Moments of Inspiration

 Everyone has moments when a person or event inspires their life.

One of mine was when, at the age of 15, Sharon (Cox) Winne arranged for me to get my first ride in a new sports car -- a fuel-injected 1962 Corvette.  That ride changed my life forever and resulted in a life-long love affair with America's Sports Car!

I've recently learned that I have similarly inspired the idea of Corvette ownership within a young man who lived next door to us 28 years ago.

Matthew Reabold, Jr. moved to the house next to ours in 1995, just in time to celebrate his second birthday.  Our daughter, Canon was about 17 months old.  Matthew and Canon became instant friends, and remain best friends today.  Stories of their adventures would fill this Blog to overflowing.

Matthew's dad, Matthew Sr. (of course) and his mom, Shari, were loving parents and have forged a family friendship among all of us.  Vacations, holiday traditions, and watching our children blossom into accomplished adults fill us with pride.

When we first met the Reabolds we owned a 1984 Corvette.  Matthew Sr. had also owned a 1984 Corvette sealing my bond with him.  In the next two years we bought our 1962 Corvette and began a restoration in 1997.  Matthew Jr. and Canon got to see the restoration unfolding in real time.

I've tried to instill the love of Corvettes in many young people, especially Matthew Jr., typically by giving them their first ride in one.  For me, the most memorable ride I gave Matthew was in 2013, at one of the "Cary's Corvette Club" events.  A bunch of us gathered at the house and caravaned from Carlsbad down the I-5 to the Corvette Diner at Liberty Station.  Matthew Jr. joined us -- he and Canon were big fans of the '62.

When it came time to drive home, Matthew shared the ride with me.

In January, Matthew Jr, started texting me for my opinion of a yellow 2002 Corvette he had found near his home.  He did all the due diligence on his own, and all the negotiations with the car dealer.  Before long Matthew had joined the Corvette Fraternity!

The black and yellow theme looks so much like the Corvette Racing cars from the GTLM years (and my Z06) that I decided Jake needed to be part of the ensemble.  So I mailed Matthew Jr. a Jake sticker for his new car!

Well done, Matthew Jr.  We are so proud of you. And welcome to the brotherhood (and sisterhood) of Corvette ownership!

Love, Cary, Nan, and Canon

Nonagenarians

I'm finding it a bit surreal that some of my closest Beltsville Shell buddies have become nonagenarians!

90 years is a major milestone.  In addition to celebrating Bob Vollmar's 90th Birthday at the end of 2020, Nan and I got to experience two 90th birthdays in recent months for two legendary guys.

The first was for Bonneville legend, Lou Bingham.  Below is a photo from 2016 at the Salt flats -- Lou on the left, Thomas Payne -- who is a champion of Beltsville Shell and the guy who introduced me to Lou -- and yours truly.

Lou's daughter, Denise, arranged for a surprise party and Nan and I were lucky enough to be on the guest list.  We snuck into a lively spot on a Sunday afternoon -- Societe Brewing Company -- along with dozens of Lou's friends.  

 Although we didn't know anyone there, everyone was so friendly and many people told us their stories of long-time friendships with Lou.  This guy is majorly loved by the many, many lives he has touched.

Denise had arranged for one of Lou's friends to bring him to the brewery at the appointed hour.  Everyone was careful to park their street rods a few blocks away so as to maintain the element of surprise. Here we are awaiting the entrance.

The planning was perfect, and Lou was completely surprised!

This is the card we prepared for the party -- before we arrived.  After being there with his friends and family, and hearing all the many testimonials to Lou and his life, I guess the card got it just right!

Plus, we included a Beltsville Shell Sticker as a gift!

Thank you, Lou, for including us in your very special day!

The second party wasn't a surprise, but was equally enjoyable.  This time the birthday boy was Bill Hatch, our neighbor and the original owner of a 1957 Corvette.

[Author note: Cary swears that Bill holds the World Record for the longest period of ownership of a Corvette by the Original Owner.  Bill bought his 1957 Corvette from his local Chevy dealer in April 1957 and still owns the car today -- 65 years later!] 

Here is Bill with his two greatest loves -- his wife Marylyn, and his 1957 Corvette.

