Lots to do between now and then, but I am really excited!

Like you, I've always had affection for the iconic Vette.

I like the redesign. The big scoop on the side looks great and the front grill is a big improvement!

Congrats, that's going to be killer. Convertible? Magnetic ride control?

The convertibles are cool, but it just seems to me to be too many moving parts! Too much to go wrong, if you ask me. Besides, the Coupe has a Targa Top, just like the C7 does, so if I want the wind in my hair, it's a quick switch to pull the roof off and store it in the rear.

Here's Car and Driver's take on the Z51 package;

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a29430197/heres-whats-in-the-corvette-c8s-z51-package-news/

And will be a blast to drive, I bet!

Congrats!

I'm looking forward to driving it!

I have friends who work in the Bowling Green Assembly Plant where your Vette is being made. The new Vette is incredible. I tried buying one many years ago, but being 6' 9" and 350 pounds, could barely get my left leg in.

Enjoy and good luck selling your older one.

I'm 6'3" and the reports on the forums are all over the place. I won't know until I sit in one myself.

Unfortunately, the C8's at the dealers are all sold, and they won't let you touch them.

I have a C7 and it is marginal at best that way.

I've been watching the market for used units of this type, and it is definitely trending away from me, unfortunately. But I have a few aces in my corner, so to speak and I'm by no means underwater on the old unit.

It has a somewhat rare color combination ("Midnight Race Blue Metallic" exterior and gray upholstery), low miles for the age, I added a Borla "Cat Back" exhaust which contributes maybe 5 extra HP, gives a nice, deep throat to the sound but isn't obnoxiously loud.

I've had a $1000 detail done with a Ceramic Coating, so it beads water like a champ. I'll only ask exactly what it's worth.

LOL on being 6'9" ! I mean that in the nicest way, truly. I can imagine everything you come across is geared toward people somewhat shorter than you are! From hotel rooms to automobiles. The actor Richard Moll who played "Bull Shannon" on the 80's SitCom "Night Court" was 6'8" and was once quoted as saying the only car he could fit into was a 60's vintage Cadillac because they were the only ones he could find that had the headroom!

Nice rides!

That's a serious choice there, bud, I expect it's exactly what you want and thrilled you get to have one!

At least the VIN for now!

I got new tires on the bmw, which is old, the correct tires, and went for a 500 mile spin a few weeks ago. It was like I got a new car!

I just have to take off on a marathon run every so often.

500 miles in any direction from your place must have been pretty countryside!

Stay safe, sweety pie.



{{{{{{2Na}}}}}

Went over three mountain passes twice, including the divide! And it was a pretty day.

Hope you're working as much as you want to and enjoying the ride!

{{{{A HERETIC I AM!}}}}

All the gigs that required me to fly to your neck of the woods and elsewhere have been taken over by the mid-west management district of my company and have been given to non-union drivers, and since I'm a Teamster, I'm no longer called on to do that remote work!

It sucks, but I had a nice run. I still cover trips for drivers in the Southeast region, but I drive my car to those spots. I've covered trips out of Greenville, SC for instance, for a 3 week stint. About 400 miles up the road for which they pay me miles and an hourly rate to get there. Not bad. I just don't fly across the country anymore.

I flew for this outfit all through the pandemic, averaging probably 18 outings a year from 2018 through March of this year. By "Outings" I mean flying away from Jacksonville to places like Denver or Billings or Fairbanks or Chicago or Seattle, working for 2 or 3 weeks and coming back. It was often 2 or more flight segments each direction, so I was able to gather quite a few Frequent Flyer Miles. I remember once getting on an AA 737 back in 2020 with about twenty people on it!

But all that flying certainly had a payoff. I've collected enough airline miles to get to Europe and back 1st class, so a 3 week vacay to the continent is on the agenda in a couple years.

I do look back fondly of our meeting, and I think of you often. I hope you are well and safe.

Like I said of many gigs as they ended, "was fun while it lasted." At least there is still work and you get to enjoy those nice cars in between.

