King

09/09/2020

Sad picture, I know, but so far all I have is pictures of him on a trailer. Why, you ask? Let me tell you.

I was in Florida, delivering the 1979 Jeep CJ5 I had named "Charlie". It was a long drive down there from Minnesota, but I was looking forward to seeing their reaction when they saw Charlie for the first time. He was such a great, well-put together vehicle, and I knew they would love him as much as I had. After delivering him, I immediately drove to the beach, sat in a chair under an umbrella, and began shopping. I hated to be all the way in Florida with an empty trailer and pocketful of money and then drive home with nothing. I was prepared for that, but really wanted to find something fun. I spent some time enjoying the surf, wading back to sit under my umbrella periodically to look through online classifieds and save the cars that caught my eye.

One car that caught my eye was a 2 owner, 1990 Corvette ZR-1 with 25,000 miles on it. The seller on Craigslist clearly stated CAR DOES NOT RUN. I sent him a text message later that evening before going to bed. The next morning over breakfast I checked my messages and noticed he hadn't gotten back to me. I messaged him again, making it plain that I wanted to come look at the car and see it's condition for myself.

At it's debut at the Geneva Motor Show in 1989, the ZR-1 was dubbed by Car and Driver as "The Corvette from Hell". Behind the walls of GM's development department, the original prototype was called "King of the Hill". GM had partnered with newly acquired Lotus and Mercury Marine to develop a 5.7 liter dual overhead cam V-8 which produced 375 horsepower and 370 pound-feet of torque. Keep in mind, the stock Vette at the time was only rated at 205-235 horsepower. This was truly a huge leap forward for GM. The King of the Hill easily bested the supercar performance numbers of the day, including the Ferrari Testarossa and Porsche 911 Turbo.They widened the rear of the car 3 inches over stock to fit a wider tire, and Lotus helped tune the suspension. A bit over 6,000 ZR-1 C4 Corvettes were manufactured in total over the next 5 years, making it a rare vehicle to find.

I knew what a good ZR-1 cost to buy with low miles, and the seller was at about half that with a non-running car. I knew it could be a deal, but I also knew the risk of possibly having to buy a new engine and other parts unknown. I wasn't at all sure how hard it would be to source parts. I sent another text as I finished breakfast. I had a couple other cars scheduled to look at, but his car was geographically first in line. If I went on to the second car, I knew I'd never backtrack. Finally, I received a response, and it was clear he was tired of dealing with Craigslist buyers who weren't serious. I convinced him I was serious, had money and the ability to take the car with me, and would really like to come today if possible. He finally relented, so I quickly paid for my meal and hit the road. Two and a half hours later, I was in Orlando, pulling into his driveway.

First impression, this car needed help. The tires were dry-rotted, it had some pretty serious paint fade in areas, and overall it was pretty dirty. And it didn't run. The owner was in the process of installing a new battery when I pulled up. His story was this:

He purchased the car from the original owner in 2013 with 20,000 miles on it. It came with a Corsa exhaust system, headers, forced air intake, and a tuning chip. He enjoyed the car, putting 5,000 miles on it over 7 years. During that time, he upgraded the sound system and had 4.10 gears installed and the speedometer re-calibrated to match. Otherwise, he just maintained and enjoyed it. 18 months ago, the engine died unexpectedly at a stoplight so he had it towed to his shop to get looked at. And that's where it sat under some kind of cover outside until they finally called him a few weeks ago to come get it. Still not running. I'm not sure what transpired in those intervening months, but it sounded like a lot of frustration. He decided enough was enough and listed the car on Craigslist as is.

It's amazing what 18 months of Florida sun will do to an unattended car. I checked the oil and water, where nothing out of the ordinary was discovered. I turned the key, and the engine turned over normally. The clutch went straight to the floor with no resistance and the parking brake was stuck on. I looked at everything and made up my mind. This was a special car that deserved to be rescued. It had been loved at one point, as the low miles attested, but somewhere along it's story things had gone wrong. It needed a second chance. It begged for a second chance.

Thunder rumbled in the distance as I made a lower offer than my first plan (because of other issues I noticed), and after a moment of thought the deal was struck. He began the paperwork, and I started winching my new car onto the trailer. Optimistic and excited. Hoping to get it loaded before the rain hit.