Marylyn and Bill's daughter, Lisa, arranged for a wonderful evening at the Seabird Resort, at the water's edge in Oceanside.  The guest list was small -- just immediate family and three couples -- Nan and I were honored to be included in this intimate setting!

Greeting the guests were Lisa, Marylyn, and Bill's Grand daughters Lindsay and Sarah.

We were first treated to champagne and a classic winter San Diego sunset.

Bill greeted all of us with his ever-present smile.

Next was a delicious meal in a private patio.

And the evening ended with birthday cake and a heart-felt speech from Bill.

Bill is about as good a friend as you could ever find.

To Lou and Bill -- I'm looking forward to celebrating #100 with both of you in about 10 years!

Cary

The C8 Z06 Reveal

This week the much anticipated Reveal of the Z06 version of the mid-engine Corvette took place on Tuesday morning at 9:00 AM at the Peterson Automobile Museum in Los Angeles.  Nan and I watched the 42 minute recorded video and the panel discussion that followed.  Wow!  What a car!  

Don and I figured that we needed to go check this car out for ourselves in person.  Both of us had been to the famous Peterson Museum before and, since it is only about 100 miles away, we decided to drive up on Wednesday morning in his C7 Stingray to capture all the excitement.  

We expected a mob of people to be there, so we left early from Carlsbad, arriving just as the museum opened its doors at 10:00 AM.  When we entered the lobby we were astonished to find ourselves in a nearly empty building.

We raced to the second floor and quickly found the site of the Reveal.  There, sitting on the same pedestal as in the Reveal program, was the red Z06 convertible.

(If you missed the Reveal, you can see a replay here: C8 Z06 Reveal )

Other than three docents (who kept telling us, "Don't touch the car!"), there were just a handful of Corvette fanatics in the large room.  We found the beautiful Z06 convertible pictured above, a cut-away display of the Z06 frame, and another cut-away of the new LT6 twin overhead cam engine.  For two hours we had all the Z06 beauty and mechanicals that we could handle.

We loved the C8 to begin with, but what the Corvette engineers have done with the Z06 is truly exceptional.  From every angle, the car is just magical.  

I'm a big fan of the side "wishbone", a feature needed to feed lots of air to the mid-engine power plant.

 

 

 

And I'm happy that for the Z06 they have gone with the centered four exhaust pipes -- similar to our C7 Z06.

 While the exterior is captivating, the interior is inviting.

Don and I are always interested in the engine and mechanical parts of the car, and the Reveal provided plenty of material for even the most inquisitive enthusiast.  The LT6 engine is unlike any Chevy small block we have ever seen!  We poured all over the cut-away engine pondering its unique design.

Here is a great article describing the LT6 engine (thank you, Gary Rodemeyer, for sending this to me!):

LT6 Engine Article from Hagerty

If ever a passenger car's frame resembled that of a race car -- this is it.  We marveled at all the detail of each cast piece and the creative and light-weight ways that the car was reinforced to be able to take all the forces of racing.  Don told me that the tight packaging of the Z06 reminded him of the time he saw the F18 fighter up close with a see-through skin -- his memory was that, ". . . there wasn't enough spare room to put a pack of cigarettes anywhere in the aircraft!".

Since we were already at the museum, we went to the other floors to see the many displays.  Our favorite was the James Bond display -- showcasing the cars, boats, airplanes, and submarine-car from the many movies.  No one has ever seen so many crashed Aston Martins in a single room.  If you are up in LA sometime soon, this is a must-see!

Before we headed home, we went back for a last look at the Z06.  

I think someone I know really needs this car!  Orders can be placed in the Summer of 2022 -- it is going to be difficult waiting that long!

 

Sonny at the Corvette Museum

 The passing of our life-long friend, Sonny Boteler, a few days ago, hit us all hard at Beltsville Shell.

Remembering Sonny

So Canon and I decided to dedicate a National Corvette Museum Brick in Sonny's memory.

The brick will be placed in the walkway outside the Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, leading to the entrance.

The brick lettering (they only allow 13 letters/spaces per line, 3 lines maximum) will read:

Sonny Boteler

Mr Beltsville

1966 Corvette

 Cary & Canon, August 17, 2021