When did YOU know someday you would own a CORVETTE ? - Page 6 - ZR-1 Net Registry Forums

Funracer · 02-27-2013

Grew up in Miami. My Dad went in to private practice (after many
years of medical school and training) in 1969. I was 12 yrs old. The next day he went to the local Chevy dealer and traded in his Morris Minor for a silver '69 4 speed coupe. He used to drive it very fast.

Six months later he walked out the door to go to work. In 15 seconds
he walked back in and said "The Corvette has been stolen". With the insurance check he bought another '69, a yellow automatic. When I was 14 he let me drive it around the block.

Shortly after that my Dads pilot friend gave me a ride in a '62
340 horse. He drove it hard and scared the cr*p out of me. I figured any car that scared me like that I just HAD to have some day.

By the time I could afford my own it was 1993. ZR1's were THE vette
to have in the early '90s. I test drove a Buick Grand National. Not scary
enough. Z's were fairly scarce then and if one was around how to get a ride in it? I became impatient (a failing of mine to this day) and looked through Hemmings and Auto Trader (not much internet then). I joined the
original ZR1 Registry started my the late Larry Merow.

I still had never driven or had a ride in one but finally could not wait any longer. With help from Larry I found a '91 w 11K miles on it in New Jersey and flew up to see it. Believe it or not the guy only wanted $32K for it. It was the least expensive 91 for sale in the country at that time as far as I could tell.

I knew I would own a vette someday because of those early Corvette
rides. When did I know it would be a ZR1? On that test drive. As soon
as the secondaries opened that car was SOOOOLD!

Still a thrill after 20 years!

Rgds

rebelz · 03-07-2013

For me, 1960 when I saw the first ad for the 1961 Corvette. When did I know it would be a ZR-1? When I saw this Ad: We'd Love To Show You The New ZR-1...

In 2007 I bought mine!

voxdeidave · 03-08-2013

In 1991 I was with my mother shopping for her new econo-box at Thomas Chevrolet in Media PA. A bored 12 year old sitting in a crowded show room was a sight thankfully one of the salesmen couldn't stand. Within a few seconds of being spotted he had me sitting behind the wheel of a gleaming Black/Red C4. From that moment on I knew this was to be "my" corvette......it just took me a few years and a couple of college degrees to actually put it in my garage.
Never dreamed I would find a Black/Red 91 Zr1 in my price range, but I did. And the cross country road trip several summers ago to drive it home from LA to the PA poconos with my step-dad was an adventure that I will never forget. He is no longer with us as of this past winter. But, every time I get behind the wheel I'm instantly transported to both that dealership many years ago and just a little bit of tire rubber left on my dad's favorite stretch of route 66 headed east!

dredgeguy · 03-08-2013

In 1988 when I was single, ran into an old friend at a local bar on a Friday night. He had a few more beers than he should have and proceeded to tell me he had to sell his 'baby", a red/gray 86 with the 4+3 trans that weekend. He was in the middle of a nasty divorce and on Monday the lawyers were going to get it. Said he would sell it for what he owed the bank. Saw it that night and it was perfect, only 18,000 miles. Drove him home and then looked closely at the car the next day. Golf clubs fit in the hatch so wrote him a check and had a red Vette! Drove it as my daily driver. Got married in 90 and my son was born in 93. Yup, sold it in 94 but promised myself would get a replacement some day. So I waited 18 years and upgraded to the red/black 92 ZR-1. More grins to the mile then anything on this planet and that is why I have a Permigrin.

4CAM LT5 · 03-08-2013

It was sometime during 1964...I was ten years old, and I saw a 1963 Sebring Silver Split-Window Coupe. Love at first-sight. Fast forward forty years, to 2004...got my first Corvette at the age of 50. Have had five since then.

Rex Ruby · 03-08-2013

Always loved cars as far back as I can remember. When a cousin of mine returned from Viet Nam he bought a '66. On a visit he took me and my brother out for a ride. That was it, had to have a corvette some day. Like most of us raising a family took most of the financial resoures at the time. Would always look at Corvettes and lust for one. In the late 80's a friend was buying Corvettes in Florida and bringing them back to Phila selling them at a profit. Asked him to drive one, it was a '78 and what a POS. Poor performance (I think my Maxima was faster) everything rattled. I almost cried after that drive I was totally let down. A few years later in the early 90's a friend had bought an '88 and let me drive it. That '88 extremely clean and well taken care of, loved it. He put it up for sale a year later, I wanted to buy it but it was a little too soon as I had 2 kids close to college age. 1999 I started my own business, had a company car from the previous job that I had to turn in leaving me needing transportation. Was working with a 30K budget, was looking at Sevilles and beamers when I had an idea to look at Corvettes. Came up with a plan to buy a clean used Corvette for about 20K and use the rest to buy a decent pick up truck. Found my Ruby (LT1) for 18,800 and bought a nice Chevy 2500 pick up for 10K. 2002 my wife decided she wanted a convertible. We bought her a Ruby (LT1) vert. Two years later the vert was hardly being driven and the wife tells me if I want to sell it to buy a ZR1 and can work out the money to go ahead and do it. So, in 2004 I bought my '94 Z. In 2010 wife wanted a Corvette for a daily driver so we bought her 2001 Pewter couple. Even though she has a Tahoe as a back up she drove her vette to work today in the snow!