You got to see some interesting places and get some bonus travel of your choosing, not a bad return. I did enjoy meeting you, my first DU face to face!



I'm glad you got to see my neck o' the woods, it's really hard to describe.

hard top, a brand new 1976 that raced at Daytona, a black 1984 I thought was jinxed, and a 1986. I was 48 when I sold the last one. All of mine were manual transmissions and I did a lot stuff with Corvette clubs.

Chevrolet has not offered a manual on the C8 model line yet. The tranny's they are equipping them with is a dual clutch, so they are supposed to shift wicked quick.

I've really enjoyed the manuals, but having the option of going from full auto to paddle shift will be cool.

I've owned two Corvettes, A heavily modified '57 that I bought shortly after high school, and a new '05. I sold the '05 in '09 because the retirement budget didn't include a $750 car payment. Had a lot of fun with both cars. Here's to many miles of safe fun driving for you.

Sheesh...Oh, to have that '57 back these days, huh?

I appreciate the kind wishes.

But it was also a rolling ulcer. Back then I was 19 and no one would insure it. They could legally do that back then. You also couldn't get any parts for the body, glass or interior back then either. I literally was having nightmares about a rock hitting the windshield, and you couldn't buy a new one. For one year it was my only car and daily driver. I needed a small piece of chrome trim around the interior and I found an ad in the newspaper that someone was parting one out. It was 7:00 am on a sunday and I went over to where it was and it looked like a shark feeding frenzy. There were about a dozen people taking the car apart.

It was very loud and a cop magnet. I never actually got a moving violation in it, but I was probably pulled over more than 20 times in the two years I had it. This was in '71-'73 and teenagers in hot rods were an endangered species. Some cops pulled me over just as a fishing expedition and then they would tell me they just wanted to check out my nice car.

But it wasn't all bad. Along with those nightmares, it's the only car that still shows up in my dreams in a good way.

The comedian Sarah Silverman had a great line about encounters with traffic cops;

"Do you know why I pulled you over?"

"Because you got all "C's" in High School?"

My first one was a red C4 and when people would ask what color it was I would say "Give me a ticket Red"!!

Everyone should own at least one car in their lives that they remember fondly and/or they turn to look at as they walk away from it!

I'm excited for you. Just did the Vette wave for you!

I appreciate it!


Keep the dirty side down!

It's a nice drive there from just about anywhere.

I grew up not far from BG and always get a bit homesick this time of year

When I first started this process over a year ago, the Museum Delivery option was $995. Now it's $1495!

I seriously wanted to go and get it up there, if for no other reason than to keep any dealer from getting their hands on it and doing some goofy shit and upcharging me for it.

Nitrogen in the tires, for example. A favorite bullshit add-on dealers like to do these days and charge you upwards of $200 for it. It's completely useless unless you plan on racing the car. Even then, it only means a few pounds of pressure difference when the tires get really hot. Fine if you're running laps at Indianapolis. Useless if you're driving to work.

Acid etching the windows.
Special coatings on the interior and exterior.

All that crap dealers love to do and charge you through the nose for.

So far the dealer I'm buying from has told me they will not do ANY of that stuff. I told them I'm not interested in any of it and I don't even want them to put their dealer logo sticker on the rear, unless they plan on sending me a check every month for advertising for them!

These guys are one of a small handful of Chevrolet stores in Florida that will sell C-8 Vettes at MSRP. No ADM. The one nearest me in Jacksonville told me they wanted an ADM of $10,000 OVER MSRP!! I told them I wouldn't do business with them under any circumstances.

So no, I'm not going up to Bowling Green, but rather I'll take delivery at the store. It's not just the $1500 cost of the Museum Delivery option, but the travel costs up there, 2 or 3 hotel nights, lost wages, etc.

You're right about the area, though. I would have taken my time coming home by driving through the Smokies south of Knoxville.

I rode through there back in 2019. Just a gorgeous drive.
vimeo.com/870519433

And they know how to make it that way!

There was some items and options I would have loved to get, but they would have ended up taking the cost to a point that was out of my price range. This one is going to be expensive enough as it is!