MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH CORVETTE Dora S. Huff - C5R # W0683
My first live-in arrangement with a Corvette was in 1978. It was a 1961 which was purchased in Oklahoma and driven to my home in Colorado at the neck breaking speed of three days due to several leaks in the gas tank and bald tires. My x-husband (emphasis on the "x") raced the car and though I was content to act as timekeeper he put pressure on me to "show my stuff". Finally this constant intimidation resulted in a very fast time despite a spectacular 360 degree unplanned turn with a cracked front wheel, and ultimately concluded with my early retirement from autocrossing. Over the next 15 years I had a series of used Corvettes which included a 1978, 1975, 1977, 1984 and a 1981. They were all sold for various reasons which included finances, divorce and finally another marriage. My current husband Jim, is my soul mate in all aspects expect for my love of Corvettes. When we met I had my 1981 with 100,000 miles. He could not get into this car without either scraping his ear or bruising his shin. To say he was not impressed is the ultimate understatement and it was soon replaced by a new Pontiac. The Pontiac was great transportation but something was missing - where was that spark, the romance? I tried to rekindle the flame by purchasing the only car my husband had ever fantasized about -- a 1957 Thunderbird. It was a beautiful little car, but could never quite fill that reserved parking space in my heart. After my husband suffered and recovered from a heart attack last year, he declared he no longer had any desire to deal with "old" cars. So the little Bird sat in the garage and eventually went on the auction block. About this same time I began reading articles about the C5 and discovered the C5 Registry on the net. I had always vowed that if I were ever to become the original owner of a beloved Corvette, we would share a life long commitment. Armed with the proceeds from the Thunderbird and some insurance money my mother left me, I ordered a C5 and pondered how to break the news to my husband. Somehow I had to make him understand that no matter how much he meant to me, the time had come for a new age marriage. He would just have to open his mind to the Corvette redesign and he and his 1964 Volkswagen would have to share the garage. My new 1999 C5 is a 30 year dream come true. I am a very lucky woman to be experiencing two love affairs at the same time; one with the most caring and adorable man I have ever met and the other with the most exciting and beautiful automobile I have ever seen. |
Corvettes have turned my
head since I was tall enough to see out of the front windshield of my father’s car. I
dreamed that my first automobile would be a Corvette, but my wallet and my bank suggested
a more conservative purchase which turned out to be what I considered a poor man’s
Vette; a 1972 Opel GT. This was a blessing in disguise because like so many other
inexperienced drivers, I ended up wrecking this car within a year.