The Corvette

Born at the St. Louis plant November 16, 1971

My Corvette Story (every one of us has one):

My first vette experience happened about 1976/1977. My Godfather visited from Florida and took me for a ride in his vette. Although it was a short ride, the damage was done - I fell in love with vettes. As I recall, his car was white with red interior. In July 2000, after missing a '73 that was for sale, I was cruising in The R and decided to stop at 7-11 for a Want Ad Press magazine. I had always wanted an orange one, but finding a nice orange, chrome bumper vette with a/c, auto and not abused - that's a tough job! No sooner did I open the magazine, the page practically opened for me to see - '72 Orange Corvette, 350 c.i., auto, a/c in very good condition! It sounded too good to be true, but I called anyway.

My buddy Tom drove me to see the car and, like The R, it was love at first site! It was hard to control my enthusiasm but man, the car was! Tom and I took it for a test drive - it was like that scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off with the Ferrari - we were flying!!! The owner, Lou, and I negotiated a fair price very quickly. He was happy to see his rarely-used car go to someone who really appreciated it (besides, he has a mint '67). Well, I have entered it in a few car shows and won best paint in September 2000 at the newly formed All-American Corvette Club. I have since joined the club and would recommend it to other corvette people. All years are welcomed: from 1953 - today's vette. This club has a lot of very nice members. See the link below! The car still has no name - if you have a suggestion, e-mail me! Yes, chicks dig the vette...actually just about everybody does!

Got Corvette Parts? Let me know - I have lots of friends with lots of Corvettes.

That's me at a car show in Wayne, NJ in September 2000.

 Above: These 2 pictures were taken moments after I bought the car from Lou, the nicest guy anyone could ever buy a used car from!

Above, left: Lou sells the vette. Right: The Shark.

The Corvette's #1 fan is my mom! She also enjoys Corvette pasta!

Cool Corvette Links

If you're a true corvette enthusiast, try the All American Corvette Club website. It includes lots of great corvette pictures, as well as, links to other Corvette sites. Club events are also listed on this site: see the NJROA & AACC Car Club Calendar page.

Great place to learn about corvettes (53-82). It is the best resource for restoration, parts, judging criteria etc: National Corvette Restorers Society

New: To see pics of the Mako Shark Concept cars, click here!

Did You Know: The 68-82 Corvette was inspired by a mako shark!

Restoration Progress Reports:

Before you ask, "why?" - I'll tell you. No car is ever completely finished. Restoration is constant and never ending, unless the car is never driven - not the case here. The Corvette needs little by comparison to my Buicks, but she needs a few things here and there.

August 2000: At the Corvettes at Carlisle, I purchased the following: remote stereo with hidden/wireless faceplate (this way the original radio stays in and functional, but I do not lose points when competing against other cars) with 6 disc changer, new speakers and new front carpet, floor mats, r/s pillar molding, emergency brake console, interior saddle spray paint for detail, gas lid emblem, and number of cleaning/detailing products.

April 4, 2001: I just replaced my battery with an authentic looking reproduction DELCO battery, and it looks just as it did in 1971/1972. Boy, what a pain in the rear dealing with 6 quarts of battery acid, charging, and etc - but it was well worth it. The battery is also date coded as it would have been when manufactured in '71. Looks nice! My advice: if you have gone through the effort to restore your car, don't omit the battery. You've already sank thousands - another $200-$300 won't hurt much and it really adds a lot of character to your effort and car's appearance!

April 5, 2001: Ordered GM spark plug wires, GM oil filters, and a plush t-top bag (just for use, not for show).

April 28, 2001: I decided to punish myself by taking the vette to the mechanic's lift and see how much work is needed: here we go: radiator leaking, needs new radiator and might as well change the support that is banged up and new hoses and thermostat. Suspension needs all new bushings (front/rear) ball joints, tie rod ends (all). Power steering needs to be replaced - completely. She also needs new belts. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper on this day! However, it is all worth it when I drive this car with the t-tops off on a nice warm day!

May - June 2001. Radiator Project: Click here to learn all about the wonderful radiator project:

June 4, 2001: The engine compartment gets a cleaning! Just spent about 4 hours removing paint from the hoses & wiring, degreasing and cleaning areas not accessible when the radiator is installed, cleaned the top half of the engine block, engine accessories and revived metal fittings, clamps and misc. metal. You should have seen the amount of grease I washed off! It looked like the frying vats from a dirty burger joint!

