This screed is in response to MSCC president Dave Bennet’s request for member backstories regarding their Corvette ownership/membership experience.
First, my bona-fides: I have been Corvetting since February 1967 and a member of Corvette Owners Club of San Diego since April 1967, still with the same 1962 Corvette. Do the math: Over forty-four years of close Corvette associations (COCSD lifetime member, Corvette Memphis (twice), and MSCC). The National Corvette Restorers Society (NCRS), formed in 1974, was joined in November 1977.
I was career Navy in those early days, in San Diego. A 1962 Triumph TR4 was my introduction to “real” sports cars. However, a series of schools located in Memphis, TN and Norfolk, VA on temporary orders meant the little TR4 lacked the space to bring all the accumulated stuff back to San Diego—a larger car was required and a 1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone was pressed into service. Once again settled in San Diego the urge for another sports car lingered. One day coming back from the beach a red/black/white top 1962 Corvette was spotted on the La Jolla Chevrolet used car lot. The price was a little over $2100 and they were willing to deal on the Cyclone and replace some missing parts on the Corvette. Thus begins the Corvette journey. Joining COCSD, I participated in a wide range of club activities which at that time centered around slaloms on shopping center and school parking lots.
For many years the ’62 Corvette was the only car (back then, they were not “classics;” just used cars). It toted groceries, laundry, cargo (I installed a trailer hitch), went to work, on trips, etc. In 1969 a new 350 CID engine replaced the tired 327. After passing the 100,000 mile mark in 1972 the Corvette was semi-retired and the daily chores relegated to a Volkswagen Beetle.
In 1974 I was transferred to Memphis. The Corvette tagged along on a tow bar behind a U-Haul truck containing belongings, tools, and spare parts. In 1975 Diane and I met and married. I was working on a self-paced instruction project and Diane was the research psyschologist who structured the metrics for statistical analysis. We joined Corvette Memphis where we served in various offices. In 1977 Diane was transferred to San Diego; I followed a few months later.
In 1978 while laying out a rally for COCSD, a fuel pump leak caused a fire that burned the Corvette’s engine compartment. The damage inspired a rebuild extending until 1980. During the rebuild (Note: Not a “restoration”) a 327 engine replaced the 350. Bodywork and paint is credited to Harry Lockmann of Lemon Grove, CA. It still wears the results of his skills today. In 1987 we took our place in the Bloomington Gold Silver Salute.
In 1980 I retired from the Navy, burned my GI Bill in college, and Diane was transferred back to Memphis. We rejoined Corvette Memphis, frequently serving as club officers. After working for three years as a contract instructor I joined Diane in the Federal Civil Service.
In 1981 we were given a Nassau Blue/blue 1965 Corvette convertible, formerly used and abused by my father. The only way to save it was to completely disassemble it and replace/repair everything. Remarkably, the 327 engine (NOM) was in good shape and just received new bearing, rings, seals, etc. Its biggest hurdle was bodywork and paint and it was 1990 before we were on the road to Bloomington and a Silver Salute celebration. The bodywork and paint the ’65 wears today is the result of more recent work performed by Cooks in Milton, FL.
In 1994 BRAC closed the Memphis commands that employed Diane and I and we were transferred to Pensacola. Diane went to Saufley Field and I went to NAS Pensacola (CNET) and to Saufley Field in 1998. We immediately joined MSCC, Diane serving as secretary for many years.
Diane retired in 2002; I followed in 2003. During the intervening years we have participated in 12 of 14 annual Cruising the Coast events, worked and toured in the ’62 Corvette for the Fiftieth Anniversary of Corvette at Bowling Green in 2003, toured the Great Smokies with the Freedom Road Rally in 2008, and worked the NCRS 2010 National Judging event at Charlotte, NC as well as several Chapter and Regional NCRS events.
Why have we remained loyal to the same two Corvettes for all these years? The roots lie in fond memories of our earliest Corvette days when owners gathered each weekend to tend their cars or challenge their abilities at Sunday slaloms. The C4, C5, and C6 Corvettes are technical marvels but to me they lack the visceral pleasure of driving, the connections between my analog brain to the levers, rods, and pedals that make driving the C1 and C2 a personal experience. Sure, they don’t get driven much during the muggy summers or frosty winters but that is Florida’s problem, NOT the Corvette’s.