John D. Meyers
John D. Meyers referred to his ‘Vette as “not so special” but could not be further from the truth. He included an impressive backstory…
“I have read several articles in Old Cars regarding long time owners of cars purchased new. In August of 1972, I ordered my 1973 Corvette convertible from Luck Motor Company in Ashland, Virginia. It was not so special because I was trying to keep the cost down. It was ordered with the standard L-48 engine, four-speed transmission, power steering and the auxiliary hard top. Unfortunately, because of wildcat strikes at some GM plants the hard top was not included when the car was delivered on November 16, 1972. I still have my Mille Miglia Red Corvette to this day and the odometer reads just over 44,000 true miles. It is pretty much still stock except for replacing the front sway bar with a larger diameter one and adding a rear sway bar. It has been garaged ever since 1976 when I built a garage at my former house. The car was only my daily driver for about 2 years when I bought a well used ’67 Camaro to commute with.
“This was not my first Corvette. In 1967, a year after I graduated from college, I walked into Dominion Chevrolet (Now Hendrick) and purchased a new 1967 Marina Blue Corvette convertible equipped with the L-71 427 cubic inch, 435 horsepower engine with a four-speed tranny. I was unmarried at the time. Two months later my college sweetheart and I got married. Two years later in 1969, we had purchased our first home, our son was born, and I had a wife, baby and groceries to carry in a 2-seater car. I traded my beloved Corvette in on a new 1969 Camaro, 350 two-barrel, automatic transmission Camaro (didn’t want to go from a Corvette to a station wagon) with the understanding that when we could afford to have two cars, I would buy another new Corvette. That time came in 1972. I had gotten a promotion on my job and a year earlier and we had bought a new 1971 Plymouth Valiant Scamp for my wife. However, I was not overly anxious to get another fire-breathing Corvette like the ’67. I didn’t think I needed the 454, and I thought the LT-1 from 1972 would be continued as the high performance small-block. Having experienced a car with a solid-lifter engine on the streets, I opted for the standard engine. Had I known about the L-82 hi-po engine with hydraulic lifters, I probably would have stretched my budget and paid the extra $ 400 or so to get it. However, my ‘Plain Jane’ Corvette is still much fun on the backroads.”
“I have been a Corvette addict since 1954 when I was ten years old and saw the Corvette advertised on the Dinah Shore TV show. Shortly after that, one was displayed at the Virginia State Fair. I knew I just had to have one. My love of Corvettes did not end with my ’73 convertible. In the 1970’s I bought a used ’69 Corvette and turned it into an autocross/solo 1 car. In 1989, I purchased a ’73 Corvette L-82, 4-speed coupe from a college fraternity brother, who had bought it new. I still have it as well. I also own a 1979 Corvette, a 1987 Corvette convertible and a 2008 Corvette which I bought new. My most recent purchase was a 1957 Corvette replica, built by a friend of mine from a shortened G-body Malibu and reproduction Corvette body panels.”
John D. Meyers
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