COCHRANE— Boasting a smooth ride that has traversed roads across North America, Jim Messner’s 2007 Corvette convertible is part of a long legacy of unique vehicles.
Messner found his latest set of wheels three years ago after spending his entire life as a “hot rod” guy.
“I was always working on cars,” Messner said with a grin. “It’s been a lot of fun.”
He grew up working on too many cars to count— Messner joked that he lost track of how many cars he’s had back in the 80s.
“It’s been a lot,” Messner said with a laugh. “I’m ADD with cars because I get bored easily. I drive them for six months or a year and then I sell them and get another one.”
The Corvette marked Messner trying out something a little newer that still had a lot of horsepower and reliability.
Messner found the Corvette at Sylvan Lake, he said, and fell in love with it immediately— The brilliant white finish made it stand out on the road.
The Corvette boasts a six-litre engine with 400 horsepower and 400 ft/lbs torque. Messner has made some modifications to the vehicle including installing a snake charmer in-take system and adding a Corsa duel-exhaust system.
“It makes it a bit more noisy and gives it a bit more oomph,” Messner said, explaining that the modifications allow him to put out around 470 horsepower. “It still gets good gas mileage— High 20s on the highway.”
The Corvette has gone for countless cruises on the highways of North America including a trip down to the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky for the 25th anniversary of the museum. During the celebrations, roughly 5,000 Corvettes and their owners from across North America and Europe attended, including Messner and his ride.
“Every day as we left Calgary the crowd started getting bigger and bigger,” Messner exclaimed. ”By the time we were in the Midwest United States, it started growing phenomenally bigger, if you were in the back you couldn’t see the line up on the freeway.”
The best part of the journey is they received a police escort that featured Corvettes when they reached the Kentucky border.
Messner said he enjoys being part of car clubs because it offers a chance to meet people from “all walks of life” who have can share tips that enhance the experience of being a motor head.
On a typical year, Messner estimates he puts between 5,000 to 10,000 a kilometres on his odometer going on adventures with Cruise Cochrane and his Corvette Club.
“I bought it to drive it,” Messner said. “You haven’t been in a car until you’ve been in a Corvette.”
