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Everyone has a story. When did you fall in love with Corvettes and made it your dream car? How long did you have to wait for the first one? Mine was a white 1962 on the cover of Sports Car Graphic magazine. I was 14. I actually got my first one when I was 20. It lasted about 2 hours before my mom informed me she would not give me gas money if I kept it. At the time I had a 56 Bel Air sedan with a 283 Corvette engine. The Corvette was a 1958 fugitive from the scrap yard with a title that was tied up in a divorce. It had only 1 front fender, no hood or bumper, no reverse and a blown muffler. The windshield wipers would not shut off so they had been removed. What a sweet ride. Next up was my 1973 coupe, purchased just before I turned 50. I've had it almost 20 years now. My 95 is 2 years old and will probably be my "forever" Corvette.
The girl I was dating in high school, had an older brother who had a gold 62 Corvette. Much to my surprise he asked if I wanted to drive it. After that drive I have been totally consumed with them. My first was five years later a 69 Convert which I got at 21. I later got a 66 Convert, a 71 Coupe, a 95 Coupe, and a 04 Coupe which was my favorite. I developed knee problems and had trouble exiting the vehicle and mistakenly sold it. I later had knee surgery which solved the problem. I recently purchased a 96 Convert.
I fell in love with Corvettes when I was a kid. To me they were emblematic of America and as a young (now older) patriot, I wanted one. Fell in love with the C4, because they came out while I was serving in the Navy and just liked the "new" design. I had a few chances over the years to buy one, but was always chickened out buying one over something more practical. Bought my '91 last summer and am very happy.
St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
My dad was a tool and die maker for the local (Grand Rapids, Michigan) Fisher Body plant. He obtained tickets to the GM show downtown at a large department store.
I was in the 3rd grade at the time and got to see the new 1953 Corvette at that show. I loved the look even at that age.
Later on as a sophomore in high school I dated a girl whose brother owned a 62 vert and then the following year I dated another girl whose brother owned a 61 vert. I got to sit in the cars but did not have the nerve to ask about driving them. My heart would jump in my chest whenever I saw one.
Later on, as a senior I parked my banged up, rusty 51 Chevy and started walking the 3 blocks to school. A low rumble caught my attention when a red 63 vert passed slowly by me. I was in love and vowed to have one some day!
I finally bought a used black 4-speed vert with white interior in 1966. This car brought many memories to me to including driving it to my honeymoon with my new bride in June 1968. I had to sell it when I was ordered to Vietnam in October of 1968.
It took me until 1995 to buy the next one - a Medium Metallic Gray 86 coupe.
My 65:
Started as a kid. Dad loved mid-years (especially the '63 split window), and my uncle drove an '87 for a little while and riding in that as a kid was awesome. The C4 ZR-1 caught my attention early - always wanted one. And as a kid of the video game era, I always opted for Vette's when possible. The C4Z was king for a good part of that. And while I think the C2 is one of the best looking cars ever designed, I always loved the simple and sleek design of the C4 and loved it for what it meant for saving the Corvette brand and recovering the performance reputation - not just recovering power but becoming a great handling car for it's era.
Several years back, I want to say 2012-2013, I was watching Mecum and could not believe seeing a clean, black late-model C4 going for $7k. That started the hunt, and here I am with my '94 - "the first, not the last."
Last edited by JD Shredds; 03-15-2017 at 03:33 PM.
5 years old and out of kindergarten for a chunk of the year from surgery and an infection. Folks got their first TV to keep me occupied and that's when I saw my first Vette (1954 model). It was love at first sight.
First chance I had to buy was in 76 on a 68 - deal fell through. Tried again in 79 on a 69 convertible - fell through. Couple more over the years that failed to come to fruit. Finally bought my 86 convertible the day before my 64th birthday (Happy Birthday to me). Love it, probably be buried in it
I liked them as a kid, but it was in HS that I started to really want one. A friend of mine had an 86 vert and I didn't care for the lines of it then, but when he got a 74 vert, I really started looking to get one.
I have always had an affinity to Corvettes. But Until recently, I had always considered them to be "Unobtaniums."
In 2005 I bought my second Motorcycle while in my mid 30's. My mother always told me that I would never own a motorcycle as long as I lived in her house.
2 years ago, I did not crash it, but, I was joy-riding on thanksgiving morning and had a "pucker" moment. I literally thought I was going to die. I was cut off and I was unsure if I could make the tiniest of gaps between an oncoming car and the car that cut me off and stopped dead in the road when he realized I was there.
After I checked my britches for stains, I went back to my in-laws where I was staying and did not ride till the following spring... That moment would not leave my consciousness. And Thus I rode the bike only 3 times that year and only once last year.
I told my wife I was selling the bike, who proceeded to tell me not too because she thought I would regret it later, and she did not want to be "That wife" who did not talk me out of selling something I would regret doing later.
Now, before I was a "motorcycle guy" I was always a "car guy." My parents were divorced when I was very young but as a kid, I frequently went to my Dads and we would work on his cars. He had a chevy impala and a 1970 BMW 2002, and later after he and I watched Smokey and the Bandit, we went and Test drove a 1978 Trans Am and he ordered a 1979 with the WS6 package in black, and with the screamin' thunder chicken on the hood.
When my wife and I got married we bought our first car as husband and wife, a 1995 Jeep Cherokee Sport 2-door. And as we were waiting in line a gentleman in a beautiful C4 came up and parked next to us. I looked at this beautiful Red Corvette and said to my wife"We'll never be able to get one of those."
