Back in 1953, there were few, if any, who had the foresight to purchase a brand-new '53 Corvette roadster and store it, knowing what the inflated value fifty years down the road would be. Ask any fortuneteller, prophecy is a tough business. Many attempt to foresee the market value of contemporary objects (e.g., $2 bills, pet rocks, Beanie Babies). But Bob Gessner had a grander vision.
Bob and his wife Terri have been loyalists to the General for a long time; they had restored a gorgeous '78 Pontiac Formula Firebird only a short time before. When Bob chose to aim his sights at Chevrolet's most prized marquee-the Corvette-he took his time. Bob and Terri scoured the land for two years before they found this '93 bright aqua metallic coupe in Michigan. Bob, an automotive perfectionist in his own right, dedicated a year polishing, cleaning, and detailing the low-mileage-34,200 miles-Vette.
Living in the land of the wind-chill factor, Wisconsin, the Gessners knew it was imperative to build a garage to properly store and protect both of their immaculate American muscle machines. Bob and Terri built a wide-spanning, four-car garage-a chariot stable worthy of any classic machine. Bob poured hours into buffing, polishing, and laboriously prepping the original factory paint back to showroom-floor condition. The polished aluminum wheels were pulled off the car and hand-detailed with tremendous care. The end result gives off an eye-blinding gorgeous shine that would be worthy of any professional car detailer or SEMA show floor.
Diving head first into the wonderfully stock interior with all the tools in his arsenal, Bob returned the twelve-year-old light-gray leather seats and interior back to brand-new condition. The fruit of his labor can be felt in the supple texture of the seats, which feel and look better than they did off the assembly line. Bob spared no effort to maintain the Corvette in fully restorative working order. The 350 LT1 is an example of perfect preservation. All the lines, hoses, and plastic look clean, fresh, and brilliant, but not glossy or wet like cheap sprays and detail kits leave most surfaces.
With the standard six-speed transmission as manicured as the engine compartment, and the rest of the car for that matter, Bob's Corvette is used for touring and leisurely drives. Bob loves to shift the car so much he is constantly looking for yellow lights so he can start the process all over again! But he is careful not to splash through puddles or dirty snow, so he doesn't have to start that whole detailing job all over again.
Maybe someday in the future this too will be a classic.