David DiEugenio reflects back on his first opportunity of freedom: the purchase of his first vehicle ever, a 1952 Pontiac Star Chief, when he was a sophomore in high school. 

“Thinking of it makes me smile,” he says.

It was only a couple years past that point that David says he really got hooked on cars.  As a senior in high school, he purchased a beautiful black ’57 Ford stick-shift that had a white and red interior.  It was also around that time that his cousin introduced him to the Hot Rod.

David grew to be very involved in collector cars, and his favorite became the Chevrolet Corvette.  In the late 80’s, he finally got his hands on one, after owning a handful of other collector vehicles. 

David wrote the following to the Grundy Weekly Reader:

“When I was in high school, Chevrolet made America’s first real sports car.  They called it the Corvette.  I remember going down to our local Chevy dealer in Downingtown, P.A. and staring into the showroom through large glass windows to get a glimpse of this new beauty.  I was afraid to go inside because kids were not allowed inside without their parents.  Each year, I waited to see how much faster and more beautiful they made the Corvette. 

By 1962, they produced the last of the cove Corvettes, and the transition to the Stingray style began.  I wanted the original style Corvette so badly.  At that time, I was making $1.25 an hour as a part time clerk and full time student.  I promised myself that one day I would have one. 

Time flew.  I finished college, got married and had a family.

 In 1988, I found a left over 1962 Corvette that was not running, scratched, dirty and five times more expensive than it was in 1962.  I bought it and towed it home to begin the long slow journey back to its original beauty.  It was a labor of love. 

By 1997, it ran great and looked like the one in the showroom window those many years ago.”

David calls this car his “1962 Dream Come True”. 

And, with his dreams coming true, David became even more involved in the hobby, as years passed.  Today, he is one of 250 members of the Vintage Automobile Club of Ocean County, N.J., started in 1969.  He also works as Executive Director of the Vintage Automobile Museum of New Jersey, which he says is the only museum of its kind in the state. He hopes to open the doors in 2008.

Story by: Becky McLaughlin