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| 4. Please provide more details about your current
1987. |
My 1987 convertible is named Tina (after Tina Turner) due to
her beautiful bronzed body and "legs". The car was purchased
new in Houston, Texas and was with its second owner. He was a
retired Battle Creek, Michigan firefighter and used her as a weekend
driver. I flew from Grand Rapids and drove her 1,300 miles home
with no problems. Her first car show was put on by the Corvette
Club of Battle Creek! Before buying Tina I had another Forum member
who lived in Houston check the car out for me. I have fixed most
of the minor problems with the car to include a new paint job.
The previous owner's mother had scraped the driver's side when
backing out of the garage (she was 84!). They had buffed it out
pretty good but along with the usual rock chips, etc.
I just decided to have her repainted anyway. The previous owner
had an insurance claim and got a new top and windshield installed.
He was behind a modular home whose shingles came off and damaged
the original (nice for me!) I really like this car as it is not
your regular red, black or white Corvette. It is Medium Brown
Metallic and looks great with her saddle leather interior and
tan top. I have modified her slightly by cleaning up the engine
bay, installing a K&N air filter, aftermarket wires, ignition
and plugs. I have also gone with an aftermarket catless front
Y pipe, Magnaflow high-flow cat, rear Y pipe with crossover and
muffler eliminators with stainless tips.
It is loud and proud. I also replaced the valve seals and installed
roller tip rockers. It runs strong and healthy. Over the winter
I bought a set of Riken wheels off the Forum and painted the lace
to match the body. These are the same wheels that I had on my
86. An interesting fact about Tina is that she was used at Bloomington
Gold in 2003 as a demonstrator by Gordon Killebrew in his C4 class
and again by Chris Petris in his C4 class at Bloomington Gold
2005. |
| 5. Discuss your involvement with the Corvette
Forum. |
I discovered the Corvette Forum by doing an "Ask Jeeves"
search under "Corvette". I surfed the Forum as a looker
for several months before joining. I have to say that I learned
more there than in years of reading Corvette books and magazines
and from all the classes I have taken at Bloomington Gold and
Corvettes at Carlisle. It is an extremely valuable resource for
our hobby. Since I have learned so much from the Forum I enjoy
passing the knowledge I have gained on to new members.
If I pick up tips at C4 classes and car shows I like to pass them
on to others; especially those who have done me favors. I was
especially proud to help out a Forum member who lived in Oregon.
He found a car he liked on the internet. It was a 6-speed yellow
95 and was exactly what he wanted. Since the car was located in
Michigan, I drove there to look at it for him and then met him
there when he picked it up. I was returning the favor that the
Houston Forum member had done for me the previous year. |
| 6. What are your favorite Corvettes? |
| My favorite Corvette was the 65 convertible that I owned. I
wish I could have kept it and restored it. |
| 7. If you could own only 1 Corvette, which one
would it be? |
| The one Corvette I would like to own is a 1996 C4 Callaway Grand
Sport. |
| 8. Why Corvettes and why the C4? |
| It is an American Icon, just like the Harley Davidson, baseball
and the American flag. I like the C4 best just because it looks
good and stirs something in my soul. |
| 9. Do you own any other cars as a hobby? |
| . I do not have any other hobby cars. I bought a 55 Ford pickup
to drive and restore at one time but just could not afford to
do it properly at the time. |
| 10. What other cars do you like or may like to
own? |
| I also like the 60s Mustang GT350. It would be nice to have
one in primo condition. |
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