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I never dreamed of Corvettes as a kid. We were poor and Corvettes seemed like a rich man's car. There were very few in my little town. I aspired to a Mustang or Javelin.
I too admit that I had no interest in Vettes as a kid (I wanted an Avanti) nor as an adult after I could easily afford one; I never liked any I was ever in: C1 through C4.
Finally, a Vettenut I shared an office suite with talked me into driving a C5. I came back from the ride and ordered one. It was a daily driver for a few years and after 16 years I still drive it occasionally when not driving my new C7... or, my Avanti (or other toys).
Like many, I had a bunch of AMT car kits that I assembled as a kid. Pontiacs were my favorite back then because they were cleaning up in Nascar. For some reason, I was also attracted to Corvettes. I had a 59, 61 and 63 kits. Buying a Corvette was out of the question financially. Then I ordered a new Camero in the early 70s. The dealer contacted me to let me know GM couldn't deliver the Camero due to a strike at Kelsey-Hayes, the wheel supplier. I was pissed off. The dealer said he would try to make it right. I jokingly asked how much for the left over Corvette on the showroom floor. When he said add $1400 to the price of your Camero I almost fell over. Then I bought my first Corvette Stingray. After that I was hooked on Corvette.
Last edited by roadbike56; 10-19-2017 at 08:58 AM.
I’ll have to admit my dream car was a Smokey & the bandit Trans Am. I lusted long over that car.
Both of my brothers had 78 TAs. Such a cool car back then. I was lucky to have rich friends in high school/college who had a Callaway Twin Turbo (1990ish) I got to drive and a ZR1 (1990 or 91) that was worked on by Doug Rippie that I only rode in, but they started my fascination with Corvettes. Just bought my C7 about a month ago...
From the day when I was coming home from my part time job and still in high school and watched a '61 Vette race a Jaguar XKE and soundly beat him I wanted one. Took a long time, raising a family, but eventually I got one.
I always wanted a Corvette when I was growing up. We were poor even though we did not know it at the time, but I was always a car guy. I worked at a gas station and a truck stop while in high school pumping gas and changing tires to save up $600.00 to buy my 66 Comet Caliente 390 4 speed. It was a very nice and fast little car, but it was not a Corvette which I considered the forbidden fruit. My wife also was a Corvette fan.
All of my adult life I would lament about wishing I could afford to own a Corvette. My friends probably got tired of hearing about it. One day when I was in my forties, I was visiting one of my old high school buddies who is a big street rod guy. After looking at his collection of assorted cars and junk, I mentioned that I still would like to have a Corvette one day. Randy turned around and looked me straight in the eyes and said; “Don you have been saying this since high school. Your daughter is grown and you are successful in your job. Quit talking about it and do it!”
Not long after that we visited the NCM and that lit the fuse. After returning home, my wife located a like new C4 and we bought our first Corvette. We have been hooked ever since and we are on Corvette #6 (counting the 2 we currently own.) We love road trips and just visiting with other Corvette owners. Owning a Corvette has been everything I hoped for.
As a side note, the car in my avatar is a 1972 Corvette that I currently own in addition to my C7 roadster. I received my driviers license in 1972 at age 16 so if I had been a "fortunate son," this would have been my car in high school. I got it a little late, but better late than never.
Last edited by crawfish333; 10-19-2017 at 09:25 AM.
I never yearned for a Corvette as a kid either. The Shelby Cobra did it for me, and I ultimately owned a OEM-correct, factory-built reproduction complete with original Ford 427 side-oiler, Jaguar IRS, and top-loader close ratio 4-speed. It was a handful, which tried hard to kill me.
Mopar muscle as a kid growing up. Worked with my stepfather at the dealership during school breaks from age 6 to 16. First 4 cars were Mopar. My wife pushed toward the Corvette as that was her dream car. We bought our first in 1985 while stationed in Nebraska. Just made E-5 and had some extra money. Bought an 82 CE with 2700 miles on it. We've always had a Vette since. The 2017 Z06 was a 40th anniversary gift to each other.
When I was a kid in the late 70s, early 80s, Corvettes were the first cars I fell in love with. My Dad was also somewhat into cars, too, and my whole family certainly knew how much I loved Corvettes. It was always funny, though. When I started getting old enough to talk about owning one someday or ask why Dad couldn't get us one, my Mom, always well-meaning, would try to temper my expectations by explaining that "Normal folks don't usually get to own those" as her way of explaining how expensive (and unpractical) they were in relation to "normal" everyday cars.
FF to today and I've been lucky to be successful enough to be driving my fourth Corvette, third bought new. One of my all time highlights was the first time I got to take Mom for a ride in one, and I still like to bring that "normal people" conversation up with her now and then for us to have a good laugh.
I was 11 years old in 1953, and I did see a new 1953 Corvette in the showroom of Bale Chevrolet in Little Rock, Arkansas. I made $30 a month from my paper route, so that 1953 Corvette was out of my reach.
It was interesting as I loved cars, and I watched the development of the Corvette in 1954 and 1955, but never dreamed of them.
That changed in 1956 when the Chevrolet dealer in North Little Rock got a 1956 Corvette. It was on his showroom for around 3 moths before it was sold, so I was at that dealership all the time, looking at that beautiful 1956 Corvette, and dreamed about owning one someday.
My dream came true some 18 years ago, when I got my 1956 Corvette, and it is identical to the one that I lusted over back in 1956. Took a lot of time, sweat and money to make that dream of owning a 1956 Corvette come true. Had other Corvettes before that, but the 1956 was my dream car from when I was a 14 year old kid.
When I was 5yrs old I rode in my cousin's Vette that he had just bought and it was love at first sight. Grew up poor and wondered if I would ever get to this point in my life, but was able to get a deal on a Z06 which I had thought was out of my range. American muscle at its finest. Never was big on German or Italian sports cars although they are very nice.
10-18-2017, 06:34 PM
Those early days when we dreamed of Corvettes as kids...
