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Picture it: Montreal, 1988. A 12 year old boy is about to embark on a summer family road trip to Daytona Beach, Florida to visit grand parents. Aside from going to the beach, playing games in the evening, following his parents around and spending time with the grand parents, the boy didn’t know that something would hit him so hard that it would create a dream that would last 38 years.
While in Daytona, the family went shopping at a large store (likely Target or something similar, cannot confirm). In the toy department, a huge wall of model kits was showing reduced prices of 5, 6, 7 dollars for model kits. The mother told the boy that he could pick up 3. One of which was the Monogram ’85 Corvette Coupe kit. Don’t ask what the other ones were, it was 38 years ago…and they are meaningless in this story anyway.
Back to the grand parents’ home, the boy spent the next days building his first kit. Painted some of the parts to try and make it look like the picture on the box as much as possible. Glued the pieces together and spent an enormous amount of time just marveling at the whole car. The huge hood, the engine, the wheels, the round tail lights…everything about this car seemed like it was made to look amazing.
For years, the boy kept that finished model kit until later teenage years and other interests came into his life, the car, much like other stuff from his childhood, ended up in the garbage during a round of spring cleaning in his bedroom. But the dream was still there…
Fast forward to 2025. That boy is now driving a 2019 Honda Civic and for the first time in his life, getting really close to being able to pay off a car in full. This also means that he can finally start thinking about planning ahead to buying his first ever Corvette. Double payments were made to pay off the Civic quicker and to make sure money was readily available to buy a much desired Corvette when one would be found.
DriveTown Ottawa had one on their website. Sitting in their showroom for about 18 months now was a 1988 black on black convertible for a very decent price. Surely, someone will snag this car before the man would ever have a chance to do so himself. Come January 2026 and an email to the manager of the dealership confirmed that the car was still available, for sale and after a quick conversation, a deposit was made to keep the car under their care until April’s Easter weekend at which time the man would be able to fly to Ottawa from Prince Edward Island to pick up the car and drive it back home.
Those were the 3 longest months ever…winter is long…it’s even longer when you start realizing that a 38 year old dream can finally come true.
Easter weekend came and the man flew to Ottawa and drove back the Corvette 800 miles back to Prince Edward Island. The car felt like it was meant to be driven…and not sitting in a showroom for 2 years. The car has now officially been rehomed where it can begin a new life…one where it is driven, taken care of, and more importantly, kept alive, like all Corvettes should be.
That is my story, and this is my first Corvette. Definitely not the best picture as this was what it looked like when I came home and took a picture before even getting in the house. This car is my 38 year old dream come true and I could not be happier. She is definitely a bit rough around the edges, but mechanically sound, drives great, sounds awesome and looks great!
I have already bought a bunch of stuff to start working on small things, mostly inside the car to fix some aesthetics. I am definitely no mechanic, I know nothing about cars, but I feel that with the help of the great folks of this community and YouTube, I can hopefully bring back a bit more beauty to this car.
Thank you for reading my story, hope you enjoyed it and looking forward to interacting with this community!
That's wonderful story and imagine most of us have similar story I know I do, it was 1963 C2 coupe.
Now start living your dream, and only suggestions is to find local Corvette Club to join and have fun meeting fellow members and that all have the love of Corvette.
Congratulations! That is beautiful car - '88 is a great year, lots of neat improvements that year! You worked hard and you earned it - I completely respect and understand that feeling. I think many of us had one or more C4 models growing up! Still to this day I'd rather have a C4 than the newest C8s - there's just something about the C4s that excites me more!
Congratulations on buying that beautiful 88! Its an incredible feeling when a dream is fulfilled and its such a good feeling when you can put your hands on that dream time and time again. Its like the dream never dies and we get to relive something that makes us feel so alive time and time again. I couldn't be happier for you!
What a fantastic story and congratulations on your new Corvette! Now is that salt on those fenders? Hope that's getting washed off pronto!
Spring breaks were awesome in Daytona although I went much later, could still drive on the beach and gawk at the girls walking by!
Since you've successfully driven it 800 miles, you know it's solid! Do you think it needs anything?
Nahhh...not salt...just dirt from the road from having to ride it in the rain back from Ottawa and around here to take it for inspection and to get registration done. It's been raining the last 2 days when I had to drive it around. Definitely will be taking a bucket and cleaning it up to take proper pictures this afternoon.
