the road we just came from and saw nothing but tire smoke and two black stipes on the road. Damn those were good times for a broke college kid.

 

speechless

 

Bruce, thanks for posting your story and corvetteronw for the link. In the summer of 64 my neighbor tought me how to play baseball and before I knew it he was off to war never to return. I found him today, thanks to the link and left a message to my friend of years ago

 

Reading this thread brought back fond memories. My Dad was the Sales Manager at the local Chevy dealership. every June the dealership would host the local Soap Box Derby. And every year there would be a parade with the local high school band, business sponsers, and all the participants. But the most excitement for me at 7 years old came when my Dad would cruise in the parade driving a Corvette with the Soap Box Derby Queen. The sound of the engine, the excitement of the crowd, and the brilliant shine of the car is still in my mind over 40 years later.

After the Soap Box Derby was over, my Dad would drive me home in the Corvette. What a rush!! That was in 1962, and I vowed I would someday have a Roman Red '62 Corvette. I'm glad I kept my vow and never lost the passion of the Sunday in June so long ago.

 

Bruce and Ron, I have been lurking on the CF for 1.5 years. Your posts here today have prompted me to finally register.....Very moving....thank you for your rememberances and honouring those heroes. TedK

 

Welcome aboard Ted.

 

ttt

 

My 8th grade school year, 1962/63, I'm 13 years old then. My English and Spanish teacher - Mrs. Goddard. A drop dead gorgous blonde in her mid to late 20's - and she drove a silver '63 SWC to school every day! I fell in love - with both! Got my '67 in 71, Had to wait for my second SO in 2000 to get a blonde!

I wonder what ever happened to Mrs. Goddard - she'd be in her mid
70's now...... I bet the car looks better than she does!

 

First car impression was a '54 Pontiac straight eight. That engine stretched into the next county! Funny, but Corvettes didn't impress me until the shark body style came along. Now I'm pine-ing for an Aqua '57 with white coves and interior.

 

I love this car!

 

So many things come to mind , but my first boy , my first girl, and before that my first combat jump 82th airborne and now my grandchildren. God bless everyone I knew and know.