Dean Hyland:  

Having grown up around cars (dad being an automotive machinist ) there was always activity at our house in the garage for race and drag car engines which dad was noted for. From an early age I really got excited when someone would bring over a Corvette or or some other high performance car or engine. I remember the 63 Corvette most profoundly as its styling looked at that time to be like a car of the future. I surely let dad know of my intense desire to own one every chance I got. While in High School I even persuaded him to go look for some of these we had heard about. I had graduated and my first car got totaled out by a State Patrol officer pulling out from a T intersection with a stop sign right in front of me. Six months later toward the end of July on my birthday my dream came true as Dad came home with a surprise on my birthday. Yeah a Corvette!! Needless to say there were not many 19 year olds at that time driving Corvettes!! ...Expand for more