LMB-Z

A group of guys from the community were starting a volunteer fire department. We were out knocking on doors trying to collect money to get started. I knocked on a door and a man came out of his garage. I walked around to where he was and there sat a 1973 Corvette coupe. It was black with chrome wheels and a luggage rack on the back. Absolutely gorgeous. Turns out, I had gone to school with the guy 10 years earlier. I asked about the car and he told me it was for sale. At the time, I had a 1976 Pontiac Grand Prix. I sold the Grand Prix a week later. I called the guy and asked about the car. He said he still had it, so I got a friend to take me to his house. I knocked on the door. He finally came to the door. He told me a co-worker of mine was on the phone trying to buy the car. He told them I was knocking on the door. Bought the car. Several years later had to have the engine rebuilt...350 cu. in. 190 hp, automatic. Loved that car. Kept it for almost 10 years before finally selling it. Since then, I have now owned 9 other Corvettes. That was my first one and still the best looking car in my opinion. I was 25 yrs old at the time, I am now 63.

jbeidl

I have always liked Corvettes but never had the funds to purchase one, wife ,house and children came first. I have always enjoyed working on my own cars and in 1975 I located a 1968 Corvette in sad condition. I was a 327/350 coupe. The engine had a problem and disassembly revealed a blown head gasket and an etch in the block between cylinders 3 & 5. The owner had replaced the engine with a 350/300 from a Camaro but still had the original engine. It also pulled severely to the right under acceleration - problem was a bent (rusted out) left rear trailing arm which located the left front wheel about 1 inch too far forward.

I spent about a rear working on the car replacing all of the bushings, both rear trailing arms and rear wheel bearings and anything else I could find wrong. I repaired damaged body parts and cracked seems and painted the car 1968 Corvette Polar White. I did all of the work myself except replacing the rear wheel bearings and stitching the driver seat cover.

I did not do the bearing because I could not find a strong enough press to use and I did not want to heat the half shafts. Took everything to the local Chevy dealer for repair. My guess was they did not have a press strong enough as my half shafts were blue for the heat they used. The person did stitched the drivers seat did not take time to line up all of the seems the way I wanted.

I have attached some very poor photos of the "before" salvaged from some old damaged C110 negatives all taken in 1975. The "after photos were taken in 2001 just before I sold the car.

In 2006 I ordered a 2007 3LT Montery Red Coupe with chrome wheels for NCM delivery. My wife and I also took the Buyer's Tour to watch it be assembled. We still have that car.

In 2017 I purchased a 2017 3LT Long Beach Read Grand Sport.

John



Before Year


Before Left Side


Before Front


After Rear

After Left Side


Front After

dbaker

My best high school friend's family owned a used car lot.One week they came back from the Darlington sale with 2,1966 Corvettes.One was black and one was green.Both were 427's,4 speed with side pipes.My friend Steve got the black one and I got the green.
About a year later,Steve wrecked his and was hurt badly.He has been in a wheel chair ever since.

This was the summer of '68.

My C7,is my 12th.....so far.

\db2

69L46

This will be easy, as the memories of my first Corvette are not just the only one I've ever owned, but also still own.

My first 'real' job out of school afforded me the benefit of a company car; granted, it was a powder blue, 4 cylinder K car, but suddenly I was relieved of the burden of insurance, maintenance and gas for the '68 Camaro SS which I had been driving through school. While it seemed great to have an extra few hundred bucks each month in my pocket after selling the car, the hiatus of not having my own 'wheels' to work on and drive didn't last long.

About 6 months later a co-worker mentioned he had a Corvette and was thinking of selling it; one thing led to another, and a few weeks later I stopped by his house to take a closer look. A '69, Riverside Gold, L46/M21 convertible with saddle tan interior and a black top graced the confines of his garage. One quick spin out onto the highway, winding the torquey small block up for all it was worth, and I knew this car would be mine. When I made arrangements to pick the car up on a Friday night about a week later, my girlfriend at the time drove with me over to pick it up, with the express condition "she get the first ride".

