None of us are immortal, but some of our most prized possessions are. With a lot of work, and love, one man decided the best gift to his late brother would be the donation of his former 1989 C4 Corvette to the National Corvette Museum.
The owner was Jim Dodrill, of Oklahoma city. Corvette Blogger reports the car was purchased new, and many memories surround the Medium Metallic Blue Corvette. Unfortunately, Jim Dodrill passed away in 2009, leaving the Corvette for his wife and son.
After the 1989 Corvette began experience mechanical issues, Jim’s younger brother Ike decided he would save the Corvette from parting ways with the family, and began a full mechanical restoration.
“I asked if I could buy the car, get it running and then donate it to the Museum in memory of Jim. The car had 28,000 miles on it,” Ike said. “They discussed it and decided it was the best thing to do.”
Ike did not want the 1989 Corvette, which only wears 28,000 original miles, to become a handful for the NCM. So, he went all out with repairing the car. The engine was rebuilt, the headlight motors redone, the alternator was replaced, the fuel pump, sender unit and fuel injectors are new, the throttle body has been cleaned, the top replaced and much, much more.
“I essentially tried to make it as reliable of a car as we could with the hope that the Museum would be able to use it for any kind of parades, track events, VIP events, anything like that,” Ike said. “My hope is that [the museum] will have some wonderful times with the car, too.”
As for what his brother thinks? He’ll never really know for now. But, he’s fairly certain he made the right choice. After all, the two did participate in Bloomington Gold Rallies, and NCM events for some time.
“I think he’s up there smiling right now, looking down on us,” Ike said. “I think he’s very pleased. I am. I think this is a wonderful thing that we can do for the Museum and I hope that more and more people are able to do the same thing.”
Comments
A lovely and most generous thought and gesture.