Thomas Lee's Letter to the Museum:

My father and I have collected antique cars for many years. Our father and son projects consisted of restoring one car at a time from our collection (at one time our collection included 22 American autos from 1920 to the 1970's). One particular car was always my favorite, a 1963 Corvette Roadster. Even though it was a bit rough when we purchased it in late 1979, I worked to make the car look and perform well. Since my father was not willing to part with his Vette, I had to move on.

I had been looking to find an original Vette to make a statement in a crowd of other Corvettes. I really liked the looks of having both chrome bumpers, the "egg-crate side grills", square exhaust tips, console fiber optics and the 454 with 390 hp.

After looking in nation wide magazines, attending swap meets and auctions, for over one year, I found this car less than two miles away from our home. It was love at first sight. In 1998 my wife and I purchased our 1970 LS5 Roadster. This car has never been wrecked or modified and all numbers match. Although the car has 108K miles the rebuilt engine and new red paint give the car a great look and solid ride. I know of only two previous owners, however, I currently have applied for a title search history (this can take up to eleven months).

I enjoy talking to people about our car. Having a new Vette would be great, however, owning an older, not-seen-too-often design is a great pleasure. Only 6648 convertibles were made in 1970. (I am still trying to find how many were BB 4spd's)

In summary, our car is a head turner for both Corvette owners and non-Corvette owners. Acknowledging on-coming Vette traffic is a wonderful American Sportscar feeling! (You don't see foreign car owners acknowledging each other in a common bond). All Vette owners have a wonderful spirit to be proud of. My wife and I enjoy our car and would like to display it in your museum for others to see.

Sincerely,

Thomas M. Lee