Why a Corvette?

Dik

Dik

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May 7, 2014
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This is NOT a middle-aged-crazy thing. As a kid I always had interest in sports cars.

In the mid 60's my family was into motorcycles and muscle cars. I was only seven and I had a preference for the Jaguar XK120, XKE and the Austin Healey which quickly rolled over to the C2 Corvette. It has been the Corvette ever since.

My first sports car was a low-mileage 1974 1/2 Datsun 260Z. What a blast and I was hooked. My best pals were so impressed with this little car one bought a RX7, the other a Celica. Fun times.

When the Shelby GT500 came out family, friends and some neighbors got on board (two neighbors bought Shelby's, a GT500 and a GT350). Amazing but not a sports car.

So why did you pick the corvette and when did "the love" start?

And sorry for being long winded...

Dick
 
Came to Canada in '57 and was immediately blown away by our cars and their horsepower. Loved the 'vettes but never could afford one until later on and then marriage and kids happened, so the 'vette thing was shelved.

Did have a few muscle cars including the Shelby you mentioned but was really amazed at the C4 ZR1 when she was introduced in 1990. Was absolutely taken by it.

Still didn't get into a 'vette until my brother did in 2011 at which time I bought a GS.
Since then I have my brother's C6 vert as well as a C4 vert to satisfy that lingering C4 passion.

LOve all vettes, and tho they aren't the most expensive sports cars available, they are arguably some of the best performing cars on the road now.

My passion will live on as long as I'm around, and very happy to have jumped into the corvette world.

Colin.
 
My first sports car was a Austin Healey 3000 with a 327 4 speed combination. A car I wish I had not sold and had the ability to put together correctly. At the time I had neither the real knowledge nor funds to do it right. It lacked a lot of little things that constantly popped up and caused issues. It was also my first car.

I have always loved sports cars of all types. I loved the USRRC & Can Am race cars, the back of the C5 has always reminded me of those racers.

Buying the Corvette was sort of an impulse thing, I had been looking around and just found the car I have at the dealer one day. I bought it on sight. The last Corvette I had driven was a new 72 or 73 big block car. Until I picked up the C5 I had never driven one.

Great car and a great community of owners.
 
Interesting ...

Now that is an interesting but too short story, CCO.

I was the youngest of seven kids; three (way) older brothers, three (way) older sisters ... and their boyfriends, their cars and their motorcycles. Oh gawd! Yeah, I can tell a few stories .... as I'm sure most members here can. :) I inhaled a lot of exhaust fumes along the way!

Even with all that bad influence I live a kinder, gentler, more modest-er (?) lifestyle. BELIEVE IT! :D

It was the C4 for me too when I made up my mind that I'm definitely buying a Corvette. Took a long time though ....

Regards,
Dick
 
Austin

Black 03 Z06 said:
My first sports car was a Austin Healey 3000 with a 327 4 speed combination.
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I just had to Google the Austin 3000. "Timeless" is the correct word.

327 .... lol. Yeah, you'd be allowed in the passing lane with that. :eek:

One older brother had a modified 327 in a Nova. We mused about putting that into my Datsun 260Z. Never pulled it off though. Probably a good thing.

Sunbeam Tiger! Another sweet sports car. While tearing around town in my 260Z I had a very long look at a Tiger's taillights on the Whitemud Freeway. It was real loud. .... I think he had a 289. Don't know. Never got a chance to say hi .... :seeya:

Dick
 
Yabutt why?

Elf said:
My first Corvette was a 66 vert triple black BB stolen from Champagne Chevrolet Willimatic Connecticut .Oh that new car smell :D
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Okay. A 66 convertible and a big block of all things. You just described my future car. :)

Elf, please consider this query .... I don't know when you bought the 66 but lets say your purchase was many years ago (decades perhaps?) this is an interesting angle.

So if you bought your first Vette decades ago (I hope) what were the parameters for your decision? Did you research alternates, buy on impulse, always wanted a Corvette, your dad had one, a spanky new model? I am interested to know how or why you purchased a Corvette when there were other (60's) cars available?

Remember, the Country Squire was a beast too. :seeya:

Elf, I apologise in advance if I am way out of line .... I am thinking you can offer some insight to sports car buying from the 20th century. :D

Sincerely,
Dick
 
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Elf said:
My first Corvette was a 66 vert triple black BB stolen from Champagne Chevrolet Willimatic Connecticut .Oh that new car smell :D
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Elf what is the story on the"stolen" part? :confused: Did you snag it or did someone snag it on you. Just wondering if the statute of limitations applies to stealing a Corvette Big Block Roadster?

Dick, those Tigers were a really nice car. I am surprised at how many of them seemed to have survived. V8 powered Datsun? Somebody must have done one, that would have been an interesting combination. Always like the styling of that series of sports cars.

Just a note on the 327/4 speed conversion in the Healey. The Chevrolet motor and trans mission weighed about 60 pounds less than the Healey straight 6 and overdrive transmission. The Healey rear end was one of the few parts that held up, it was a tough unit. Everything else broke but not the rear end. Figures.
 
