Good for the Soul

So we stumbled upon a car show completely by accident when we visited a favorite pizza place for dinner recently.  We pulled up and there they were--muscle cars from all decades and in all stages of restoration.  As to be expected, we found ourselves amongst the popped hoods of dozens of classic cars until we came across one that was in pristine condition.  The owner had documented everything he had done to the car, from engine reconstruction to the paint job--and he had done it all himself. He'd purchased the car in retirement with no experience, and slowly learned the process of bringing it back to mint condition. We talked to he and his wife for a long time about it, and it was like seeing ourselves in the future.  I can only imagine (and dream!) of what Stella would look like after that much time and work had been put into her.  As I admired every angle of their beautiful car, I wondered if we would ever reach this point.  If someday many, many years from now Mike and I would sit in a parking lot next to our four-wheeled baby, while nostalgically watching a couple of youngsters staring under her hood in awe. It seems like an impossibly long road, but what do we have if not time? We're already off to a great start.  And seeing a husband/wife duo that resurrected an iconic American muscle car from the floorboards up gave me a huge sense of inspiration.

I can see what she'd look like in my head. Hot blacktop and the setting sun. 

The Best Time of Year

It's springtime finally, and after a few weeks of rain to wash away the salty roads of winter, it was time for the best time of the year.  Time for the eye candy to come out of the garage.

Spring is a fantastic time for anyone living in Michigan. After a long, cold and dark EIGHT MONTHS indoors, we can finally open our windows again, and be outside without taking 10 minutes to bundle up.  Everyone's Vitamin D levels go back up as we are finally exposed to sunshine again.  It's awesome, that first opportunity you get to open the windows after so long.  For me, this time of year is even better than most, because not only can I open my windows, but I can also start up my Corvette. 

Of all the things I miss about Stella all winter long, the thing I miss the very most is the relief she brings after a long, hard day at work.  I can't explain why, but coming home, jumping in and driving fast in that car makes me forget about everything else.  That kind of stress relief can't be bought and can't be replicated.  It's truly priceless.

Having Stella out of the garage again reminds me of course that her driver's side rear wheel is about to fall apart. And her turn signals don't work. And her battery drains over night. And I get to ask myself awesome questions like, "I wonder if my window will roll down today??"

That's ok.  No car has ever been loved quite so much. :)

The Best One Ever

I bet you thought I forgot! Of course not. :) Lots of changes happened this year that certainly kept me as busy as I've been since grad school, but enjoying Stella is still one of my most favorite things to do in the world.  Lately, I've been thinking back on what a great year it's been! From the very first day of the season (a Sunday) when my husband brought her back to our apartment for the first time in over 5 months. I could barely stand the wait, and when I saw her parked in our car port I couldn't wait to get inside. 

We took LOTS of long, long drives in the country.  When I say long, I mean 2 to 3 hours long.  LONG and awesome. Winding roads, hills, not another car or traffic signal for miles. Just the two of us and that phenomenal car. 

Sometimes we preferred the attention and drove her in the city, the way we did on the 4th of July when we went downtown for fireworks.  Sometimes we preferred to stretch her legs, and took her far away from home with no GPS to tell us where to go.

Unfortunately, our long drives cost us dearly.  The passenger side rear wheel gave out mid-summer, burning itself up on the side of a country road.  We sat in the beating sun for over an hour waiting for the tow truck, but loved every minute of it.  Because even a broke down Stingray can make me happy.

It cost us almost our entire repair budget for the year to get her back on all fours again, but we did it.

And it wouldn't be an antique car experience without the generalized mass leaking of fluids from everywhere and at all times!

In late July we bought a house, and for the first time since owning her, Stella had her own garage stall to protect her from the elements.  My favorite part? Not having to cover her with a tarp every time it rained!

 Fortunately, we were able to do a few simple projects ourselves!

Summer eventually cooled off and winter came, and this year it felt so much better to park her in our own garage.  It was recommended after this year's wheel damage that we lift her up off the ground over the winter months and take her wheels off.  Now she balances precariously on 4 jack stands, and although she looks quite silly at the moment, it's so nice to see her everyday. :)

GM released the first model in the newest generation Corvette in January of this year. It was much anticipated and well loved by Corvette enthusiasts everywhere, including this one. It was the first model Corvette to be call a Stingray since Stella's year--1976.  It lives up to the name!

And although the new C7 could out race Stella in a second--even though only the finest and most high-end material s were used to make the interior--there's simply nothing that can measure up to the Corvette you get to park in your own garage. To the one you get to call YOUR OWN.

So here's to Stella--the best one ever built. 

Three Legged Corvette

Did I mention that Stella lost a 'hubcap?' I don't think I did. Yeah one night we were driving around downtown (I think it was 4th of July) and we heard an awful noise while turning onto a side street. We chalked this up to driving over a sewer cap (silly rabbit) but in hindsight I'm pretty sure that was the moment we lost it.  We're currently contemplating the pros vs. cons of buying a single replacement hubcap to a new set of four with some of the remaining money in the Vette fund.