So - After selling the bike I did what any good IT guy does when he want to replace with a fun car that the wife and I can go to Farmer's markets in and cruise on the weekends. Google search string was "Most fun car for $5000 to $7000.... The 3rd or 4th hit was a listicle and number 6 was a C4 Corvette....
As I began looking, and checking out this forum, and asking questions, and getting google hits back to this forum, I realized after a Test drive, I was hooked.
In 1984 I was 15 years old and my older sister dated a guy with a 1981 Corvette. If the headlights were on and he turned them off/on real quick, one of the headlights would wink, even more charming. Also, he was a super slick and cool guy which is part of the charm. Then there was the long swoopy lines of the C3 body and the rumbly small block engine... I was all starry eyed. Also at that time I was full of hormones and in love with all of my sisters hot friends, so it was a very emotionally charged time in my life. That is when I fell in love with Corvettes, but I bought a C4 because they have better performance and nice ones are quite affordable.
for me, it was around 1959. I was about 12 years old, and bought the 1959 corvette 1/25th scale AMT model car kit. follow that with the Route 66 TV series, and i've been hooked ever since. fast forward to 1967 - put down a deposit on a goodwood green coupe (327/300 4-speed), but couldn't afford the $125/month payments, let alone the insurance. that was one dream that faded real fast. took another 20 years before I had one parked in the garage - a 69 fathom green coupe.
I think my story is a bit different. Everyone seems to have driven or had a ride in the car or seen an earlier Vette or the C4 and ended up really wanting one. I never really knew about the car. I think so much time passed between each time I saw a C4 that I honestly forgot what the car looked like. So when I wanted a sports car the C4 was not on my mind.
I gave up a sports car during some tough financial times trying to get a business off the ground and bought a cheap DD. I could NOT WAIT to get back into a sports car. I had to drive a truck sometimes and absolutely hated it. Yeah #firstworldproblems A friend mentioned older Corvettes since my budget was low. I didn't consider them bc in a young guys mind old sports cars = horrible ride and can't possibly be as much fun as newer ones.
Soon my heart was set on an e46 M3, a car I have always liked a lot but I couldnt afford it. So I finally looked up C4s. I couldn't believe how much ppl praised them. Once a good friend told me C4s rode better than all the other old sports cars he'd driven, I had to test drive one.
I bought the first one I drove! Yeah I checked records, great history etc but I think I would have bought it if one tire was about to fall off haha And now she's BAE So I guess I didn't want one but ended up having to have one.
I understand an M3 is a pretty sweet ride and the e46 still has some soul but I really like the Corvette following. I'm too old to care about the girls (not really) but I get off on the cool factor all by myself in the garage and I'll talk Corvettes with anybody. I"m not a Harley guy but you have to admire the camaraderie they have. That's how I feel about a Vette.
Before I was born my father had a 1979 L82. I had always sort of liked the old ones, didn't really have a ton of love for the newer ones, was really for of a import and Viper fan.
At 26 I got the itch to get into a fun car. I'd had a fun suv, had a luxury suv, and figured I was young and why not. Felt.like every American male should should own a vette at some point. Test drove a few, was smitten by the targa roof. Decided on a C6 because I wanted a paddle shift. Traded that for a GS because I loved how it looked. Now on my 2nd GS, first C6 stick. I just got hooked by the style, the targa, the practicality, and the fun.
I really enjoyed all of y'alls stories. Especially AgentEran's. I just aksed my mom and she said"Pues quiero decir desde que nasiste". In English, that translates to "Well I wanna say since you were born".
But I remember riding in my dad's '87 4+3, black. All I can say is that yeah I've always been a fan since I was a kid. My dad had them since before I was born. And now he has an AMG Benz lol.
As a child I had several plastic toy cars. They called them "sand cars" because they were most commonly played with on the beach and in the sand box. I remember I had one that was a C2...somewhere between a 58 and 62...because it had quad headlights similar to my father's 58 Belair coupe. I guess I loved it the best for that reason but it always stuck out in my mind.
Fast forward to my teenage years and I had a older cousin who has a 73 vert 4 speed. Later on he had an 85 coupe 4+3...and this one he let me drive. He went away for a while and let me use the car for like a week...loved how it drove...and wanted one since. Around 1995 I took over my family business and a few years later when I could finally afford a more high end car my accountant said it should be a sedan for tax purposes so I started buying new 5 series BMW's (still have my 01 530i). Life takes you here and there and before you know it you're 50...so I started looking...and then one day at the auction last summer my vette kind of "found me". I was 51...
Some guys on here have mentioned that it's addicting...sure is...been nosing through the C3's. But even if I pull the trigger on something I'll keep my C4. They'll have to pull it from my cold dead hands...
I understand an M3 is a pretty sweet ride and the e46 still has some soul but I really like the Corvette following. I'm too old to care about the girls (not really) but I get off on the cool factor all by myself in the garage and I'll talk Corvettes with anybody. I"m not a Harley guy but you have to admire the camaraderie they have. That's how I feel about a Vette.
The e46 has a very good following. The e46 forum section is one of the busiest I've seen for a single generation car. The car is still highly praised for its fun factor and power and is said to become a BMW classic. But the culture and overall following of the e46 and older M3s is probably tiny compared to Vettes.
But then again, what car culture doesn't pale in comparison?
Now that I enjoy the C4 so much, I wouldnt give it up. Would just have to figure out a way to have both
03-15-2017, 02:40 PM
When did a Corvette become your dream car?
And now she's BAE 
So I guess I didn't want one but ended up having to have one.