Black 03 Z06 said:
Elf what is the story on the"stolen" part? :confused: Did you snag it or did someone snag it on you. Just wondering if the statute of limitations applies to stealing a Corvette Big Block Roadster?

.
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Actually my neighbor stole it and drove it to Maine one weekend .He offered me the car for a a Saturday night date and I accepted ( reluctantly) .My girl friend was so impressed we got married a year later .As for the car it was returned and the neighbor spent a little jail time .It hooked me for life even though it would be 20 years later before I acquired a 69 vert .
 
Great stories!

My dad had a '65 vert with a 365-327 and side pipes. I loved the sound and smell of that car. However, he sold it to get a minivan when I was 9.......damn kids.

So, that hooked me on Chevy's and my uncle is a Mopar man, so that got me into the muscle cars. I didn't think I could afford a Vette so I bought a very clean 350 4-speed 81 Camaro (not a muscle car :rofl:). Years later when I was almost done university, the combination of a strong dollar and selling the Camaro allowed me to take a road trip to Vegas with some friends where I had a prearranged deal to meet up with a guy selling a 2000 coupe. The rest is history!.....or is that, the rest is current times?
 
Well, I never actually cared for Corvettes to be honest. I liked them up to the C2's with the notched in rear window but really never developed a liking for the bubble window ones and sort of fell out of love with them for a long time.

My 1st sports car was a 1982 Datsun 280ZX which was so enjoyable to drive.

I was drawn back to the "dark side" by a yellow C5 and while I struggled to thing about how I would ever afford one (insert 2002-2004 timeframe here) I was toast when the C6 arrived and knew that somehow I had to get one.

Dumb luck, so to speak, getting cancer and surviving for 5 more years and the car was my reward...............

Been in love ever since and on good days even the C7 looks appealing.............

Now I actually have a much broader appreciation for all the C's and have even been tempted by a yellow C4 and C5 from time to time as they are so price attractive all things consdered..........

Cheers,

Garry
 
Back in 1970 I had my COPO Chevelle and was perfectly happy with it. A friend wanted us to take his '68 Corvette for a drive. It had the 300 hp four speed setup. Perhaps the car still had shipping blocks in the suspension but it rode like a stone boat and us farm kids knew what they rode like. Performance was a big drop from the 427 as well. Not impressed I spent my years with my old Chevelle muscle cars, L35, L78 and L72 powered. Then Ron, a friend of mine, bought a new 2008 six speed Corvette and invited me to take it for a ride to see what I thought of it. I was IMPRESSED. Two or three years later two guys got very interested in our Chevelles. They both went down the road and the search ended up with the 2005 Corvette that we have today with 13,300 miles on the odometer. The ride, the handling and the performance were miles ahead of anything that I had ever driven before. Three summers later, we still love the car and really see no reason to move on. It has a permanent home right here.
 
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as a boy, my dad raced sports cars and then stock cars. not sure quite how old I was, 7 ish, when I told my mom that I would buy a vette. ony took another 42 yrs. always liked cars, usually muscle cars, mostly MOPAR, but the vette has always had a special place in my thoughts.
 
I grew up a farm boy driving trucks. Loved sports cars and had the obligatory Lamborghini poster on the wall. I loved the Miata and the pure raw fun of the small roadster and said for my 40th I'd buy one. Marriage and raising a family took priority. When I turned 40 my daughter asked me why I wasn't buying my car I always talked about. I pointed out the back window of the acreage to the holiday trailer and trailer with 4 quads, one for each of us, nuff said. Fast forward a few years and with kids older and marriage failed my health was a mess. Wondered if I would be around to enjoy retirement so did some figuring, downsized and started looking for a convertible.
My son and I drove a few different styles and types and actually was thinking of a Cadilac XLR. Loved the hard top but wasn't logical with the limited trunk space. Took my first trip to Vegas ever and rented a Corvette for the day. HOLY CRAP, THAT WAS IT, I LOVED IT. Came home and the following spring bought my 2005 convertible.
My health got straightened out with a transplant, have a new lady in my life, my kids are happy and life is grand! To top it off just this week I found an exhaust system on Kijiji, form Phobia_Street actually and bought it. Told my fiance and she says "That's going to sound great, your such a boy" I love her and my car!
 
Always loved cars, built a lot of models growing up. Loved the mopars. my 2nd car was a 340 duster. then a GTO, and a 65 chevy 2. Got married and all the toys had to go... Fast forward, kids get older, I get the craving for a midyear. Bought a 64 4 speed coupe 365 hp. Always loved the lines of the midyear coupes.
 
Always loved car's since I was a kid, went through many cars, some very cool and fast ones as well.

The Corvette bug got me after a few Porsche's. The Porsche's are fantastic, and anyone who has driven them, will agree, BUT, they are not cheap to keep.

The cost to keep a vette is MUCH MUCH better.

The vette does not dent, which for a car you plan to drive and park is a HUGE benefit. It does not rust (the body)

It gets the thumps up all the time.

The vette is fast, turns on rails and looks amazing!

Time for you to get one!! And if the budget is an issue, and you plan to wait, don't, buy an older one, or one with higher KM. And enjoy!

Oh ya, and the friends you will met through the corvette club make the ownership even better!
 
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