Oh and she's filthy again. Haven't washed her since we moved in and I can't show her off around town until she's looking her best. ;)

Welcome Home

My husband and I recently bought a house after living for almost a decade apartment-to-apartment.  We had a very short list of must-haves when it came to house-hunting, but one thing we knew we wanted was a third garage space for Stella.

I've got to hand it to this car.  She stuck it through for a year sleeping under a tarp in the driving rain and wind.  She spent the winter months in a stranger's one-car garage which she shared with a motorcycle, tools and various lawn equipment.  Constantly exposed to the elements, she grew filthy quite often, and received tow threats from our apartment management for having leaky fluids.

It was a difficult year.  I've always wanted an old Stingray like Stella, but it was always with the thought in mind that I'd have a safe place to store it.  As it happens, I found Stella before I found my house, but I guess all is well that ends well.  I can't say enough how happy it makes me to have a home for her now, where the passage of time won't take quite as large of a toll on her as it did outdoors.  

I think she likes it. :)

Well That Explains a Lot!

We took Stella out for the 4th of July downtown to see fireworks.  We had to park several blocks from where we ended up watching the show, but nevertheless it was a legendary night of Stella-love.  With the city streets packed full of people of all ages, we received countless shout outs and hoots/hollars as we drove past.  As per the usual, children loved Stella best and I asked Mike why he thought that was, considering they don't know anything about make, model or horsepower.

Mike: "Stella looks like a big Hot Wheels car."

Me: *STARTLING REVELATION*

;)

Dream Sequence

I've often had dreams in which Stella makes an appearance, much like I've had dreams about Mike, my family members, and my job.  But last night I had a dream that was so detailed and complete that I had to record it here!

I was at my parents' house and for some reason Stella was being stored in the garage (in my dream Mom and Dad's garage was set up like a workshop at the mechanic, though this is not how it is in real life).  I was sitting in the living room with the family when I noticed an older black man with a baseball bat coming up the driveway (no stereotypes intended--my subconscious is apparently a little racist! >_<).  His mannerisms scared me and I ran to the door, shouting at him to go away--and surprisingly he did, but only to the house across the street.  When he reached our neighbor's house he used the bat to smash in their front windows and go inside.

Meanwhile, as I'm watching from the front window of Mom and Dad's house, I'm freaking out and shouting at my Dad to call the police.  Dad calmly explains that we don't need to do that because we can "see everything from here and keep an eye on him."  Apparently I am the only one concerned about the safety of my neighbors in this dream!

Time seems to go by with little detail, and like many dreams I have, I know things are taking place without witnessing them actually take place.  I know that I've been obsessed with watching this strange man inside my neighbor's house, I know my family is not as concerned as me, AND.... I know they've STOLEN STELLA. *HORROR*

The intruder now has invited several of his friends over to stay in my neighbors house, where I'm sure they are breaking all kinds of laws while my family and I watch.  But when I start seeing them racing Stella up and down my dirt road (and in my dream I can vividly see her, red with a black stripe, lacking her historic license plate on the nose just the way she is now, squealing tires and flying dirt and rocks off behind her), I go completely insane. I start begging my dad to finally call the police before they "kill her."  I was very dramatic in this dream though I'm sure if this really happened I wouldn't act much different.

Dad agrees that it's time to call the police and seems confident that we'll be able to get Stella back because we know exactly where she is.  I don't witness the phone call, but I somehow know that the police agreed to come have a look, but only twice a day at certain times.  If Stella wasn't at the house where the intruders were during those certain times, they'd drop the case.

I hadn't seen the intruders take Stella out in a while, and I started thinking that the battery probably died.  HAHAAAA SUCKAS!! >:D  

[This part deserves a little background information, because I'm not sure I've discussed it in the blog previously.  Basically, each and every time we go out driving we have to reconnect the battery, and then disconnect it when we return.  If we don't, the battery will literally drain overnight, leaving not even enough juice to turn the interior lights on the next day.  Luckily, the battery is located just behind the driver's seat, rather than under the hood, so it takes only a few moments to hook it up each time.  Last year we panicked numerous times when we would come out and turn the key.... to nothing.  We eventually realized that battery power was leaking profusely somewhere, even when the car was turned off.  Because we couldn't find any device that seemed to be soaking up battery life, I developed the hunch that the battery cables were probably bad, and simply leaking battery power out into the surrounding area.  It's common in a car this old.]

Anyway, in my dream I thought that this had happened.  I go to check it out and sure enough, the intruders couldn't figure out why they couldn't get the car to start.  They threatened me into explaining what was wrong, but I told them I needed to get some tools to be able to fix the problem.  They let me go and I call the police at that point, telling them to come over quick because my stolen car was at my neighbors house!

I didn't see the rest of the dream in detail, but I did end up getting Stella back.  I remember that I felt very accomplished with myself because it seemed like Mike and I had earned the right to drive Stella by figuring out all the tricks to keep her on the road, while these strangers hadn't done any work and therefore were too uneducated to handle her.  I guess that is true to a certain degree in real life (although I'm sure most people would've checked the battery), but I do have an underlying sense of pride when it comes to Stella.  You can't just hop in and turn the key like any other car, because she's simply not like any other car.  In reality it's more of an annoying series of mechanical things, but in my dream it was more of "a car chooses its driver" kind of thing. I liked it. ;)