Cal55 · 03-09-2013

Some great stories here that I enjoyed reading. I just remember growing up in the 60's thinking and saying some day I'm going to own a Corvette. I just always thought they were a cool car. I bought my first one in 1989 it was a 70 Bridgehamton blue 350/300 4-speed coupe that was a 20 footer but I guess I had Corvette fever. I tracked down the original owner to find out it had 100,000 miles more on it than I thought. I think the odometer was at around 75,000 and he told me he towed his snowmobiles with it and took it hunting with his dogs in the car. The car was his daily driver, but still come on man. As they say ignorance is bliss. I put a lot of money in that car much more than it was worth at the time and the frame was pretty rusty. It was a fun car to drive but a money pit, I kept it for about 10 years. I bought my second one in the fall of 2009, a Polo green/beige LT1 6-speed coupe with decent mileage from a Chevy dealer. I enjoyed that car even though I didn't drive it much and sold it last spring. I really missed owning a Corvette and bought a 91 Quasar blue/black ZR1 with around 27K miles on it last summer that I really enjoy.
Joe

02-27-2013	#51
Funracer Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Shalimar, FL Posts: 192	Re: When did YOU know someday you would own a CORVETTE ? Grew up in Miami. My Dad went in to private practice (after many years of medical school and training) in 1969. I was 12 yrs old. The next day he went to the local Chevy dealer and traded in his Morris Minor for a silver '69 4 speed coupe. He used to drive it very fast. Six months later he walked out the door to go to work. In 15 seconds he walked back in and said "The Corvette has been stolen". With the insurance check he bought another '69, a yellow automatic. When I was 14 he let me drive it around the block. Shortly after that my Dads pilot friend gave me a ride in a '62 340 horse. He drove it hard and scared the crp out of me. I figured any car that scared me like that I just HAD to have some day. By the time I could afford my own it was 1993. ZR1's were THE vette to have in the early '90s. I test drove a Buick Grand National. Not scary enough. Z's were fairly scarce then and if one was around how to get a ride in it? I became impatient (a failing of mine to this day) and looked through Hemmings and Auto Trader (not much internet then). I joined the original ZR1 Registry started my the late Larry Merow. I still had never driven or had a ride in one but finally could not wait any longer. With help from Larry I found a '91 w 11K miles on it in New Jersey and flew up to see it. Believe it or not the guy only wanted $32K for it. It was the least expensive 91 for sale in the country at that time as far as I could tell. I knew I would own a vette someday because of those early Corvette rides. When did I know it would be a ZR1? On that test drive. As soon as the secondaries opened that car was SOOOOLD! Still a thrill after 20 years! Rgds Last edited by Funracer; 03-07-2013 at 08:28 PM.*

03-08-2013	#53
voxdeidave Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Saylorsburg, PA Posts: 50	Re: When did YOU know someday you would own a CORVETTE ? In 1991 I was with my mother shopping for her new econo-box at Thomas Chevrolet in Media PA. A bored 12 year old sitting in a crowded show room was a sight thankfully one of the salesmen couldn't stand. Within a few seconds of being spotted he had me sitting behind the wheel of a gleaming Black/Red C4. From that moment on I knew this was to be "my" corvette......it just took me a few years and a couple of college degrees to actually put it in my garage. Never dreamed I would find a Black/Red 91 Zr1 in my price range, but I did. And the cross country road trip several summers ago to drive it home from LA to the PA poconos with my step-dad was an adventure that I will never forget. He is no longer with us as of this past winter. But, every time I get behind the wheel I'm instantly transported to both that dealership many years ago and just a little bit of tire rubber left on my dad's favorite stretch of route 66 headed east! __________________ [B][I][SIZE=3]Dave Macbeth[/SIZE][/I][/B] 1991 ZR-1 #384 1969 MGB OD, Pertronix, Monza 1972 MGB project Life should be filled with classy music and fast cars!

