In December 2017, I purchased a white 1992 Corvette, a Christmas gift to myself.

Truth to tell, I never really expected to own a Corvette. Always figured the cost would be prohibitive, or the insurance too much. Or some such . . .

I retired from my job in 2015. A few months after retiring, I came to realize that I had more disposable income than previously, mainly because my overall living expenses were fewer. Somewhat coincidentally, I saw an ad in a car sales flyer for a C4 that looked nice. The car was selling for around $14,000, with about 45,000 miles on the odometer. The ad prompted a notion, and I began to shop. I quickly discovered that C4 Vettes, and even some C3s and C5s, were not all that costly.

Suddenly my new hobby was Corvette shopping. Every evening, sometimes for hours, I poured over the Corvette listings at CarGuru.com and other sites, discovering what was available nationwide and the purchase price relative to vehicle age, condition, mileage, etc. This continued for a year while I slowly decided the Vette for me was a C4. The price on a C4 was certainly appealing. But I also liked the appearance; the wedge-shape of the car and the side profile appealed to me, and that long, long hood. As I searched, I missed out on some deals. One was a turquoise C4, with only about 10,000 reported miles on the odometer, at a Ford dealership (of all places) in Erie, PA. I saw the listing and the next day sent an e-mail to the salesman. The reply was immediate: the Vette, which the salesman assured me was like new inside and out, was already sold.

One of my problems was that I was really picky about what I wanted. Color, for instance. I wasn’t keen on green, black or red. Don’t ask why, I can’t explain it. Just personal preference. I also wanted a car newer than 1991 because of the subtle changes in front-end design, and was not keen on a convertible, also for reasons I can’t explain. And then I learned about the 300 HP LT-1 and decided my purchase had to be at least a 1992, the first year for that particular engine.

In the fall of 2017, I saw an ad for a 1996 C4 listed at a Jaguar dealership in New Jersey. The car was white with red leather, and the used car manager assured me, over the phone, that the Vette was “pristine.” He was asking $10,000, negotiable. A few days later my brother-in-law, John, and I drove to New Jersey to check out the car. When we drove up, we immediately saw the Vette parked in a line of clean, used Jags. But the Vette itself was anything but clean. The white paint was literally splattered with purple bird crap. And a closer look revealed all sorts of body and interior issues. The leather seats were badly torn. The removable glass top had a three-inch crack that some thoughtful person actually painted an arrow next to. The fender wells were badly chipped and deep grim was embedded in the paint. The rear tires were almost without tread.

A salesman came out and unlocked the car. We opened the hood and I checked the oil. It was black. The engine fired okay, but for some reason the salesman seemed not in a big hurry to have me drive the car. And John noticed that the transmission had just been serviced—another red flag. And there was no warranty on the car—none at all, not even a thirty day warranty!

The manager took us indoors and I told him what I thought of his “pristine” Corvette. He argued the point, and assured me he’d have new tires put on the car, and have it detailed. He then tried the old, tired trick of writing a number on a piece of paper and scooting it across the desk at me. His number was $8,000. I told him his “discount” would not cover a fraction of the cost of body and interior repairs and a new glass top, not to mention possible transmission repairs. John, who was standing behind the manager, smiled at me and shook his head. I got up and we started for the door. As we exited, the angry manager shouted, “This is a Jaguar dealership! We don’t sell junk here!”

About two months later I saw a listing at CarGuru for a 1992 Corvette, same color combination as the 1996 in New Jersey, white with red leather. This car was at a place called GR Auto Gallery in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and judging by the description and photos, was in nice shape. Mileage was listed at just over 63,000.

I downloaded about 80 photos from the website (the photos were from every conceivable angle, including full underside images with the car on a lift) and put them on a thumb drive, which I took to my mechanic, Rob Jackson. For about half an hour we poured over the photos on his desktop, and the only thing he saw at all questionable was some oil sludge around the pan drain plug, which looked like residue not properly cleaned up. Otherwise, the car looked clean and undamaged. Asking price was $8,900, and the car had had three previous owners.

