Antici.......................................pation

There is something very green lurking in my carport! Finally!!!!

Yes, Kermit has finally made home, albeit temporarily. Off to Acme in Pukekohe next week for the necessary pre-compliance work, followed hopefully by a painless compliance & rego exercise at the Petrolhead staffed VTNZ office down there.

Wish me luck - hopefully nothing more required than a change of headlights (so they dip to the left), and a high mount brake light. Add to that fitting of the sexy new bumper covers, which probably won't be needed for compliance, but are going to improve the cosmetics majorly, and we should be all go.

Wish me luck! We passed MAF & Customs with no nasty surprises, so here's hoping the good fortune continues.

Big thanks to Chuck & Judy for all their help, friendship, and the loan of the dealer plate.

If you own a Chev here in UnZud, you need to know these people. Professional, friendly, and passionate about what they do!

Oh, and by the way, Chuck reckons I bought Kermit a good price - he would know better than I. Big cheesies all around. He is going to do the insurance valuation for me post rego, so watch this space. I'm banking on cost plus ten, but at the end of the day its all about the giggle.

Yes, I am still here!

Just a quick update; its been a busy few days, and not too much time (or indeed the creative spark) to keep you all up to date.

A very quick rundown on the last few days:

After the convention, I headed south for Boston, and traded one rental car for another (playing the price game), followed by an overnight stopover in a western Boston suburb. Next day I headed down through Connecticut, with a stop a Mystic Seaport - which merits its own post, checked out a 'vette which was a POS and ended in Stamford CT. for the night.

Next day, headed to Long Island, NY, to check out another couple of 'vettes, which is where Kermit came into the picture. Nothing is straight-forward in New York (especially when it comes to dealing with the Department of Motor Vehicles), and it was Tuesday afternoon before I managed to escape.

Went into Manhattan on 9/11. Hated it. Being lost, and caught in a hellacious thunderstorm didn't exactly help.

Caught up with some old friends in New Jersey yesterday afternoon, and enjoyed an all too brief catch up, follwed by an early dinner with them, before being pointed in the direction of eastern Pennsylvania.

Today was a wee detour up to Scranton PA, and the DL&W 'Steamtown' museum, then on to Altoona PA for the night. I'm becoming a big fan of the Econolodge chain - they are getting cheaper the further I get from the Atlantic coast, and have free Wi-Fi on tap.

Tomorrow, after a quick look at PRR's 'Horseshoe Curve' on the way out of town, I'll be heading for Pocohontas / N&W country via Cumberland MD.

Kermit the Green Machine is going really well, and is surprisingly comfortable to drive. I know the yanks think of 'vettes as sports cars, but I'm starting to thing of Kermit more as a Grand Turismo than a 'real' sports car. Not a bad thing with another 3,000 miles to go over the next 12 days!

I have a feeling I won't be finishing this blog until well after I get home. Lots to tell, and the remainder of the trip is going to involve more time on the road than I had originally envisaged, as the whole car buying process took twice as long as I had hoped. I will keep you posted though. I'll just have a bunch of things to expand on, and stories to tell to fill in some of the blanks.

The bottom line is: it's not all been beer and skittles, but no major dramas, and I'm definitely having fun!

Kermit goes Skyward

I had the corvette checked out by a local mechanic today, and had a good look at the undercarriage when it was up on the hoist. The news is all good!!

No structural rust - a bit of surface rust, but that's to be expected in a 32 year old car.

New brake-lines & calipers, New fuel pump & radiator, New shocks, and plenty of evidence of regular maintenance. All very reassuring. The emissions test indicates the motor is is good nick, and my test drive left me more impressed than I expected to be, and with a big grin on my face.

The VIN checks out as a genuine L82 (205 hp vs. 165 hp for the standard L48 motor), and as the hi comp motor represented less than 7% of that year's production, it is definitely more desirable from a collector's perspective.

Even better, it is remarkably original in almost every respect - or unmolested, as the collector fraternity would say. Not that originality is hugely important to me per se, but from a future resale perspective, I'm very comfortable that it will be a good investment, and the purchase price is very fair.

So, deposit paid, insurance sorted out, and now I must patiently wait for the wire transfer to come through from home to Brendan's account. It's gonna be a long weekend!

Stop the Presses - 'Vette Found !!! ???

Well, I think I might have found the right car! Not perfect, but close enough.

It's a well maintained, very original 1975 L82 (the 'high' performance motor), 4 speed in a particularly lurid (but allegedly correct for the year) metallic green (yes, Ian, GREEN!!!).

It's a later model than I really wanted, and it doesn't have A/C, which I might regret, but in all other respects stacks up really well. And it's well under budget, which considering I just blew US$4,500 on an unanticipated but necessary purchase (more on this later), is a welcome bonus.

It is currently owned by a NY Firefighter, called Brendan, who seems a really nice guy, and has owned his 'baby' for 15 years. He's only selling it due to a second child having just arrived, and I got a good vibe from him - unlike a couple of other sellers I've met just recently.

Next step is a Friday morning trip to the mechanic for a lift on the hoist to check the chassis &c. for rust, and to do a compression check. If it passes that test, and another test drive, I think we have a have a deal. Fingers crossed!!!!!