By now I am sure many of you can see my passion for cars, trucks, and motorcycles (while I’m on a roll- ’30s-’50s wooden boats). Although I enjoy looking at them all, my roots have always been wrapped firmly around the General Motors brand. I know some won’t understand brand loyalty, but I firmly feel that Buy American First is far more than a bumper sticker. Within GM is the company’s high-performance line and my most loved automobile, the Corvette. The Corvette was the dream of Harley Earl and has been America’s first and longest lasting sports car since it’s introduction to the world in 1953. In 1963 another well-known name in Corvette history helped to create the 1963 corvette, Zora Duntov. As Corvette’s first Chief Engineer, Duntov was responsible for increasing Corvette performance and horsepower from the early 60s through the early 70s. For 66 years (actually, 65, as there were no retail sale 1983 Corvettes) Corvette has been raising the bar year after year. I know some of you car buffs will want to point out the mid-70s to late 80s Corvettes as lackluster in appearance and performance. While I personally still like the 74-82 body style, I fully agree that performance suffered due to federal emission standards, the gas crisis( oil embargo) and insurance companies wanting horsepower reductions. My personal favorites are the ’63 split window (in Silver Blue or Riverside Red), ’67 convertible (in Goodwood Green or Sunfire Yellow) and all ’68-72 Corvettes (preferably in War Bonnet Yellow, Steel Cities Gray or Elkhart Green). 1972 was the last year for both front and rear chrome bumpers, 1973 had just a rear chrome bumper due to the new federal safety standards requiring five-mph impact resistant bumpers. By 1974 the famous Corvette chrome bumper, after a 21-year run, was gone forever.

NCRS stands for the National Corvette Restoration Society, and it was formed for the purpose of preserving, restoring and enjoying early Corvettes. Today there are 45 Chapters of NCRS throughout the country. These Chapters take turns holding a National Convention each year that is attended by members from all over the country. During these events, there are small (drive your Corvette) site seeing trips planned as well as outings, car shows, and judging. For members wishing to have their Corvette judged, NCRS is the world standard in Corvette judging, and at all their state and national events, they offer judging. There are many classes and categories as well as level of awards – the prestigious “Top Flight” award means your car has been restored to strict factory standards. There are also awards for original, non-restored Corvettes. In 1974, in the state of Indiana, NCRS was formed. Around that same time, my Aunt and Uncle- Wilma and Mitch Geiger started the Yosemite Corvette Club in Merced Ca. A year later, in 1975 they helped form the Northern CA chapter of NCRS and Mitch became NCRS member # 62. Forty-four years and three states later he is still NCRS member #62. Mitch started buying, selling, trading, fixing and later restoring Corvettes since he was able to drive (probably before) in the mid to late 1950s. To this day he has personally owned over 100 Corvettes, mostly 1950s-early 1970s. To say that Corvettes are in his blood would be an understatement. After almost 50 years, Wilma probably knows more about corvettes and tri-five Chevys (55-57) than most.

April 2014 I was on a two-week coast-to-coast motorcycle trip with my good friends Dave and Springer- I mapped out the route with key stops. The first official stop was Bowling Green KY, the National Corvette Museum. The National Corvette Museum was first brought up and talked about around 1985 by members of NCRS as a place to keep historical data, technical manuals, Corvette items, donations, and even Corvettes. It was first opened as an annex in 1994, and then as money was raised, additions were made. The museum is far from just a few parked cars; the history and artifacts on display cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Our visit was almost exactly two months after the infamous sinkhole cave in that swallowed 8 Corvettes in the early hours of 2-12-14. About half the cars had been pulled from the hole; they were still covered in mud but on display. My visit there reminded me of the trips to Corvettes at Carlisle with my daughter, pointing out specific models or year only options to my friends as I had often done with her years earlier. The only 1983 Corvette in existence is on display at the museum. My favorite Corvette at the museum was a 1967, Rally Red, convertible (white top), big block 427, 4spd, factory side pipe car owned by Roy Orbison. I grew up listening to my mom singing his songs and to this day he is still one of my favorites. Roy used this car to go back and forth to the studio in 1988 when he was recording the Traveling Wilburys album –Vol. 1.

In 2015, I started my search for my first Corvette, and in doing so, I thought joining NCRS would be a great place to start. It was then I had an idea, and I thought I would call NCRS and see if they recycle membership numbers. It was my hope that I could get # 61 or 63, even 620 as I thought it would be cool to have a number related to Mitch’s #62. After calling and speaking to the gentleman I was crushed to learn they did not recycle numbers and that at this point in 2015 they were around 61,500 members. It was at that point that the man on the phone said, I can sign you up and wait to issue you your number when it hits 62,000! I was elated and couldn’t give my credit card information fast enough. By the end of 2015, 40 years after Mitch became NCRS #62, I became NCRS # 62,000. After that, I got a tattoo with Chevrolet bowtie with the Corvette emblem inside and our membership numbers to commemorate it. I also bought my first Corvette that year, but that story is one in itself and for another time. Today his license plate reads NCRS 62, mine reads NCRS 62K.

The Texas Chapter hosted the NCRS National Convention in 2017 in San Antonio, and I was in town on business. Since I was flying in and was unable to spend a full day there, I did not register since I would not be able to attend most of the functions. I did go over the very first day of set up and asked the NCRS volunteers who were watching all the parked Corvettes outside where I could see about paying to view the cars inside. They directed me inside, and after a long walk through the convention center, I found a woman who directed me to the judging arena. Upon entry- or almost entry, I was informed for insurance reasons only judges and owners could be inside while the cars were being parked. I was told to come back the next day and the walk-in fee to see the cars was only $10, well worth seeing a magnitude of fully restored, rare and special performance Corvettes. The next day I took an extended lunch break and was overwhelmed by the amount of ” tankers, fuelies, big blocks,” and other special order and high-performance models. It is hard to fathom how an NCRS meeting in northern California in 1975 could result in member #62, and over 40 years, 3,000 miles and 61,000 members later I am enjoying the same hobby as member # 62,000. I encourage all of you to “take a kid to a car show,” the hobby needs a future.