A Corvette Weekend For Dad
This past weekend I brought home a test car appropriate for Father’s Day: a 2008 Chevrolet Corvette coupe that I knew my Vette-fanatic dad — who has owned the same 1964 Corvette roadster since 1976 — would flip out over.
Prior to my bringing it home, he instantly picked out the car when I quizzed him over the phone, “Guess what car I’m bringing home. I’ll give you a hint: It’s fitting for the Father’s Day weekend.”
“A Vette?” he asked, followed by an excited, “a Z06?!?!” Sorry, Dad, no Z06 this time, just the base 436-hp coupe.
Having this particular car in the Cars.com test fleet couldn’t have come at a better time, not just because it’s a Vette but because the 2008 coupe was bright red with a manual transmission — same as my dad’s ’64.
When my brother and I pulled into my dad’s driveway with the 2008 on Saturday, he was already sitting outside, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new weekend toy. As I stepped out, he looked at me with a grin and a “you son of a gun” squint. In fact, I think he actually called me a “son of a gun.” After plucking around the inside and showing him all the gadgets, we pulled his 1964 version out of the garage and hit the road; he and my brother in the 1964 and I in the 2008. We cruised all afternoon, pacing each other side by side down the road and greeting other Corvettes with the required wave of the hand.
After cruising both cars on Saturday, my dad and I took the new Vette to our family’s Father’s Day activities on Sunday. “It’s the most impressive car I’ve ever been in,” he said while we were leisurely cruising along at 60 mph, still trying to digest the fact that we were getting a consistent 28 mpg and riding smoothly along the highway in a car that’s capable of triple that speed.
In his own words: “Even though the seats are comfy, it has all the convenience features and all that horsepower while getting 28 mpg on the highway. If I did pick one up, it would have to be as a second Vette.”
There’s no chance he’d sell the ’64 for a brand-new 2008, which was the hot question all weekend. Even though the 1964’s selling price would provide a good portion of the 2008’s MSRP, there’s just too much personal history with his 1964 Vette. As he said to me, “The `64 has been around to see you, your brother and sister grow up, and it’s just like a member of the family.”
Previous
Subscribe to our feed
Email us your tips!
Isn't it ironic that the only car that Chevy doesn't slap a big, gaudy gold bow-tie on is the one that's known for being driven by people who wear excessive amounts of gaudy gold jewelry.
I realize that has nothing to do with this post, and of course the whole greasy douchebag stigma does NOT apply to guys in classic Vettes, it's just something I find ironic.
Put the 2008 drivetrain under the 64's body and I'd buy one in a 'Heartbeat'.
Neil -- That's what I'm talking about! I can't tell you how often we've thrown around the idea of ditching the `ole 750 carb and throwing on a modern fuel injection system, or just transplanting a fresh fuel-injected engine in there.
why is it that my car with half as many cylinders and, oh, 1/3 the horses gets the same highway miles?!?! not fair!
To be fair, 28 mpg isn't the official EPA highway rating -- 26 mpg is the official rating -- but 28 mpg is what we observed on a highway trip running about 60 mph. Plus, at 60 mph, the six-speed-manual transmission puts the revs at under 1500 rpm.
Your pictures are excellent.
hm...
Maybe it isn't such a great idea to display your dad's tag.
Great story Joe and fantastic pictures. I'm sure you gave your Dad a weekend he'll never forget!
Joe, Your pictures look fantastic. Thank you for creating a Fathers Day that I will never forget. Think about this. There's 44 years between those two cars, and they're still turning heads. The legend lives on !!