I called GR Auto Gallery the next day and spoke to a young sales rep named Keegan Eckert. With cell phone in hand, Keegan located the car (the GR building is vast, about the size of an aircraft hangar) and this took a few minutes. Then he went over the Corvette top to bottom. He started the car so I could hear it run. I had him check the engine oil, transmission oil, lights, cockpit, radio/stereo, tires, search for scratches, chips in the paint, worn or torn leather . . . any and every fault I could think of. He did this patiently, with good humor, and actually identified problems: a tear in the passenger side seat, minor paint scratches on the front bumper, a torn carpet cover on the driver’s side stereo speaker, among others. Nothing significant. He spent the better part of an hour crawling all over the Corvette and when he was done, he said that if I wasn’t satisfied about the value of the car he could send the Vette down the street to a garage utilized by GR and have it inspected to my home state standards (Pennsylvania). At the same time, he mentioned that most of GR’s business was conducted long distance, and they sometimes sold cars to celebrities, so they had to be truthful or risk business. Deceiving a customer was simply out of the question. When Keegan was finished, I was convinced the Corvette was well worth buying.

The next day, I went to my credit union and wired the money for the purchase. The details were handled by the GR office and documents for signature were e-mailed to me. Less than a week later, I received a call informing me that the Corvette was being shipped by open carrier, cash on delivery. This was mid December 2017.

While the Corvette was in route, I notified the carrier’s dispatcher to have it delivered to Rob Jackson’s garage instead of my home, where the car would be inspected by Rob. It was snowing when the Corvette arrived, along with another older C4 and a chopped and customized 1938 Ford pickup that was being shipped to New Jersey. My Corvette was filthy from the trip. But underneath the dirt, I saw a truly clean car.

I stared at the car. A Corvette. I owned a Corvette! Couldn’t believe it! Wanted to pinch myself.  Climbing into the cockpit, I felt like I was crawling into the cockpit of one of the Air Force fighter-trainer jets I used to work on when I was on active duty. The feeling was incredible . . .

While the Vette awaited inspection, I handled the matter of title transfer and tags. The only problem found during inspection were the rear brake pads, which were marginal. I had Rob replace them. Otherwise, the Corvette was ready to rock and roll.

Since that day, with Rob’s help, I have identified and corrected other problems, mostly due to the car’s age. Three O-ring seals on the front of the engine block, all bone dry and seeping oil, needed replacing. We also flushed and replaced the brake fluid, replaced the spark plugs (the original AC Delco plugs, which I saved and display in a clear-window box at car shows), and drained and replaced the rear end fluid. And there was the knock sensor problem, which I have reported on elsewhere. I also replaced all four tires (Coopers) with General G-Max treads. The Coopers had good tread but were beginning to show signs of dry rot from age and disuse.

Still to be done is replacement of the oil pan gasket (this spring), and replacement of the popup headlight actuator gears (the original gears work but they slip sometimes when closing the lights, a sound you can distinctly hear). I also need to do something about the motorized antenna, which has a stripped gear. For now, I simply extend the antenna manually.

In the cockpit, I plan to replace that torn speaker cover identified by Keegan at GR, as well as the sun visors, which are dry as dust. I used clear shoe sole glue to repair the tear in the passenger side seat—a minor v-shaped rip that, having been repaired, now looks like just another crease in the leather. I also shampooed the carpet, which was in otherwise outstanding shape, and thoroughly detailed the interior. As for the exterior, I spent several days bringing out a car-show shine.

First thing was to thoroughly wash the car. Then I went over the paint with Griot’s Garage Detailing Clay and their Speed Shine (I use Griot’s products almost exclusively). I then applied a coat of polishing compound to remove minor paint swirls, followed by a coat of polish, and finished it off with Griot’s synthetic poly coat wax, which gives the paint a deep shine that looks almost like a wet surface. I also went over the wheels (original to the car) with detailing clay and polished them with Maguire’s wheel cleaner. The wheels were streaky from road slop and chemicals, and needed a lot of work. They still aren’t perfect, but are far better than before.

I have entered Stormy in a number of local car shows, and she always gets a lot of attention. Last year, she won a plaque at a show that featured well over two-hundred cars, including at least a dozen other Corvettes. And I drive her often—I have put over three thousand miles on the odometer. Several people have offered to buy her, but I don’t plan to sell. Not yet. Hopefully, when that time comes, it will be to someone I know is willing to take good care of her and who will keep her on the road for many more years to come.

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