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I bought a C4 back in '84, a 1/8 scale plastic model, '85.
I was 15.
31 years later, I bought Her, my first real Corvette, 1987. She and I will be together a long time.
Ha, that's funny! I hadn't thought of it that way but I bought a die-cast yellow on black C4 coupe at some kind of auto museum when I was about 7. Maybe 1/50th or so, bigger than a Hot Wheels/Matchbox which I believe is 1/64th. So that was my first Corvette, and it was indeed a C4. I gave it to my nephew a few years back and kind of wish I had it back now (although he has told me that he "keeps it shiny" for me).
Took me ~28 years, but my '96 is my first 1/1 scale Corvette. Couldn't be happier.
A C4 was my first choice but since there were already two of them down the street I bought a C3 (79 L82) instead. Traded it in for a C5 which I rarely drove. Made an offer on a 84 that was on eBay practically all summer which they accepted. It's my daily driver in the summer.
As my Screen name suggests, my first Vette was a C1, 1959. I bought it in 1984 in the middle of a restoration, and completed it in 1.5 years having only a carport. I still own it, and although it's no match, performance-wise, for my 95 M6 C4, it's a real time capsule and draws lots of attention and comments whenever I take it out. It's just a driver, but still lots of fun!
This is my first Vette, my '90 Z51. Unless something drastic happens, it will likely be my only Vette. We shall see.
I've basically wanted a Corvette ever since I knew what one was, lol. And being an '80s kid, the C4 is kinda what I think of as a Corvette. But I'd love to have a very late C3 or a C5. It's not impossible, just a bit unlikely.
But I love this car. It's going to be with me for the rest of my life. That's for sure.
I like the car on C5Z's...looks great and your fitment is real good. I'm up in Boulder City but moving down to Henderson or Summerlin next month. You hit any meets or cars and coffee or anything?
I wanted a C4 since grade school, seeing the aero body Callaways in the magazines and of course the C4ZR1 in dealer showrooms. I remember in 1992 seeing a 25th anniv Z28 (I loved 3rd gen camaros) and a quasar blue ZR1 with a CRAZY sticker price for the day...I was like WHOA.
Years go by, my life sucked pretty bad...family issues, was homeless for like 3yrs almost...I had managed to own a 1986 TransAm in 2000 (slow turd but it looked nice to me) and finally made it to the Corvette museum. I toured the plant, met Dave Mclellan (total chance encounter one on one, he even encouraged me to go on the plant tour), and he signed my "Heart of the Beast" book I bought on site, at his direction. This plant visit also gave me my first look at the Corvette FRC...which I REALLY liked. I recall not quite being incredibly fond of the coupes yet, but I liked the gauge package and the overall look of C5's. Corvettes were still out of my reach by far though, so....it had to wait.
Fast forward 10yrs...I'd been building cars and owned a couple shops...all imports (Honda, DSM, Nissan). I was feeling a bit winded by the import turbo scene and decided to search for a Corvette in the downturn. I didn't want to spend...anything...I needed something cheap, but I had the ability by this stage to do the work, so I didn't care. I searched the entire country for deals...seeing many cheap C4's in FL, TX and Ca. Low and behold, this same car in San Diego keeps coming up. I'm in Pittsburgh, Pa at the time and thinking...man, that's quite a journey for a cheap car. After several phone conversations and a lot of reluctance, the owner gave in to my price...nearly HALF what he was asking. It's all I could do to make the deal work, he needed to sell it, the market was dead and he was going to have to re-register it in Ca asap, which he didn't want to do.
So, I flew out March of 2010 and bought my first Corvette...a 1992 Arctic white 6spd car with 178k miles on it. Car was actually really clean and meticulously maintained overall, aside from some seat wear and needing some front shocks. Believe it or not, I talked him down another 1k bucks after I landed. I really needed margin for the travel back, in case anything happened. He gave in and that was that. Low and behold, we do the return trip from LA, get stranded in Colorado in a blizzard for over 30hrs (highways shut down, we got the last hotel room...literally). Car made it back to Pa perfect...though I drove about 60 miles in snow packed highway to get over the pass the next day...was real interesting on summer tires. So, my first Corvette...a car I'd wanted a long time, I literally flew from one corner of the country, to the other to go get, for a stupid cheap price, then drive it all the way across America as my first time behind the wheel of a Corvette. I was lovin it.....even though the guy had chrome wheels on it...ughhh...lol.
Pics when I got it
My first time ever being west of the Mississippi....we're approaching some mountains in utah and it's like April...I'm thinkin....ahhhh...this don't look good....are we going in there?? Literally went from warm, clear desert to snow.
Woke up next morning...this was Vail, Co....they shut down the pass, and then the roads where we came from. 16" fell quick and there was a 40+ car pileup that caused the shutdown. We had shorts and T shirts...nothin else...lol...not so much as a wind breaker...haha.
We made it though and this is how I drove it for a while before selling to a guy on this forum. I'm now on my 7th Corvette...but I actually kept the 2nd one I bought, just after selling this car (C5 Z06...the FRC at the museum with Dave got me!). The others came and went. My gf also drives a C6 LS3 6spd...which is her first.
Last edited by KnightDriveTV; Jun 13, 2019 at 01:05 PM.
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
