I was born in 1951 and grew up in Los Angeles. I met my wife when I was 24 she was 18. We started dating when she graduated from high school and was attending a nearby junior college. Coming from a Latino family, she had very strict parents, as well as 3 older brothers and 2 older sisters. There was no way would they let me take her out on a date alone! We always had a chaperone, until I got a 1973 Corvette.
I went to pick her up, but there was no room for a third person. Eventually I had permission to take her out alone. A year later we married and that car was part of our family for the next seven years, until a Ford station wagon cut me off and wrecked it beyond repair. Thank God I was ok, but I remember a police officer asking me if I was alright. Why was I crying? I told him because my Corvette was a total wreck and my wife was going to kill me!
We had hoped we would keep that car for life. We’ve been married for 40 years, with five kids and eight grand kids. Last year, I found a 1973 Corvette parked in a small repair shop. The original owner did not have the money to fix it and it had been sitting since 2007. The car was parked in a corner for a few months, when I told the shop owner that I would be interested in negotiating a price if he was willing to sell it. About a month later, I got a call to meet the gentleman and purchased the car for $6500 cash.
It is a fully equipped Corvette that was garaged with 82K original miles. The interior is in great shape with dark Camel leather seats. Most of my time and money for the last six months have been on the exterior and lots of mechanical work, replacing old parts. Once the exterior was finished, my plan was to painted it the same color as my old 1973 Corvette: RED!
I'm happy to tell that this week my long lost love finally came home! Oh what a joy and oh those wonderful memories have come back to mind. I can’t explain the feeling of driving that car, and of course my wife is enjoying every moment, especially when we ride with the T-tops off. I love my Corvette...Happy days are here all again!