28 years later, both the car and the girlfriend are still in my life, although I'm fortunate to have been married 27 years now to my first 'passenger'.

Great memories, indeed.

vettehardt

My story starts in 1979 when i was born. My dad had a 65 roadster at the time. He joined a corvette club in 1982 and started racing it in autocrosses. He would take me with him when he was racing and I gained an appreciation for the sport. He sold the car in 1990 to put a down payment on a house. At that time he bought a wrecked 71 coupe to try to build up to race. In 1994 he found the frame was bent and rusted so he gave up on it. In the mean time, he had bought a 73 4speed coupe that had a frozen motor. He pulled the motor from the 71 and put it into the 73 and went racing with it. I got my license in Sept of 1995 and the very next weekend, i was out racing the car also. Dad and I both raced the car until 2001 when he bought a 1990 ZR-1. At that point, i was racing the 73 while he was racing the 91. When I graduated from Purdue in 2003, my Dad gave me the 73 as a graduation present. I still have it today, but the motor has since expired. I have also bought a 76 automatic coupe and raced it for many years. Just last fall I bought a 91 automatic coupe and am currently campaigning that car in the Indiana region of NCCC autocrosses. If attending an event, look for a maroon C4 with a big white #3 on the side!!! My dad has since bought back the 65 roadster, but it was in pieces undergoing a restoration. The car still sits in pieces until he has the money to put it back together. That car will be willed to me when he passes as we both had many memories in that car while he was racing it in the 80's.

Racing my 76:

FASTAZU

Road in my first Corvette in 1970 a brand new blue convertible my neighbor had just bought. I was hooked. Than in 1977 fresh out of the Navy, met up with a high school buddy that still had an old 68 he had in high school (always admired it) and was going to sell it so $2500 later it was mine. Met my wife to be in it she had just bought a new 78 so I guess the cars met. Next came kids so the 78 went but kept the old 68 and worked on it when I could. Took about 10 years to restore, unfortunately I lost it to an accident in 89. But over the next 15+ years I bought fixed up and sold more than 15 until I was able to get my keepers. So the old 68 led to a Corvette life over the next 29 years.








Current Corvettes 91 & 93 ZR-1s

ftrusty

Jakecity

Shortly before I got married in the summer of 1974, I had the opportunity to go for a ride in my younger (19) brother's recently purchased '63 Vette roadster. It had just been put together with a '65 four-bolt-main 396 with square port heads, 12:1 compression, and an Isky Solid lifter cam. Dyno'ed at 538 hp before it was dropped in the car, the engine was backed by an M22 Muncie box and a 4:11 rear end. Needlessly to say, it was an amazingly fast car and put my '57 150 series 2 door Chevy sedan to shame. My '57 only had a mild 396/4speed/12-bolt rear end, with a dropped I-beam/leaf spring front suspension. A buddy, Don Specht, who worked as a welder in Andy Brizio's shop in Colma, California welded the front suspension mounts in for me while I was a sophomore in college. Quick street car on the streets of San Francisco, but nothing like my brother's newest purchase. After one ride in the Vette, I WAS HOOKED!!

In the summer of 1975, I found a Vette of my own across the SF Bay, in Marin. It was a stock '63 roadster with the original 327-340 hp engine, with a 4-speed and 4:11's. The car was in primer, and had the front headlight buckets molded closed, and six tail lights, considered very cool at the time. I prepped the body and had my buddy Don shoot the car in bright yellow. He charged me $100 labor plus the cost of the paint. I wish painters like that were still around! It was a great car, and I hit the Great Highway along Ocean Beach in San Francisco almost daily. Lots of fun in that car. I sold it after a couple of years, and have had ten more Vettes since, including five that I still own....a nice '60, two factory fuelie '64 roadsters, and two factory 427 roadsters (one 400 hp and one 435 hp). It's a disease I have not been able to shake.