03-08-2013	#54
dredgeguy Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Ellicott City, MD Posts: 1,726	Re: When did YOU know someday you would own a CORVETTE ? In 1988 when I was single, ran into an old friend at a local bar on a Friday night. He had a few more beers than he should have and proceeded to tell me he had to sell his 'baby", a red/gray 86 with the 4+3 trans that weekend. He was in the middle of a nasty divorce and on Monday the lawyers were going to get it. Said he would sell it for what he owed the bank. Saw it that night and it was perfect, only 18,000 miles. Drove him home and then looked closely at the car the next day. Golf clubs fit in the hatch so wrote him a check and had a red Vette! Drove it as my daily driver. Got married in 90 and my son was born in 93. Yup, sold it in 94 but promised myself would get a replacement some day. So I waited 18 years and upgraded to the red/black 92 ZR-1. More grins to the mile then anything on this planet and that is why I have a Permigrin. __________________ Charlie __________ Dredgeguy WAZOO Member 1992 Bright Red/Black ZR1 #246 Dana 4:10 gears Polished LT5 by Haibeck Polished Fikse FM5's with Michelin Pilot Sport 2 Stainless Works headers and cats with Corsa

03-08-2013	#55
4CAM LT5 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Blue Bell, PA Posts: 89	Re: When did YOU know someday you would own a CORVETTE ? It was sometime during 1964...I was ten years old, and I saw a 1963 Sebring Silver Split-Window Coupe. Love at first-sight. Fast forward forty years, to 2004...got my first Corvette at the age of 50. Have had five since then. __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC][B][SIZE=4][FONT=Arial Black][COLOR=DimGray][COLOR=Red]1991 ZR-1 #318 -- SOLD 3/28/2013[/COLOR][/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE][/B] White / Red Leather / Bone Stock / Two Tops / Goodyear Eagle GS-D3's [I][B]The "Past Collection"... [/B][/I] 2004 [COLOR=DimGray]MSG Coupe [/COLOR][I](Sold)[/I] [I]1996 [COLOR=SlateGray]Collector Edition Convertible / LT4 [/COLOR](Sold) 1989 Triple Black Coupe (Sold) 1991 [COLOR=Blue]Quasar Blue Convertible [/COLOR](Sold)[/I]

03-08-2013	#56
Rex Ruby Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Springfield, PA Posts: 372	Re: When did YOU know someday you would own a CORVETTE ? Always loved cars as far back as I can remember. When a cousin of mine returned from Viet Nam he bought a '66. On a visit he took me and my brother out for a ride. That was it, had to have a corvette some day. Like most of us raising a family took most of the financial resoures at the time. Would always look at Corvettes and lust for one. In the late 80's a friend was buying Corvettes in Florida and bringing them back to Phila selling them at a profit. Asked him to drive one, it was a '78 and what a POS. Poor performance (I think my Maxima was faster) everything rattled. I almost cried after that drive I was totally let down. A few years later in the early 90's a friend had bought an '88 and let me drive it. That '88 extremely clean and well taken care of, loved it. He put it up for sale a year later, I wanted to buy it but it was a little too soon as I had 2 kids close to college age. 1999 I started my own business, had a company car from the previous job that I had to turn in leaving me needing transportation. Was working with a 30K budget, was looking at Sevilles and beamers when I had an idea to look at Corvettes. Came up with a plan to buy a clean used Corvette for about 20K and use the rest to buy a decent pick up truck. Found my Ruby (LT1) for 18,800 and bought a nice Chevy 2500 pick up for 10K. 2002 my wife decided she wanted a convertible. We bought her a Ruby (LT1) vert. Two years later the vert was hardly being driven and the wife tells me if I want to sell it to buy a ZR1 and can work out the money to go ahead and do it. So, in 2004 I bought my '94 Z. In 2010 wife wanted a Corvette for a daily driver so we bought her 2001 Pewter couple. Even though she has a Tahoe as a back up she drove her vette to work today in the snow! __________________ John Porter '93 Ruby Coupe ZF6 - Muffler eliminators, Blink Blink kit and Polished ZR1 Wheels * PA Plate: OBSSSN '06 LeMans Blue C6 Coupe - Corsa exhaust * PA Plate: OBSSSV ZR1 Net Registry Founding Member #153 40th Anniversary Registry Member NCM Family Membership #8116 Corvette Forum NE Events Coordinator Delco Cruisers Board of Directors SAVE THE WAVE!

03-09-2013	#57
Cal55 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: LaGrange Highlands,IL Posts: 46	Re: When did YOU know someday you would own a CORVETTE ? Some great stories here that I enjoyed reading. I just remember growing up in the 60's thinking and saying some day I'm going to own a Corvette. I just always thought they were a cool car. I bought my first one in 1989 it was a 70 Bridgehamton blue 350/300 4-speed coupe that was a 20 footer but I guess I had Corvette fever. I tracked down the original owner to find out it had 100,000 miles more on it than I thought. I think the odometer was at around 75,000 and he told me he towed his snowmobiles with it and took it hunting with his dogs in the car. The car was his daily driver, but still come on man. As they say ignorance is bliss. I put a lot of money in that car much more than it was worth at the time and the frame was pretty rusty. It was a fun car to drive but a money pit, I kept it for about 10 years. I bought my second one in the fall of 2009, a Polo green/beige LT1 6-speed coupe with decent mileage from a Chevy dealer. I enjoyed that car even though I didn't drive it much and sold it last spring. I really missed owning a Corvette and bought a 91 Quasar blue/black ZR1 with around 27K miles on it last summer that I really enjoy. Joe Last edited by Cal55; 03-09-2013 at 07:44 PM.