What’s NOT to like about a mid-year (C2) Corvette roadster? America’s dream car, and the car all us high school kids would have died to have.
Shortly after we moved from Hawaii to Austin, I started thinking about owning one of these beauties. Honestly, no one can deny the superb design of this beautiful car. And, with a body constructed completely of fiberglass, rusted panels is a non-issue.
While attending a Corvette car show in Boerne one weekend, I spotted this perfect example in the show, and it had a for sale sign on it. All the boxes were checked.. show quality paint job, masterful restoration, knock off wheels, side pipes (LOUD side pipes). Turned out, the owner/restorer was a young engineer who lived not 10 miles from our house.
Long story short, this car soon wound up in our garage as the first of many classic cars to come our way in Texas. The whole car show thing was new to us, and we entered many shows, winning numerous trophies along the way.
But, after a few show seasons, baking in the summer sun for hours on end, just to haul home another plastic trophy, soon lost its allure.
Not only that, but as beautiful as the car was, honestly, it drove and handled like a truck. And, eventually, I came to the realization that I am just not really a “muscle car” guy. I don’t take pleasure in revving up an engine and dropping the clutch to burn good rubber off the tires, nor do I see any real point in acquiring bragging rights on a car’s 0-60 mph time.. it just all began to seem irrelevant, and especially with a car that seemed almost dangerous in any driving scenario other than straight line acceleration.
So, a year ago, I decided to give up ownership of this beautiful icon, and let a “muscle car” guy have a go at it! So far I haven’t had a single day’s regret in my decision!