About ten years ago, I saw my first Vette for sale on Craigslist, and contacted the seller to fill him in regarding what I remember about the car. He bought the car from the fella I sold it to back in the late 70's, and kept it for about 30 years. I've attached some pics of it as it appeared on Craigslist. It had aged better than I had. LOL. It still wore it's 30+ year-old paint, and had different wheels on it, but otherwise still looked pretty much as it did when I sold it. It was tempting to buy it back, but I already had more toys than I needed at home. Subsequently, he sold it to another fella who proceeded to paint it maroon and flip it on Craigslist. I've attached pics of the car from about five years ago. Of course, I contacted that seller too, to fill him in on it's past. He subsequently sold the car to another guy in the SF Bay Area, whom I was also able to contact ....LOL.....he indicated that he was re-installing the stock headlights and painting it it's original color (Daytona Blue). Maybe I'll see it again one of these days....

Loved that car.....maybe more than the Vettes I still have, because I had the most fun in it.....except for the time I was door-jamb surfing at 75 mph in my '64 FI roadster in the early 80's .....what a dumb-A wild child I was.









Looking to go even more old-school? Don't miss out on our new retro-inspired CorvetteForum shirts, free with a new Gold or Lifetime membership upgrade.[/QUOTE]

gmshadow

It was about 1972 and I was fairly young and saw an ad for a 1955 Corvette and it was priced pretty cheap. When I went to look at it, it had been burned, no frontend, no engine or transmission, seats and top were missing, but it was something I could afford. and figured could put it back together. Turned out it actually was a 1954 and about 6 from the last 54 produced., I managed to find all the pieces to put together a correct blue flame 6 and powerglide transmission , with the open driveshaft. . I borrowed a shifter to make another one so could drive it. .found the top bows and just about all the missing pieces, even a radio

I was going to junior college at the time and dated my wife in that car. It was a fun car to drive and reasonable gas mileage. The stories that car could have told
One time when we were out for a Sunday drive, a Studebaker Avanti pulled up beside us in Portland, Or and asked if wanted to trade. Told him no. About a year later in Eugene Oregon the same guy shows up at the transmission shop and that time I took him up on his trade offer and traded the 54 for a 63 Studebaker Avanti R2.
That 54 was the first of several cars resurrected from the dead.

Probably should have put the reason decided to get rid of it. Was going to Jr College and my apt was ground floor and it was below ground level. It had a big glass sliding window and a little patio. You could park in front of your apt and had a little hill with a bunch of shrubs since was about 4 ft below the parking lot. Was working on it one day and it was running and I was tuning up the carbs. The early Corvettes only had a floor shift powerglide and the shifter was pretty simple and no safety devices built in . It slipped into gear and ended up getting high centered just short of my patio, took out some shrubs, but other wise no damage
If not for the hill would have ended up in my living room
Charles

dbdave

When I saw the '97 come out and it was a Corvette you could actually take a long trip with in comfort with all the things one could possibly bring along, I knew I wanted one.
I purchased a new black '98 coupe from a local dealer's showroom and when I picked it up, my wife and I went out to dinner. After dinner, I was entering the freeway on a curved on ramp in a rural area at a spirited rate of speed when I got hit by something on the left side of the car. It was getting dark and I didn't see what it was and since we weren't far from home, I kept going. When we got home I looked for damage. There were two 3-4 inch long, 1/16th inch deep gouges in front of the left rear wheel below the lower door seam. I suspected they were claw marks from an animal. That was the only damage other than a couple of small abrasions. Not knowing what caused it, the next day I went back to the scene and sure enough there was a dead hawk laying on the side of the shoulder. The claws were huge and so was the bird! I suspect we startled him coming around the curve and he attacked us with his claws ready.
It was not what I expected for the first day of owning my first Corvette.

