It was 51 years ago this month that Jim Medley walked onto the Preston鈥檚 car lot 鈥� then in Richmond 鈥� and placed his order for a shiny new 1973 white convertible Corvette Stingray.
He was 29 years old and paid $7,600. He took possession the following April (1973) 鈥� when he picked it up at the new Preston dealership in 91原创 鈥� and has been driving it ever since.
Well Jim and his wife, Dianne, drove that same car (with 142,000 miles on the odometer and the original new vehicle warranty in the glove compartment) back on to the Preston鈥檚 lot on Labour Day 鈥� taking part for the first time in the 鈥檚 annual car show held at Preston Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac on the 91原创 Bypass.
For years, the retired electrician thought of coming to the show, but time and time again seemed to miss it.
This time, the South Surrey couple made a concerted effort to attend, and part way through the day were remarking at how much they loved it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 shocking the number of vehicles that showed up,鈥� Jim said, taking a brief break, and sitting down in his own vehicle to talk to spectators, before circulating some more.
Meandering through the crowd, admiring more than 100-plus different years and models of Corvettes on display, the highlight for this couple was getting to meet so many like-minded Corvette lovers, swap stories, and talk about the work they鈥檝e done through the years to keep their 鈥渂abies rolling.鈥�
For instance, Jim loves his own car. He has done almost all the maintenance himself through the decades, and probably dumped in an added $15,000 to keep it road worthy.
But he admitted to being 鈥渟uper impressed鈥� by an inherited 1965 mint-condition black Corvette that has been resurrected from pieces that was at the show.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a beauty,鈥� he said, as he mimicked wiping drool from his chin. 鈥淚 sure like the older ones.鈥�
Dianne chimed in: 鈥淲e鈥檙e vintage, so we like vintage.鈥�
He started working on cars when he was 16. His first project was a 1949 Ford. Since then, he鈥檚 never stopped tinkering. But having turned 80 this year, it might be time soon, he said, to sell his 50-year-old Corvette and look for a new project.
Dianne snickered, and shook her head. 鈥淗e鈥檒l never part with her.鈥�
While the Medleys were among upwards of 150 Corvette owners on hand to show off their wheels, there were literally a few thousand spectators who visited the car lot that day to admire the new and old model Corvettes, said Preston鈥檚 general manager Leigh Heppner.
The end of summer car event has been going for 19 of the past 21 years, and draws collectors and admirers from all across the Lower Mainland, he noted, always impressed with the turnout.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 bigger and better than ever,鈥� Heppner said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a great community day for us and all of our community sponsors.鈥�
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