I am new here but not new to Corvette's. I started my Corvette ownership back in 1969 when I purchased a 1963 Roadster from a local Chevrolet dealer for $800.00. Yes i said 800.00 dollars and i drove it home. I rebuilt and repainted the car and kept it until 1972. My next Vette was a new 1973 coupe i had kept for a couple of years and sold. My next project was a basket case 1968 convertible. I completely rebuilt this car from the ground up. When I purchased the car it had a 327 short block installed in it. Upon removing the fuel tank during the rebuild i discovered that the car was 390 hp 427. Sure wish the original engine had been in it. During the rebuild of the 1968 i purchased a new 1981 Corvette. I really never got into the 81 as much as the others it was a automatic and all the other cars were 4 speeds. Not near as much fun to drive, but it was still a Corvette. In late 1982 my Cousin purchased a Chevrolet dealership in the St Louis area. When the 1984 Corvettes were introduced i traded both the 68 and 81 in on a new 1984. Man did i love that car till i drove a 1985 when they came out. the power was so much improved with the tpi intro as well as the ride. I knew I was going to have to have another new vette. I traded the 1984 for a new 1986 with the Z51 pride and handling package. Man that was a great ride. During the time i had the 86 i found a 1959 C1 that needed a lot of work and started rebuilding it. I finished it purchased a 1966 roadster that needed a interior and paint job. I replaced the interior and stripped and painted the 66. I had those three cars until 1987 and sold the 86 first then the 59 and then the 66. Got married in 1987 and the 59 and 66 went to purchase a new home. Regret selling them but enjoyed the builds and the thrill of driving them. Now from 1988 to 2011 i was out of the Corvette business. In august of 2011 my wife purchased for me a 1984 Corvette because i had told her i wanted to redo one more corvette before I got too old to do one. Man at 63 years old it was a lot harder to get my old body to do that kind of work, but by September of 2012 i had replaced or rebuilt everything mechanical except the engine, transmission and differential. The car had only 56000 miles on it. The interior had been upgraded to the 1986 style door panels which were not in too bad shape and the seats were good. I had to have the digi dash repaired as well. I stripped the car and repaired a few cracks and painted the car carbon flash metallic. It was originally black. I fell in love the carbon flash color the first time i saw a c6 painted with it. I enjoy driving the car, I know it cannot keep up with the newer cars but it is a corvette and it was paid for the first day I had it I look forward to making new friends here and will try to help out in any way I can using the knowledge i have gained over the years.

Welcome to the Guru....looking forward to your input....

Welcome. That is quite a history. Also the first time I ever heard of an $800 Corvette, even in 1969 that had to be a terrific buy.

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Welcome aboard Jerry.

I did the exact same thing except, paid $1,300 and sold it in '73 to go racing.

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Welcome, Jerry - glad to have you with us!

I knew there would come a time we could use this.


Welcome.

That color sounds interesting, I'm going to look into it for my 85. I'll have to see it in person. Seems lower maintenance then black.

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome Jerry, great introduction!

I like it with the red accents...

Welcome aboard Jerry! Great to have your breadth of knowledge here!! Sounds like an impressive series of Vettes!

I have a 92 and my wife has an 87... both down right now... Read the thread FIRE FIRE FIRE in C4 Tech for that tragic tale of woe. I will be done Saturday. All I need is 3 hours.

My brother had a 67 L71 back in the 80s. That was a wild ride! But even he acknowledged that my 92 is a much "better" all around car...

How did you hear of us?

Again - WELCOME!

Welcome aboard and love the history of your corvette ownership. Where are you in IL?

Matthew