Newsflash: Wahoo! New factory correct parts just in: gas cap, upper/lower radiator hoses w/ clamps, and dated coded spark plug wires!

July 26, - August 9, 2001: Click here to see the rear facelift project: Well hidden from my deceptive picture taking is damage the vette sustained from a rear collision. Well, I could have waited until winter but I just couldn't stand it anymore, so off she went to Falchetta's Restoration shop in Caldwell, NJ. Click above for the full story.

August 24, - August 26, 2001: Corvettes at Carlisle! This is a great show if you love Corvettes! I bought ther following goodies: factory correct side pipes, leather seat covers, front lower spoiler, NOS "CORVETTE" letters emblem for rear deck, rear deck grill screws, NOS radiator support, A-frame splash guards, license plate frames, several Corvette models and more goodies!

April 27, 2002: At last, the sidepipes are on! The rumble is fantastic - louder than many Harleys (including my own). The look is stunning - more glistening chrome. The overall appearance is a clean look with equipment that looks correct on the car! Many thanks to my Corvette Pops, Jon Racich, for guidance, patience and simply put - an overall good time! To get your factory-correct sidepipes from the guy who makes it for Paragon, contact Mike Allen at allencorvetteexhaustsystems.com.

Once you go pipes, you never go back.

Upcoming projects: Doorskins, carpet, seat covers & engine detail.

July 15, 2002: The Corvette goes to Falchetta's for rear panel fitting, painting and installation.

July 25, 2002: Another job well done; Falchetta does nice job with rear panel. Pics coming soon!

August 24 - 26, 2002: Corvettes at Carlisle means goodies for the vette: new door panels, full interior carpet, alternator bracket, trim rings and centercaps (absolutely beautiful chrome!), NOS left amber turn signal (just to fill the garage shelf), 2 sets of 1972 dated NOS ignition wires, t-top bushings, NCRS manuals & books, 1 C3 Corvette watch, 1 Buick watch (hey, I love them too), several custome made Corvette T-shirts, and a 1953 Corvette 1:18 scale model - just for xxxxx and giggles.

September 2002 - June 24, 2003: Because of another leak in the radiator, I decided to pull the radiator again but this time I decided to restore the entire engine compartment. The scope of work included: degreasing the block, fender walls, firewalls, hoses & all componants, repaint just about everthing I cleaned and repair/correct any damaged/incoorect componants and etc. For all of the details (and trust me, there are plenty), click here: Engine Compartment Restoration.

October 3, 2002: New Al Knock door panels have arrived! Pics coming soon!

January 2003: The seat covers are going on soon! See pic below:

Above: New leather seat covers, just like the originals. Note the change in color from fading!

Above: The original seats that I believe were re-dyed years ago.

Above: The bottom of the passenger seat. I found (what appears to be) original tags (part #s). Each seat had a ca. 3 inch black aluminum tag with a series of numbers. The rails have minor surface rust the will clean up nice after I put the wire brush to it & repaint them. Papa Jon will show me how to recover the seats with the new covers & seat foam I purchased at Carlisle.

Above: No seats!

April 19, 2003: Papa Jon invited me to his house to show me how to recover my leather seats. We spent several hours doing one seat (Jon would have been done faster, but he took the time to show me in great detail - it was fantastic!). I learned by watching and doing. It was actually quite simple although an extra pair of hands makes the job, which can be at times cumbersome, easier. We also took the time to sand away minor rust of the frame componants. The seats are not done yet...being the perfectionists Pops & I are, we decided that I would sand and repaint the seat frames. I know nobody else would ever know if I had left them a bit rusty...except me, and that's why I am taking the extra time to do it!

May 9, 2003 (into the early hours of May 10): I "painted" the driver's side seat frame with POR-15 at home.

May 23, 2003: I ordered the following parts: transmission cooler lines, wiper blades, replacement bolts for the front crossmember & radiator support, GM belts, emissions/air cleaner/air conditioner compressor stickers, seat pivot screws, seatbelt retraction webbing (for the shoulder harness), "D" & "F" note horns, lugnuts and a pair of valve cover gaskets. I promise to work on it this weekend - Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

June 10, 2003: Bad day: should have just walked away before a trashed both of my arms and successfully completed nothing - what a waste of a beautiful day! At least Papa Jon came through by getting me A/C Delco cap/rotor and Borg points. Ecklers parts came in: all A/C Delco...horns made in France, wipers made by Anco. Needless to say, I was not happy with this after a crappy day. I'll try it again tomorrow, in the rain...again.

