In a bar once, a girl asked me "what is your favorite car?" and I didn't know the answer. But I knew there was a sexy looking car that I had seen and grown up around that was impinted on my brain, and with a little research on the web I found my '69 coupe. Ideally I wanted a 454 with sidepipes but because of the situation I was in (limited time in the states, and wanted to inspect it personally), I bought an available 350 without sidepipes.

Not a daily driver, it eats too much gasoline for that, for my budget. I drive the 'vette on the weekends, usually just for the pure pleasure of opening her up on the highway. Until I got an alignment, she used to bounce all over the road and was seriously scary to drive because I didn't know what direction it would be pointing in next!!! But now she really smooths out at high speeds. I also drive her when I want to show off a bit. Here in New Zealand they aren't as common as in the states, and I get a lot of looks and waves. As I say, she's quite a sexy curvy car.

I also like tinkering, but I'm not really very good at it. For most jobs I go to the mechanic.

The car is mostly original (numbers match), just a few minor mods. I do the little stuff, and take it into the shop for the things I'm not comfortable doing.
[ul][*]Shop rebuilt various suspension bits.[*]Shop rebuilt and dash readouts, all brand new gauges and clean plastic to see through. [*]Shop replaced crappy aftermarket exhaust and mufflers with the proper stuff.[*]I rebuilt the distributor, advance timing, etc., pertronix ignition, new plugs & wires, that sort of thing.[*]I rebuilt, and heavily cleaned and painted (inside of) both doors, handles, window mechanisms, locking mechanisms, etc.[*]Fuel pump replaced (was leaking).[*]New tires[*]Patched leak and flushed radiator.[*]Shop is currently replacing the master cylinder with a new one that I handed them. Old one is rusty inside and I do NOT want to lift the body to replace bad brake lines in my lifetime.
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New Zealand requries every car to be inspected for safety every six months (1 year for newer models). The first few times I did this, they were sure something was wrong with the rear diff, or maybe one of the rear wheels wasn't attached properly... because one wheel would "wobble" and the other side wouldn't. As a government inspection agency, I had no choice but to have it at a shop and have it taken apart, to prove to them that "this is how it was designed to work, these were the early positraction limited slip deals"... now I always take it to the same inspector, and when he retires I'm sure I'll have to open it up yet again.