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I can certainly relate to your post E.T....I bought my first "street car" when I was a sophomore in high school back in 1969. A 1964-1/2 baby blue Mustang-- 4-spd. with a 289 for $1095.00. I lived a stone's throw from the main cruise strip in town so it was only natural for me to join in the fun. I was competing with "69 Z-28's , SS 396's, Boss 429's and GTO Judge's. I modded that car with a Crower 3/4 race cam/solid lifter package -balanced & blueprinted, Heddman headers with Thrush mufflers and 4" exhaust , Accell dual-point distributor, Edelbrock alum hi-rise w/a Holley 850 "double pumper" Hurst shifter with 411 gears, Mr Gasket traction bars, Moroso 10 qt oil pan with high flow oil pump, and chrome Keystone classic wheels with Goodyear E70-14 Polyglas on the front and G/Y N50-15 Rally's on the rear. -- It would jump a Coke bottle....I had a Bantam Market right down the street from me that sold prem. gas at 27.9 a gallon and 2 dollars would get you through a whole night of cruising. It's funny how you can remember the details that are almost 50 years old...must have been some real good times....My Corvette is just an extension of that feeling of power that once you have it , it never goes away. ------------- And thank you for your service.
It seems there are a lot of us who remember seeing the 53 Corvette, I grew up in Flint and my uncle worked on the Corvette in the summer of 53. My first Corvette I bout was a 58 but had to wait till I could afford it. First ride was in a 57 Corvette (new) and since have owned a 64 Fuel Inj. Convertible, 65 Fuel Inj. Coupe 2000 FRC and a 2001 Z06....currently only the 2000 remains. Also have a wife of 51 years--we met in kindergarten--remember our 98 Olds Convertible (1958) which I put on an Isky cam and duel quads. What a great sleeper car all 5000 lbs of chrome. When they paved a back road with blacktop, the first thing that appeared was two white lines 1/4 mile apart. Cops did not bother you Monday thru Thursday but the weekend was for tourists. However the good old days have never stopped, been autocrossing and HPDE for over 40 years and still enjoy it today. While the cars have greatly advances-especially reliability- the tires/wheel have changed even more. I run better times today on 200 treadwear tires at tracks than 10-15 yrs ago on Hoosiers in the same car.
Hey Bill-
Thanks for your story...Thanks for your service. I'm similar in age too. My first car was a 58 Ford, V8, stick....and the terror of my small town in the Appalachian Mountains. I moved to the West Coast when I was 24. Bought my first corvette new in 1985. Had my C4 until last year, 33 years, and I traded it on my 2000 FRC. Very happy I did. We still have an active Friday Night Cruise-In at Freddy's here in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Hope you continue to enjoy your Vette for a long time.
Great story Bill. I am a little younger than you but I remember those times well. One of my late Uncle's was your age, a car guy and a huge Corvette fan, CF member and he also served in Vietnam.
I have had many Corvettes since 1978 along with muscle cars and pony cars.
Today's world has changed quite a bit but there are still a lot of us Car Guys around.
Thank you for you advice and help over the years and thank you for your service Bill.
Bill, loved the story. My older brother served, came back with a rare form of cancer so I can relate. So happy you're with us.
For me, I grew up in Detroit in the late 60's and saw all the cars we drool over today. Most were in my neighbor's driveway's because they all worked for the Big Three. Hemi Cuda's, Challenger's, Camaro's, Chevelle's, Mustang's. it seemed everyone had a fast car in my neighborhood.
But....Corvette's just seemed rare.
Fast forward to last December and I finally found my dream car. A 2000 C5 Convertible. Totally stock and I plan to leave it that way. It's stock 345hp is more than enough to get into trouble with. Why does anyone need 750hp on the street? I guess the same reason guys hop up everything from lawnmowers to snowmobiles. Because it's fun.
I don't desire something with that kind of power, but I can appreciate the fun that goes into putting it together.
Last edited by Vetteman Jack; 02-22-2019 at 11:04 AM.
Born in '46 Bill. So you know that I was there with ya'. When I would put together a motor, and fire it up for the first time with open headers, I would feel like it was a "Religious Experience".. Gone are those days. All good things must come to an end. That is just the way of life. We have to enjoy these corvettes while we can.. Soon there will be electric cars,, and ..."Our".. "Religious Experiences"...will be gone forever. Fifty year wife, and two..."Great"....grand kids.
Dont frown on technology, there are several You tube videos of a Tesla putting 3 frieght cars on a stock ( 808 hp )Dodge Demon.
Great post. I want to thank you again for the time you took to answer all my questions. I have great respect for you and for all you have done in your life.
