This 1984 Chevrolet Corvette started showing up recently in the parking lot of the business next to my office in Youngstown, Ohio.
One day I had a few spare minutes, so I wandered over for a closer look and snapped a few photos. Naturally, that was the exact moment the owner of the business—a vinyl graphics manufacturer—stuck his head out the door and asked what I was doing.
The obligatory apologies followed, along with me awkwardly explaining that I worked next door, I was "a car guy" and owned a '91 Corvette convertible. You know how those conversations go.
As it turned out, the Corvette belonged to one of his employees, a 23-year-old graphic designer who had just bought it for around $2,000. Ouch. Hearing that stings when I think about what I paid for mine—but then again, this is an '84.
He introduced us, and the kid looked even younger than 23. He reminded me of myself at that age, always trying to look older. Funny how quickly that changes. Back then I grew a beard to add a few years. Now I occasionally think about shaving it off to lose a few.
He seemed a little nerdy and slightly uncomfortable in his own skin, and I could tell he was struggling talking to him. I didn't have the time to put him at ease hoping like he most likely did that the conversation would end as quickly as possible.
What I was able to get out of him was that he wasn't a car guy at all. When he was a kid, one of his favorite toys was a C4 Corvette in a similar blue-purple color. So, when this one popped up on Facebook Marketplace, he couldn't resist.
He'd already put new tires on it and replaced the brakes. The air conditioning blew cold-ish, he insisted it "needed a charge." Cosmetically, it's a 10- or 20-footer, with spider-web cracking scattered throughout the paint.
I asked if he knew much about working on its notoriously finicky, problematic Crossfire fuel injection. He laughed sheepishly and admitted he didn't but said it was running just fine. He didn't know anyone who worked on the system either.
I must have cursed him.
The next day, the hood was up.
I haven't seen the car since.
No comments:
Post a Comment