Red 50th Anniversary

Bimmervet

I bought my 1st Corvette in 1967. I saved all my money from being a caddie from 5th grade on. I paid cash for it, a 1962 Fawn 4 speed 327 340 HP with the optional hardtop. My parents told me if you didn't go away for college you could buy your own car and go to Elmhurst College. So I did , only problem my father hated Corvettes and the Beatles somehow relating them to Communist?? I knew he would hate the Corvette so I rented a neighbors garage and parked it there. This was good for about 3 weeks and he saw it. Went crazy yelling at me tried to grab me but couldn't catch me. Think that is why I was so great on the track team. Had the Corvette up to the time I got this nice personal letter from the President requesting me to join the armed forces. This is a picture of me in the Corvette with my girlfriend on the very day I bought the car. The 2 nd picture is our daughter Cynthia in my ZO 6 takin in Jan 2018

hope2

First Corvette bought, in 1962 1959 Frost Blue with Red Powerglide. Was a crazy 17 year old. Car had the front end knocked off. Had the frame straightened. Drove it with angle brackets to mount headlights for awhile. Then had a one piece front put on, painted red, changed to four speed. Wish I had a picture or two.

Worst part sold a cherry 57 Bel Air Convertible to buy it.

SDVette

When I was born, my first car ride home from the hospital was in my mom's arms in the passenger seat of my dad's 1961.
Dad was the original owner of the car.. He kept it until he passed away in 2011.
I have restored the car with my son. Here is a photo of me at the wheel in 1967:


.

JDMvette7

I was always an automotive enthusiast, but never had my eyes set on a Corvette. For me, the childhood car that I always wanted was a Dodge Stealth Twin Turbo. When I was 14 years old, my father told me to save my pennies and whatever I saved he would double and put towards my car. I guess my father didn't realize how motivated I was and I got a job as soon as I turned 15 and started saving. My father was always looking out for me, so before I could buy a car, he came home 94 T-bird V6 that I ended up paying 1/2 of. To be honest, I was a little disappointed at the time because I had been so focused on getting to my goal. A few cars later, I finally got my 93 Stealth RT/TT and owned the car for 3.5 years before the motor blew on the Dyno....on my birthday. The car was heavily modified. As much as I loved that car, I had always wanted a yellow car, and targa top, so the only car that fit the bill was my very first Corvette. A 2001 Millennium yellow Corvette 6 speed with the Z51 package.

With all the fun sports cars I've owned over the years, the trip to get my first corvette was the one to start my tradition of "road trips". We set off at 3AM to get the car. My mother and her best friend went with me and we even brought the dog with us (which I was against at the time) and we had an amazing trip. Driving the car home was unreal and for a long time, I would get caught up looking at the car wondering how in the world it could be mine. Reality set in a few years later when my student loans hit. I was forced to sell the car and it was purchased by someone in Detroit who actually worked on the viper design team. At that point in time, I thought my days of fun cars/corvette's were over.

Years went by, but to my surprise, I was shopping for fun cars again. I had about 3-4 more sports cars (and road trips) and finally landed on my yellow C6, another road trip, many more memories. The tradition of road trips involving time spent with either my mother or father was all started with my first corvette. Just 3 months ago, my mom and I went to pick up my C7 on a tradition that started about 15 years ago.

Roger2013GS

Been a Corvette fan for all of my life, but unable to own one due to family commitments, buying a home, pool, supporting grandkids, and all the usual. I settled for a '67 Camaro that was a sweet deal, but in great need of work. Didn't put much money into it, but a great deal of sweat equity. Ended up with quite a nice car. Got many awards at local shows and positive response on every trip out.
At 70 years old, it was time to sell my baby. I was contacted by a gentleman who was in the marker for a Camaro. He offered a trade for his '13 Corvette Grand Sport with only 19000 miles on it. This was my chance to own a C6, without cash outlay, and I jumped at it. I love my torch red, 6 speed ride, and now finally part of the Corvette family. It is everything, and more, than I ever thought I would own.The "old man" is now living the dream of a lifetime!