Its always my pleasure to help in open forum or in Private as you did. I hardly know all the answers and will be first to admit that, but in most cases I can put you on a path to find the answers you seek. Just an FYI, when I first came here, I use to get 75 to 100 PM's a day. The C5 was New and when I retired from GM, the owners of this forum contacted me to come here and give back to the member that have supported my automotive career. I would spend 10 hours a day answering PM's. I never went to bed without answering every PM. That went on for almost three years then started to slow down when the C6 came out. A PM is a much more focused interaction. and in many cases a member might feel threatened to ask what he might think is a stupid question in Open forum. I'm always open for a PM.
Bill aka ET
I just got back from the hospital and came here and was blown away by the posts in this thread. I was not even sure it would be well received.
I'm glad it brought back memories for some. Ive been here for a while on this forum, mostly everything Ive said here in this thread Ive said in other posts.
Thanks for all the post and the good wishes.
Bill aka ET
This might put a smile on some faces.. here is a very young ET.
Reading your post reminds me of the stories my Dad would tell about street racing in the early sixties in Chicago. My uncle had a 1960 Pontiac Ventura with a Nascar spec 389 with dual quads. Dad says then never lost a race with that car. Dad raced a 1956 Chevy with a 265. He also raced a Indiana State Trooper early one Sunday morning. The cop was floored when the Ventura showed his Hemi it's taillights! Dad also was a mechanic at Nicky Chevrolet during that time. He told me about the "purple people eater" that they had at Nicky.
It's because of my Dad that I have a love of cars. My love for Corvettes was something I acquired on my own. My Dad was way too cheap to be into Vettes. He was more of an Impala guy.
Anyway...I just got my first Corvette 11 months ago. In the 11 months since I joined here, I've really come to enjoy your post. You are a well spring of knowledge. I look forward to reading more of your stories and Corvette information!
Bill, I remember those times as well. Police were our friends and a lot of times I was given a break when they had me dead to rights. I was given some man to man talks from some officers that really made a difference in my life. I was good friends with a lot of those retired police officers until their passing.
Most young kids that I know today are not interested at all in fast cars or older street rods. They just want a car to get them to and from school or work. We had a lot of drive-in restaurants that were the hang outs for the car guys. Those local hangouts have all went by the wayside here as well.
I bought my first Corvette in 1969 for $800.00. It was a 1963 Roadster. Those were the good ole days. I have had a great life as well and cars have been a great part of it.
Thanks for sharing and getting me to reminisce about the simpler times in my life. I do appreciate your comments and presence here on the Forum. Jerry
Bought my first Vette in 1973 for $6700... what a beauty! Had "special" factory tires installed but they came as whitewalls, so I had them reversed. Found out later they were the same stock tires, but with whitewalls (smart me, but I was young, and learning)! We lived in a small town in British Columbia and knew all the LEO's. I was speeding down a hill one dsy and passed a rader trap and the guy in the police car was wagging his finger at me to slow down! Those were the days when you knew all the members and even partied with some of them. Good times!
It is really No difference now than in your (my era) the guys with the money bought the horsepower, the rest of us had to build horsepower.
The past is the past, I have enough on my plate, right now.
Good luck.
I too have a lot on my plate, filet mignon, sautéed mushrooms, corn on the cob, baked potato, Jewish apple cake, skewered shrimp, garlic bread and roasted carrots.
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16'-'17-‘18-'19-'20-'21-'22-
'23-'24
I appreciate your knowledge you give us on the forum and you know I appreciate your service to this country.
You make good points about todays cars and horsepower. I'm amazed how fast the stock C5 is. I've had my near stock 02 up to 167 mph yet my higher HP cars haven't seen that fast (close though ) No one needs "750 HP" but it sure is fun on an on-ramp.
I'm glad you are still around and I hope you have many more years to go. I plan on heading out to my brother's place in NY this year, maybe I'll stop by Pennsylvania to drool on your C5.
So, which son gets the C5, the engineer or the doctor?
Last edited by knewblewkorvette; 02-21-2019 at 06:29 PM.
I appreciate your knowledge you give us on the forum and you know I appreciate your service to this country.
You make good points about todays cars and horsepower. I'm amazed how fast the stock C5 is. I've had my near stock 02 up to 167 mph yet my higher HP cars haven't seen that fast (close though ) No one needs "750 HP" but it sure is fun on an on-ramp.
I'm glad you are still around and I hope you have many more years to go. I plan on heading out to my brother's place in NY this year, maybe I'll stop by Pennsylvania to drool on your C5.
So, which son gets the C5, the engineer or the doctor?
I only have one son, he's an engineer, my daughter is a doctor.
My daughter My Daughter My Son and his wife.
02-21-2019, 10:53 AM
) No one needs "750 HP" but it sure is fun on an on-ramp.