As for needing anything...at the moment, aside from some aesthetics on the inside, the engine looks really good and runs well. Temps were good and stable the whole drive back from Ottawa as was the oil pressure. I even had to start her up when it was -8C (17F) one morning on the drive back to PEI and it started up like there was nothing to it! The only obvious thing I saw under the hood is the missing cover for the distributor and I already ordered one as I definitely want that on there to avoid getting any dampness. I also find that I have to apply a LOT of pressure on the brake pedal to get the car to a complete stop...is this normal? She had to pass safety inspection in Ontario to be allowed on the road, and regular inspection here in PEI to get it registered. Nothing was reported from both inspections so I know the brakes are definitely good enough to allow the car to be on the road. That being said, I will take pictures of the engine bay and around the rest of the car later today to show you folks...maybe you experienced folks will see something that I don't
Nahhh...not salt...just dirt from the road from having to ride it in the rain back from Ottawa and around here to take it for inspection and to get registration done. It's been raining the last 2 days when I had to drive it around. Definitely will be taking a bucket and cleaning it up to take proper pictures this afternoon.
As for needing anything...at the moment, aside from some aesthetics on the inside, the engine looks really good and runs well. Temps were good and stable the whole drive back from Ottawa as was the oil pressure. I even had to start her up when it was -8C (17F) one morning on the drive back to PEI and it started up like there was nothing to it! The only obvious thing I saw under the hood is the missing cover for the distributor and I already ordered one as I definitely want that on there to avoid getting any dampness. I also find that I have to apply a LOT of pressure on the brake pedal to get the car to a complete stop...is this normal? She had to pass safety inspection in Ontario to be allowed on the road, and regular inspection here in PEI to get it registered. Nothing was reported from both inspections so I know the brakes are definitely good enough to allow the car to be on the road. That being said, I will take pictures of the engine bay and around the rest of the car later today to show you folks...maybe you experienced folks will see something that I don't
I have an 89 black on black convertible myself. It's an amazing vehicle. Being the age it is, even though it might run well, be prepare d to constanly be tinkering with it. Mine only has 25K original miles, and while it has never not been able to get me where I want to go, I have been constantly repairing small things here and there. Nothing too big though. As far as the brakes are concerned, I haven't experienced that issue, but I would recommend this set: Power Stop Brake Set. I recently upgraded to these about 1500 miles ago, and they are awesome. I can stop very fast. Pay attention to the instructions on break-in if you do upgrade.
Regarding your brake pedal pressure, I don't know what your definition of "alot" is, it can be different for different folks. It's a little more than a modern car but certainly not alot in my estimation. There's probably something going on.
I have an 89 black on black convertible myself. It's an amazing vehicle. Being the age it is, even though it might run well, be prepare d to constanly be tinkering with it. Mine only has 25K original miles, and while it has never not been able to get me where I want to go, I have been constantly repairing small things here and there. Nothing too big though. As far as the brakes are concerned, I haven't experienced that issue, but I would recommend this set: Power Stop Brake Set. I recently upgraded to these about 1500 miles ago, and they are awesome. I can stop very fast. Pay attention to the instructions on break-in if you do upgrade.
I figured when I was looking into getting an older car that I would be working on it bit by bit, but that's kind of what I was looking for. As I mentioned, I don't know a lot about what to do under the hood, but for other things (changing light bulbs, updating the bulbs in the gauge cluster, changing broken plastic parts in the interior, etc) I figured it wouldn't be that complicated. I've watched a lot of YouTube stuff in the last year to know where to look at and how to do some things, so I'll be working on easy stuff to start with. Those brakes look pretty sweet! I'll keep those in my options when the time comes to replace them. Thanks!
Regarding your brake pedal pressure, I don't know what your definition of "alot" is, it can be different for different folks. It's a little more than a modern car but certainly not alot in my estimation. There's probably something going on.
My other car is a '19 Honda Civic. Compared to the Civic, the Vette needs a lot more pressure. Like, I have to depress the brake pedal to the max in the Vette...and when I let go, the Vette GOES...Civic slowly crawls when I let go of the brake pedal from a full stop. I mean, I understand the bigger engine and power in the Vette compared to the Civic...maybe it's just an adaptation, but the Vette feels like a LOT heavier to stop than the Civic. I know the Vette is about 300 pounds heavier than the Civic in gross weight comparison, but the Vette feels a LOT heavier in braking situations.
