A Classic Car Love Story

Do you enjoy driving? I love to drive! I love the freedom that being behind the wheel of a vehicle gives me. I love taking road trips and seeing new landscapes while wearing my sunglasses and listening to my favorite music playing through my car stereo. It brings me great joy and passion for life. I have always loved cars, particularly muscle cars. It no doubt came from my dad, the coolest guy in any room. As I was growing up, my dad always had a sports car as the “spare car.” When my sisters and I were little, he would take us on drives named, “The Peanut Run” or the “Ice Cream Run.” When he told us the direction we were headed, we knew boiled peanuts, or an ice cream was in our future! He would play his music and search out old buildings with “antique signs.” This was one of the ways we would spend time together as a family. As an adult, it has become one of my most favorite memories of childhood. As my sisters and I got older, my parents would continue to take those Saturday afternoon drives to spend time together as a couple, and my dad would enjoy his sports car all at the same time!

It was September 2, 1982, and I was in the 2^nd grade. My dad got me out of school early to ride with him, my mom, my little sister, and a family friend (who had to drive our other vehicle back home) to get our 1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. I still remember like it was yesterday. I got out of school for an early dismissal, feeling so much pride and “big on campus” since I was headed to get my dad’s sports car. It is embedded in my core memories. We drove to Lucedale, MS to the Joel Wilson Chevrolet dealership to pick it up. I remember pulling into the parking lot of the dealership and seeing it parked by the showroom waiting for us. I was the first person to see our new car. I yelled, “There it is!” pointing with great excitement. My dad said, “It sure is!” It was beautiful – the most beautiful car I had ever seen. It was the cleanest, shiniest red you had ever seen! It was brand new. My dad, mom, and my little sister got in and drove straight to my big sister’s high school where she was practicing for the flag core of the high school marching band. We showed it off to all her friends. It was a fun day. We had a lot of memories in that car. We took family vacations to Gatlinburg, TN, trips to church, car shows, and Saturday drives just to name a few special memories. This car was part of our family, and we loved it.

When I was in Junior High, the eighth-grade class had a prom. You had to be in the 8^th grade or be asked by an 8^th grader to attend. I was in the 7^th grade and had a lot of friends in the 8^th grade. They all wanted me to go to their prom with them, so we worked out a plan for this 8^th grade boy to invite me as his date. I never had boys call my house, and I was so nervous that this specific night this plan was going down. The phone rang, the boy on the other end asked to speak with me. When I got on the phone, the conversation was all business, “Hey, I understand I am to give you a call to ask you to go as my prom date so that you can be with us at the dance.” My response, “Oh great! Hold on and let me ask my dad.” I put him on hold and asked my dad if I could go with this boy to the 8^th grade prom. My dad’s response was, “I will make you a deal. If you tell him no, I will spend all day on the Saturday of the prom teaching you to drive the Camaro. It will be just you and me, and we will drive all day. I got back on the phone to this boy and point blank said, “I am sorry, I cannot go!” Let’s just say, my dad knew exactly what he was doing! True to his word, the day of that 8^th grade prom, my dad and I spent the entire day driving his manual transmission 1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. It was a day that I will never forget!

As I was getting up in my teen years with driving on my own close in sight, I could not wait to get my driver’s license and be free to drive a car for myself. It was my number one goal at that time in my life, to get a driver’s license. I loved cars and I dreamed of having my own. My dad would take me to car shows and cruise ins, and I would dream of having a Chevrolet Camaro IROC Z28. I was madly in love with this car. In fact, my dad loved the color scheme of the IROC Z28 with the rocker panels being the same color as the car. He had the silver rocker panels of on our 1982 Camaro Z28 painted to match the same color of the car. When I finally turned 16, my dad came into the house from work screaming at the top of his lungs, “Dallas! Dallas! Come quick! I got you an IROC Z for your birthday!” I came running and screaming threw the house, “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! I can’t believe it!” only to meet my dad at the back door of our house as he handed me a model of an IROC Z28 while laughing his head off. I don’t remember the humor in it at the time, but I do remember he thought it was hilarious. Needless to say, the joke was on me. That was okay because it wouldn’t be long before Chevrolet introduced the final body style of the Third Generation Camaro. It was the last year of that body style with a “wing” on the back of the trunk. He had to have it! It seemed only natural to have the 1^st and last body style of the Third Generation Camaro Z28. So back to the dealership he went. He ordered a 1992 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 with all his required specifications, another red with black interior rocket! When my birthday rolled around that year, he boxed up the keys to his 1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 and gave them to me as my birthday present. What a gift! I was so happy. I ended up driving that car for the remainder of my high school and college years onto my first couple years of my career. That car and I traveled many miles together. It was so much a party of my identity. When it started leaving me stranded, I was forced to buy a more practical car. Going from a red sports car to a 4-door 6-cylinder sedan was a humbling experience. It was time to park my Camaro. Later, my dad and I decided to replace the motor and exchange the 305 engine for a 350. My instructions were it had to sound “bad to the bone!”

At the present day, I still have this beautiful car. It is 42 years old. It still looks as good as it did the day we got it in 1982. It currently lives at my parent’s home. My dad gets offers to buy it from people all the time. His response is always, “That’s my daughter’s car, and it is not for sale.” I will one day bring it to Huntsville. My hope is that my sons will love it like I did and enjoy it for the next 40 years!