Story of a 1980 Corvette

In car years, this 1980 Corvette is getting up there. Her original owner was a lady named Wendy. Wendy had always wanted a Corvette. She bought her dream in 1980 and it was a head turner – deep burgundy in color with white leather interior. Wendy never ever drove the car. She didn’t even have a drivers license. But her husband did, so the two of them  logged 60,440 miles before their first child was born in 1991. The Corvette wasn’t roomy enough for a baby seat, so the car was driven into the garage for what turned out to be Wendy’s last ride in her dream car.

The Corvette gradually disappeared under dust, cardboard boxes, lawn hoses, and anything else that needed to be stored. A mouse or two moved into the engine compartment. The battery lost it’s charge. The air gradually leaked out of the tires.

And then, sadly, Wendy died of breast cancer. The sight of Wendy’s Corvette was not comforting to the family, so they decided to sell it. The buyer was my spousal unit – The Car Guy. He agreed to take Wendy’s car home on the condition that he could get it started. Seventeen years of accumulated junk was taken off the car. A battery was installed. The tires were pumped up. The carburetor was primed. The key was turned on. And Wendy’s Corvette roared to life again.

The Corvette was trailered home and the task became fixing everything that was broken on this Road Warrior. Hubby didn’t want to make her just like new, he just wanted everything to work. He and his dad spent countless hours troubleshooting and repairing. Every time they got one thing working they discovered another thing that didn’t. Of course, most of the cars idiosyncrasies were blamed on the fact that it was a Chevy. They are Mopar men…  But they couldn’t deny the fact that the car was a real fighter. So in honour of it’s first owner, they called the car “Wendy.”

“Wendy” is in pretty good shape again. Oh, her paint is a bit scratched and rubbed in places, and she doesn’t look at all brand new. And she is not fully restored in any sense of the word. She has been out for a few short trips into town, but hasn’t accumulated any significant mileage. But she is happy to be back on the road again. She’s looking for a new owner, though – someone who has always wanted a burgundy Corvette with white leather interior…

UPDATE: Wendy was listed in Kijiji for a few weeks before a buyer was found. After a short test drive, the new owner hopped into Wendy and drove her all the way home without incidence – a distance of about 400 miles.  Happy Trails, Wendy.