Neat story! Congrats on your dream come true and welcome aboard! The pics of the model kit below was with my '86 Corvette when I bought it 10 years ago. It was given to the original owner of the car from the dealership when he bought it 40 years ago. It was never put together.
After finally taking it to inspection to have it registered, and also getting the proper wheels and tires on the proper sides...I finally had some time to give it a quick exterior wash tonight to get her cleaned up! She's definitely shiny and looks very good when clean! She does have some nicks and bumps here and there, but I don't think you can see them in the pictures. A lot of people say that black cars are annoying because any dirt will show right away... I'll say that black has always been my favorite color for a car...and I consider myself very lucky to have found a black on black...AND convertible. I definitely love this car...all the good things about it and the little things I need to fix...Why is it that we get attached to something like this? After all...it's just metal, plastic and rubber lol...but man...does it ever look good! My favorite thing about it right now is just starting it up...I love the sound it makes when I turn the ignition...and give it a little gas...
Anyways...here she is! Oh...and don't mind the license plate on it...it's just a temporary one until I get my personalized plate sometime in the next 2 weeks hopefully!
They ALL need something - always! That's part of the fun of ownership. It might be a mechanical issue, might be an upgrade we'd like to make, it might be overdue for a wash and vacuum..... I bet there are very few of us who can say their car doesn't have anything at all on the "to do" list.
(I realize you were asking in a somewhat different context and it IS a logical question. It's just that I am in the process of updating that list for my '92 and shaking my head at how long it is)
And OP - congrats on the dream coming true. Have fun!
I saw that Monogram model and thought for a second "Hey, the same I had!", but mine was the 1/8th scale.
My story around that model for another time.
First three bits (everyone asks eventually what to do first).
1. Emergency hood release, either test one luckily already installed or put one in. Search for various threads on this.
2. For service, if you plan to do work yourself and would like to learn more and more, start out by getting the 1988 Factory Service Manual (FSM). Buy wherever, Rockauto has them for example: https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...r+manual,10335
I like the digital version, easy to search. The Haynes manual isn't specific to the 1988, but I bought it anyway, did get a tidbit or a really useful picture here and there over the years.
3. How to Jack Your Corvette: Side Jack! https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...jack-a-c4.html Make sure to open the ashtray!
Last edited by kael; Apr 18, 2026 at 08:42 AM.
Reason: Haynes isn't the right manual,but does have tidbits.
I saw that Monogram model and thought for a second "Hey, the same I had!", but mine was the 1/8th scale.
My story around that model for another time.
First three bits (everyone asks eventually what to do first).
1. Emergency hood release, either test one luckily already installed or put one in. Search for various threads on this.
2. For service, if you plan to do work yourself and would like to learn more and more, start out by getting the 1988 Factory Service Manual (FSM). Buy wherever, Rockauto has them for example: https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...r+manual,10335
I like the digital version, easy to search. The Haynes manual isn't specific to the 1988, but I bought it anyway, did get a tidbit or a really useful picture here and there over the years.
3. How to Jack Your Corvette: Side Jack! https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...jack-a-c4.html Make sure to open the ashtray!
Thank you the the tips! A 1/8 definitely would have been nice but those were pretty expensive back in the day...
Years ago when I was still married, my then wife and I were at my parents house. At the time, I owned a 1994 Arctic White Coupe...my first Vette. My wife made some sort of usual snide remark about my Corvette being a mid-life crisis car. Before I even had a chance to respond, mom came out of the kitchen and said "Since he's been drawing pictures of Corvettes in his school books when he was 10, I really don't think that's the case."
Thank you the the tips! A 1/8 definitely would have been nice but those were pretty expensive back in the day...
Yeah, thinking like $35 or so! Available for $250 on ebay these days. I remember I saved my allowance for weeks to get that model. Couldn't afford to learn how to paint, so it stayed red!
Dreams do come true...
They ALL need something - always! That's part of the fun of ownership. It might be a mechanical issue, might be an upgrade we'd like to make, it might be overdue for a wash and vacuum..... I bet there are very few of us who can say their car doesn't have anything at all on the "to do" list.
