Updated my garage...

Capt Steve

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A couple of years ago I fulfilled a lifelong dream to own an old classic Corvette. I bought a 1987 C4 Vette in Corvette hyper yellow. It had been nicely reststored as documented here in an old post. Fast forward 2 years and the Yellow Vette has gone over the Rainbow bridge falling victim to a vicious desert sandstorm but that is a long story perhaps for another time. The good news is the insurance company totaled the car as the projected repairs matched its insured value hence the total loss claim they paid.

I had been rigorously {religiously?} saving every month for the last two year hoping to someday upgrade too much newer model. I loved my 87 but lusted after the C7's built between 2013 and 203. Taking the unexpected windfall insurance payout and marrying it to the growing savings and I was able to go serious shopping as a cash buyer.

I must have looked at 100+ Vette's on the internet and here in the local {Phoenix} marketplace and finally found my dream car from a private party down in Tempe which meant no dealer fees or sales tax.

It's a 2017 C7 Corvette Stingray in Artic White with the adrenaline Red Leather interior and nice set of custom pinstripes. It came with the LT2 options and performance exhaust packages that bumped the 6.2L V-8 up to 460 HP and 465# of torque. At just 3,298# with 4" of ground clearance and just a tad less aerodynamic than an F-18... yes it is quick! The owners manual has a caution in the section on the 8 speed transmission. I warns you not to downshift from 8th to 7th if traveling in excess of 199 mph {seriously!}. I've put 1,000 miles on it in the last couple of months driving mostly in the mountains between Phoenix, Payson {where I live} and Show Low from 2,000 to 7,700'. Mountain driving that Vette is the most fun I have ever had with my pants on! Another nice feature is that for that 1,000 miles I am consistently averaging 27.7 mph although it drinks only premium... oh darn.

I saved the best for last... this fine Vette had just 10,150 miles on it and came with complete service records going back to day 1. For all intents and purposes it is virtually a brand new Vette. The seller only put a thousand miles a year on it over the last 4 years which included a yearly trip to the dealer for Mobil 1 full synthetic full service oil changes. Last December he took it in and had all of the fluids {oil, transmission, differential, brake and coolant} flushed/replaced.

The only upgrade I felt necessary were the tires as they were the originals. They were Michelin run flats that looked great with lots of tread but here in Arizona tires tend to timeout vs wearing out. Running 8.5 year old tires on a high performance beast is nothing I would do so it was off to Discount tire on day one for a new set. I opted for the new top of the line Michelin Pilot Sport 4s' with a set going for $1,283. The ride is so freaking smooth it is scary and of course the handling is off the chart.

I paid full price by market standards as the seller knew what he had but could not be happier, definitely $$$ well spent. I don't have the ability to post a pic here but if some one out there would like to help out I can e mail a pic if you could post it. TIA.

:cool:(y)
 
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My son just bought a 2025 Z06 last week, quite a car. It has the flat plane V8 with 670 hp, run's 10's in the quarter mile. Not to hard to get into but not the easiest to get out of at my age.
 
Below is a picture of my C7. The best 50 mile stretch fuel mileage was 34 mpg. Overall in 7 years and somewhere around 70K miles was 25.5 city driving every day. I had to replace the radiator shortly after this picture was taken but the dealer did it for like $800. I would hate to see what a C8 radiator would cost to replace. I also owned a C8 and C3. C8 was the quickest. But when it comes down to it I would have to say the C7 was my favorite with being reasonable to drive and maintain. The C8 was on the other hand very expensive.
C7 9-21.jpg
 
The Corvett paradox....once you can afford one
they are too dad-burn hard to get in and out of...:cool:
Ain't it the truth... They say you have to fall in and then climb out. I am 6 weeks into a serious bout with Sciatica. the MRI shows that I need injection surgery {needle with cortisteroids} injected into the nerves to calm them down and get back to normal. Just waiting on the VA to get me scheduled hopefully in the next week or so.

It has been a great way to drop 22#... between the pain meds killing my appetite but not so much the pain. Food just has not been a priority for the last 3 weeks. About the only fun I have is getting in the Vette for an hour or so and that custom bucket seat takes good care of my back. For the record I'll be 74 this year.

Here is a shot of the C4:

IMG_3330.jpeg
 
I was never a Vette guy after about '66-'67, but hey, what trips your nickel is what you get!
 
Getting in and out is a pain, but once your in its comfortable. FYI I am 6'-4" and 265 lbs.
When settling my late brother's estate some time ago, I had to move his Corvette to a different location. I'm not sure what year the car was, maybe '96 or so. Once I managed to get seated (quite a feat in itself), I hoped I would never have to get out because of the difficulty. Never again...

In contrast, my '67 from a long time ago was pretty plain and lacked the performance of the later Corvettes, but it made up for those shortcomings in looks and accessibility.
 
I always thought the C2s looked the best. But you can't argue the capabilities of the modern cars. Not fond of the look of the C8s, like the C7s better, but I do understand why they went mid-engine.
 
I think I was 23 when I bought this 59 for $2000 from the neighbor across the street, so that was 1973-4 just before the oil embargo when gas was 32 Cents a gallon. This car was a restomod before the name became popular. It was basically a 1953 Chevy chassis with an X frame and a perimeter frame combined. Probably from a convertible model.
The engine and transmission were transplanted from a 71 Z28. It had a 4.11 gear and weighed 3200 pounds (all of this is from memory). The 4.11 lasted about two weeks, then I got a 3.08 for $25 bucks at a junkyard. The steering box was coming apart so I rebuilt it. it would do 65 in first gear, 105 in second about 140 in third and God only knows what in 4th. It would go 75 MPH around a standard interstate cloverleaf and double any posted maximum speed limit on two lane roads. It was brutally fast and still managed 22 MPG. Compared to my 67 383 Formula S Barracuda which got 10 MPG no matter how you drove it. I was making about $13,500 a year enough to max out social security deductions equal to 8 times that today. Only had a hardtop no canvass. It was fun for a while but I got bored and traded it for a Cougar at the dealership where I worked. Now I drive the antithesis of that car, a 2024 Prius. Last tank was 68.05 MPG.IMG_6874.jpg
 
For AC it had a cowl vent.
The heater box was cardboard and basically disintegrated, so I got some sheet metal and made one from metal from scratch, using the scraps of cardboard as patterns.
The center of gravity was so low it was just like a giant go cart.
52 years ago. God I'm old :rolleyes:.
It didn't even have seatbelts. You bent the steering wheel holding on.
That same year I bought a Kawasaki 900Z for $1400. That bike ate that Corvette for breakfast, but it truly taught me defensive driving:D. My new bike a 2024 Honda XR 150, good for 85 MPG, max speed 62 MPH I think the Kawasaki would do that in 1st or 2nd gear, LOL in a tuck on a long straightaway.
 

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