[BigAls87Z28]

Roots...well, my parents were not that big into cars. My dad liked cars, as any man does, but he liked the beauty of them such as Italian cars with great handling and fun to drive.
My Dad always liked Camaros. He bought a 68 RS used and drove it home. Within a week, it shot a rod, so that ended that. He then drove a 72 Fiat Spyder, red. My mother also had the same 72 Fiat Spyder in red when they both met.
Flash foward to 1987, and my father was in love with the IROC style of the new Camaro. He remembers talking about them with his friends and my mom. At the time he was VP of Sales for a large S&L in North Jersey, and just got a HUGE bonus. He took half of it and went to Bremuda with my mom, the other half was a down payment for the Camaro. He figured out that with a price of 16,800 dollars, he could put half down, and finance the rest, which he had set up through his bank. So he set out, looking at different dealers, looking at what they had on the lots. All the IROC's were being sold left and right, and for much more then sticker, especialy with the new 350 (which he didnt know at the time). He did find a lot with a fully loaded, beautiful Z28 sitting there. Red with grey ground effects, 305 TPI engine, auto trans, posi rear, power windows, door locks, and ttops. He was sold, but the dealer wanted 17.2k So he talked it out with my mom, and they both decided to see what my dad could do with the price. So my dad sets out for the dealer again...only time time, he brings a 3 year old me along for the ride. When we get into the car, he looks down at me and says, "Now Alex, I want you to remember 16 8, ok?" I nod my head, and enjoy the drive. We get to the dealer, and my father sits down with the manager of the store, and plops me down in the corner with some toys. So he starts talking with the manager about the price, and he keeps telling him that he cant go any lower. My father says that he will take the car at 16.8k, and the fight continues on for a while. My father getting fustraited, looks back at me and says, "Alex, tell the man what I told you, tell him what Daddy is gunna pay him."
With that, I stop what Im doing, I look up, and I say, "16 8."
And with that, the guy flipped, and folded. My dad took delivery of the car that weekend.
That car was the "batmobile" to me. It was real fast, much faster then my mom and dads olds cuttys. It sounded awesome, and the feel of the torque was great. Over time, my father could not use it due ot increasing work load, and so forth and so on. So it sat in the garage, only to be taken out to stretch its legs, and then returned.
Years went by, and when I was getting my license, I was looking at different cars to buy. Tbird SC was my prime choice, but I didnt have the money that they were asking for, and I read a lot of problems about the head gaskets. So I was looking for a nice ride, not import or anything, just a nice car. My friends were a little more into cars then me, but I never really caught on. One day, my father says to me that if we clean up the Z28, we can sell it and he said that I can have half the money towards a new car. I thought cool, good deal. Well, I cleaned it up, washed it, waxed it, so on. We got the for sale sign, and I asked my dad that before we sell it, that if I can drive it? So one nice day, we set out for rt 18 for a little drive.
I WAS HOOKED!! Comparing to my stupid 95 Taurus that I got, this thing was a friggin rocket. I loved the handling, the seat position, and just about everything about it. I removed the sale sign off the back of the car, and told my dad that we were keeping this. So I started to really fix her up, put new ties on, tune up, and then I started to get more into websites about the car. Searching far and wide about tips and tricks to make this car better. I stumbled across Thirdgen.org, and I was hooked onto cars. I bought a GM High Tech Mag that featured a third gen on it, purple with grey ground effects, and how fast his car was, and I fell in love with moddifcation. That car got me into the heavy stuff, and really really got me hooked and I havent been able to let go.
Since then, I have just been in love with cars. Every aspect from design to performance and handling. I always had thoes hobbies and little interests, but this stuck.