USA1 427

We all pretty much have the same story, so I'll keep it short. I'm the youngest of 4 brothers, my oldest brother, Joe, was 18 years older than me so I was the "baby" of the family. Being the baby, as a teenager, I got away with everything. My brothers were all car crazy, always had Chevy's because our cousin owned a Chevy dealership and being Italian, that's where our loyaties lay. I went to school across the street from our house, and at lunch time, I'd run across the street, jump in their cars and drive them up and down the block. Got away with murder. Then one day, Joe came home with a brand new 62 Vette. I'd seen them in the car brochures that we always had laying around the house, heard my brothers always talking about them, but never paid too much attention........till then. The first time I saw it I couldn't breathe. It was like the day you fall in love. Dumbstruck. Man I couldn't wait for school lunches now. Except for one thing.........I was warned on threat of death not to touch the Vette. And I never did. But I washed it, waxed it, sat in it, and dreamed of the day when one would be mine.
Fast forward 40 years and like everyone else here, I raised a family, paid for 2 college educations, and was a responsible man. But finally the time was right. Corvette came out with the 405 hp. Z06, black, with black and red inside, and zero percent financing. Only thing was, I couldn't find one. Not until one day my wife was on the computer and found exactly what I'd been searching for in Manhattan at Potamkin Chevrolet / Cadillac. Gave them a call and asked if they would do a dealer swap, but nope. Wouldn't do it. 6 miles on the od. I couldn't go to NY to get it, so we arranged to have it delivered on a roll back right to my door. Fed Ex'd the paperwork back and forth, and by the end of the week, it was on it's way, sight unseen. The truck driver got as close as our local grocery store and parked in their lot and called me. I drove down to meet him to have him follow me to my house, and there was a crowd around the truck checking out the car that was MINE! I couldn't believe how gorgeous it was, and again, I couldn't breathe. He followed me to my house, and we unloaded it while all the neighbors watched from their porches with their chins hanging down. First time I got in it, what a feeling. Once it was in the driveway, I examined every inch and it was perfect. It was an unexplainable feeling. I can honestly say it was about the best day of my life. A dream fulfilled. I'm on number 2 now, and while I would have liked to have kept the black beauty, it just wasn't in the cards. Now it's a 427. Who knows what the next adventure will be.

owc6

The first car I ever drove was a white C3.

I was only fourteen, and I was doing my part at my church youth group's fundraiser car wash. We had a quite the production line, what with the wash station, the rinse station, and the drying station! At every point, someone would move the car to the next portion. Every part going smoothly for every car, until this one! All of a sudden, No One wanted to move it (and the owner was over where the donuts were ), So, eventually, I said I would move it. I did not know what the heck I was doing at all.

Scared the livin' daylights out of me, but by the time I got to the drying area, I KNEW some day I would own one, too!

Decades went by, my kids were older than I was then, and my husband and I thought it was finally time. We bought an '05 Vert. At first I was afraid to drive her too much, but then I realized she was made for driving! She's been across the US twice, down the west coast, and up and down the east coast, as well as several other multi-thousand mile trips that don't fit any of those categories. She's driven on a beach and over the Rockies in a blizzard.

She doesn't have the most miles of any C6, but at just shy of a quarter-million, she is a tough old broad and worthy of anybody's respect.

Bertha:

m0dnar

The year was 2018. I was shopping 2013-2015 Camaro ZL1s. Had a nice black one all picked out, but had to wait for my bitcoins to clear the bank and get cash in hand. Had a deposit put down on it and everything. On the day the funds cleared I went to the dealer to take possession of the ZL1 when I saw a gorgeous black 3LT Z51 parked in the front of the dealer for far cheaper than any Z51 I've seen on the local market (both CL and otherwise). Ended up walking away with the Z51 instead and haven't looked back since.