Sadistic
Der Bismarck
The anti-vette lives
Since I was a kid, I always wanted a '69 vette. I had a neighbor (Henry) who used to come over our house when my siblings and I were kids. Sometimes when my mother was gone, he would watch us. The problem was, he had the mind of a kid in many ways but nobody was willing to tell him (he was a physical monster, national weight lifting competitor). The last time he watched over us, we had a watermelon fight in the house and my mother was not too happy about it when she got home that night. Years went by and he got married and moved from the house next door. He also bought a 1968 corvette. He once drove up the neighborhood in it to visit somebody and I saw it. It looked ok but it had an odd front end (tilt nose). About 10 years went by and a friend of mine (who was a cousin of Henry's wife) told me that Henry wanted to sell the vette. This was in the mid 1980's. I pursued the rumor and Henry said, "Geez, if Sadistic wants to sell it, I'll let him have it for $3500". Even in the 80's this was a great deal. I bought the car (it was in rough shape) and began a merciless exhibition in self torture. By this time, the car was black with rusted Hooker headers and Cragar wheels. It did not run. Henry said it originally had a big block 427 in it but by the time I bought it, it had a small block. I got it running, put on some Centerline wheels and BFG tires, buffed it out and used it for a summer. All was well except on one day, the motor began making a knocking sound. A main bearing was gone and it was an opportunity to switch the car back to a big block. At the time, GM listed LS6's and LS7's (454's) as available. I put a $1000 deposit for an LS7 at a local Chevy dealer and waited over a year, to no avail. Then I discovered an LS6, new in the crate at a dealer in NJ. I bought the engine and put it in. Of course, I had to switch pulleys, brackets, etc. but had the help of a corvette business called "Corvette Specialty Center". There were 2 guys I dealt with from this place (Mark and Tom). These guys new C3 vettes like nobody I ever met (a big difference from the Eckler's newbs, who always ask "Do you have a part number?"). Some years later, I moved to Florida and brought the vette there.
Since I was a kid, I always wanted a '69 vette. I had a neighbor (Henry) who used to come over our house when my siblings and I were kids. Sometimes when my mother was gone, he would watch us. The problem was, he had the mind of a kid in many ways but nobody was willing to tell him (he was a physical monster, national weight lifting competitor). The last time he watched over us, we had a watermelon fight in the house and my mother was not too happy about it when she got home that night. Years went by and he got married and moved from the house next door. He also bought a 1968 corvette. He once drove up the neighborhood in it to visit somebody and I saw it. It looked ok but it had an odd front end (tilt nose). About 10 years went by and a friend of mine (who was a cousin of Henry's wife) told me that Henry wanted to sell the vette. This was in the mid 1980's. I pursued the rumor and Henry said, "Geez, if Sadistic wants to sell it, I'll let him have it for $3500". Even in the 80's this was a great deal. I bought the car (it was in rough shape) and began a merciless exhibition in self torture. By this time, the car was black with rusted Hooker headers and Cragar wheels. It did not run. Henry said it originally had a big block 427 in it but by the time I bought it, it had a small block. I got it running, put on some Centerline wheels and BFG tires, buffed it out and used it for a summer. All was well except on one day, the motor began making a knocking sound. A main bearing was gone and it was an opportunity to switch the car back to a big block. At the time, GM listed LS6's and LS7's (454's) as available. I put a $1000 deposit for an LS7 at a local Chevy dealer and waited over a year, to no avail. Then I discovered an LS6, new in the crate at a dealer in NJ. I bought the engine and put it in. Of course, I had to switch pulleys, brackets, etc. but had the help of a corvette business called "Corvette Specialty Center". There were 2 guys I dealt with from this place (Mark and Tom). These guys new C3 vettes like nobody I ever met (a big difference from the Eckler's newbs, who always ask "Do you have a part number?"). Some years later, I moved to Florida and brought the vette there.
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