In 2006 I only owned one corvette. I was always working on it and it seemed it was always off the road being upgraded or modified. To solve this dilemma, I decided to purchase another Corvette to make sure I always had one to drive on weekends. My son went to Sydney in September 2006 to see some friends, so I asked him to have a look at a car for me while there and take a lot of photos. The car was perfect. 1973 Convertible with a 502 cubic inch Big Block, flash paint job and my favourite interior colour (Saddle). The next weekend, I flew to Sydney to have a look. Got on the midnight horror flight from Perth. Arrived at Sydney airport early then jumped on the train to North Sydney. Once off the train, it was a short walk to the car owner’s place. Spent some time pouring over the car and asking many questions. We went for a drive across the Harbour Bridge and through the jungle of Sydney. The sound of the sidepipes echoing around the buildings was awesome. Happy with the car, we went to the bank to sort out the money and he dropped me off at the airport to fly home again.
After organising transport, the car arrived in Perth a couple of weeks later. I spent the next seven years upgrading and modifying the car.
- Upgraded Stainless Steel brake calipers with drilled performance rotors
- New offset rear swing arms and plastic monoleaf spring
- Bilstein sports gas shockies all round
- New wheels
- TH700R4 transmission
- Fuel injection
- New radio with amplifier and better speakers
- Spiral inserts to replace the glasspak mufflers in the sidepipes
- March serpentine belt system
- Chrome bits everywhere
In 2015 we shut down our business and downsized. The cars had to go. We moved down south and with work, I didn’t have time for cars for a long time. Moving back to the city a couple of years ago, I decided it was time to buy another Corvette. I had been actively looking for around 6 months, but the cars I was interested in were overpriced and over east. I didn’t have the time to go travelling all over the country just to be disappointed. At work one day recently, a work colleague, who knew I was into cars, showed me a picture of a Corvette up for auction locally. Well blow me down, if it wasn’t my 73 Convertible that I had been missing for the last 7 years. It was the solution to my problem if I could get the car for the right price. Long story short, I managed to purchase the car before it went to auction. My car has come home and the people who have owned it for the last seven years haven’t done a thing to it. It was like it left home yesterday. Still has the minor issues I was working on when it was sold. Give me 6 months and it will be the perfect car it used to be.
Tim
