1984 Coupe owned by Michele gray

One day there was a little girl, with a little curl right in the middle of her forehead…who, at the age of nine fell in love with the first Corvette she ever saw. And the rest, as they say, is history!

I was sitting in the back seat of my family’s car, traveling from Long Island to my birthplace of St. Louis, staring out the window bored to death…when all of a sudden this beautiful little white car went zipping by, top down, equipped with the most handsome man I’d ever seen (other than my Father of course) and I fell head over heals in love…with the car. The ensuing conversation with my Father went something like this –

Me: Daddy, what kind of car was that????!!!!

Daddy: A Corvette!

Me: When I get older I’m gonna buy one!!!!

Daddy: You better start saving now.

I saved diligently for many years and was fortunate enough to be able to afford my first one at age twenty-one. And, as each of us does I’m sure, I remember it with vivid clarity. It was a brand spanking new, black 1967 convertible, with a red interior, 325/325, four-speed, with posi-traction. I was in heaven! But not for long. One night a couple of years later, just before Christmas, I was racing home to meet my brother so we could go Christmas shopping and ended up taking a turn a little too sharply and rolled it over. I was devastated – not about getting hurt but about hurting my car!

Two days later, bruised from head to foot, I went over to the local Chevy dealer and bought another brand spanking new, gold 1969 coupe, with black interior, 350/350, four speed, with posi-traction, and a new option--an alarm system. Once again I was in heaven! But not for long! One night in February just two years later someone decided they were entitled to my car (without the title) and stole it! I was devastated! In less than a month I was going to get married, so I deferred to the wisdom of my future husband and didn’t buy another one. Oh, lucky me…he had a white 1969 convertible that I’d be able to use once we were married. Hence, my third Corvette.

Number three was doomed from the start but not because of my luck…because of the inferior product produced by GM. I used it every day to go back and forth to work, from Morrisville, Pa. to Princeton, NJ (maybe 20 miles tops) and had to carry with me plastic milk gallons full of water because it would overheat almost as soon as it was started. This little gem had more problems than I could cope with so eventually it was sold and from what I heard later it eventually caught fire and melted to the ground!

So now I’m a happily married woman with no Corvette (so how happy could I have been)! Years go by and my husband decided he was going to buy a new LaBaron convertible. Yuck! After listening to the salesman for 45 minutes I stood up, turned to my husband and said "I’m going to have a convertible but it’s not going to be a LaBaron. I’m going to Reedman’s Chevrolet and get a new Corvette." He was aghast! And guess what? That’s just what I did. In October of 1983 I ordered a red coupe, with tan leather interior, 350/350, five speed, loaded! I was so excited I could hardly wait! Delivery was promised around the middle of December. Sometime in December I was called by the salesman and told they were having a problem with the red paint adhering to the fiberglass so I’d have to pick another color. Okay, how about black and black? Same problems. Okay, what other colors do you have? He lists them and I select gray and gray. We all know the problems that GM was having with the Corvette that year which brings us to May of 1984 and finally the delivery of the Gray 1! Did I mention I was in heaven? Again!

Many things have changed in my life since I fell in love with that 1955 Corvette but not how I feel about this car.