The Car Takes Shape
Once I finally received the Chevy from the body shop, I had everything ready for reassembly. Chrome, trim, and other items had already been prepared and plated. The car went together relatively quickly since I had time to plan my moves. The Chevy was ready for its first showing at the 1978 AACA Fall Meet in Dearborn, Michigan. I was working up until the final hour to get the car ready for the show - pulling it onto the trailer late in the evening before our morning departure. As customary, I removed the battery to charge it overnight so it would be ready for the show. Well you could guess what happened, I got all the way to Dearborn, ready to start the car and back it off of the trailer onto the judging field and it does not start - no battery. It was tough to find a 6-volt battery in the vicinity of Deerfield Village, but I found one and we were on our way.
I returned home with a 3rd Junior award along with a new 6-volt battery. That fall I entered the car in the AACA Fall meet at Hershey Pennsylvania and received another 3rd Junior. More importantly I received some pointers on details that needed attention which I spent the winter correcting.
Enjoying the Shows
In 1979 I entered the AACA Spring Meet in Wooster, Ohio where I received my 2nd Junior award. I was beginning to feel that my efforts were paying off. After more detailing, I trailered the car to the 1979 AACA Spring Meet in Hagerstown, Maryland where I received my 1st Junior. By this time I felt that there was not much else I could correct on the car without backtracking on the restoration I had done months before. I spent my free time during the summer of 1979, removing fenders and running boards and expanding the detailing on the undercarriage.
This work was completed in time for a trip to the 1979 AACA Fall meet in Acme, Michigan where I received my Senior award. This was the last show I was really able to fully participate fully. My studies in college were now taking priority and I was no longer to dedicate much time to the hobby. My folks trailered the Chevy to the AACA Fall meets in Hershey in 1980, 1981, and 1982 themselves. All three years they were able to bring home Preservation Award tags for me. The 1982 trip was the last time the car was out, after that it was retired, under cover, to a heated garage.
I completed college, married in 1981, began a new career and started family life. The Chevy remained in storage until the summer of 1992 when I found some extra time to start the car and drove it to my home for a good clean up. The little Chevy was again placed back into storage until the summer of 2001. |