June 23, 2003: First test drive upon completing the engine compartment restoration. I drove to work & back. It seems to be a success - Bowling Green, here I come!

July 2, 2003: Got back home! The trip was a blast. Lots of memories & pics, click here for the details: Bowling Green or Bust.

July 26, 2003: Went to Englishtown for the annual Corvette Challenge. I didn't even compete for the show but I did give the Autocross a try - damn glad I did. I took home 3rd place in C1-C3 Stock class. This was my first real attempt at any type of competitive racing and I had too much fun. My best time was 36.18 second on the coarse, not bad considering some C4 & C5 drivers took as long as 43 seconds! The best time was turned in by a heavily modified C4 & ZO6 in the 29 second range. This event was fun because much of the results was up to the skill of the driver - or lack of! (several "so-called" hotrodders nearly wrecked their cars needlessly trying to look cool). It was still fun anyway!

Mom claimed my 3rd place trophy.

My car was #18 in DS class.

August 22 - 24, 2003: Got some nice NOS parts while at Corvettes at Carlisle: a rear view mirror & r/s front turn signal lense. Also got a book on brakes (the next project on almost every car I own), a large case of zinc nuts/bolts/washers in assorted sizes (needed them in the engine project), and some misc. specialty tools.

late August 2003 - May 2004: Just kept the car clean baby - time to enjoy after a long Spring of engine bay work!

May 23, 2004: Removed & painted the front steel wheels so I can add the chrome trim rings & center caps I bought a while ago!

In this picture, the Vette sports the new BF Goodrich tires (235 front/255 rear) and new GM trim rings & center caps. I also painted the steel wheels. (She also needed a bath)

July 2, 2004: Changed oil/filter and added a replacement ash tray I've had for a few years now (from Carlisle).

August 27-28, 2004: Got soome goodies at Carlisle: screw kits for lower, front spoiler & front chrome grills and a set of 5 used ralley wheels. The wheels will serve as a spare (my original has rim damage) and a set of 4 race tires for autocross. Several weeks ago, I chewed up a good amount of tire at Englishtown - now I'll have a set aside for such events. This is a record - least amount of money ever spent at Carlisle!

September 2, 2004: Added the new front spoiler thanks to the screw kit I bought at Carlisle. I've been without a spoiler for 2 seasons!

May 24, 2004: Papa Jon came to my rescue & finshed off the re-upolstry project with the seats. Thanks Pops! Here's one project I'd like NOT to do again!

May 29, 2004: My Italian connection, Mario & RT, came down and helped my gut the inetrior. All trim will be painted, door panels removed (new ones installed), new carpets & etc. More details to come.

June, 2005: OK - I have a ton of new interior parts I have purchased over the last 2-3 seasons and I decided to install them this summer. My buddies RT & Mario came down to strip the interior. Basically, all is out. I will work on it over the next couple of weeks. To be installed: carpets (front/rear), door panels, repaint all trim panels, install newly covered seats (Thanks to Papa Jon) and install a new rear view mirror.

late June, 2005: I have repainted all interior trim dark saddle and installed an NOS rear view mirror since my old one was rough. Unfortunately, I accidentally kicked my driver side lap bealt retractor and the seatbelt guts came flying out like a jack-in-the-box!. So all I have to do is remove one bolt holding the seatbelt retractor under the driver's seat - the toughest one I ever had to remove!

July 29, 2005: I put the Vette down for a while since I was having difficulty removing the seatbeat bolt under the driver's seat and with the non-aligning driver door panel. I just got myself air tools for my 175 PSI, dual stage compressor I bought last Fall. In 3 seconds flat, the seatbelt bolt popped out - success! Tomorrow I've give it to my adopted pop, RT, to fix for me since the same thing had happened to him a couple of seasons ago. He's got machinist's hands so he'll have a better shot than me!

July 30, 2005: Mario came down today to get me closer to putting it all together since a week from today is the autocross race I do yearly. After a good day's work, we managed to get the rear carpet, rear trim and another few things done. Let me tell you, the rear carpet is a real pain-in-the-rear! Working the pre-cut carpet over the wheel wells is no easy task. Additionally, we worked carefully as to not trim the carpet too far. After all was said & done, we did a nice job! Thanks Mario! One step closer to next week's vintage race at Englishtown!

----- Last Updated on October 12, 2006 -----

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