Tom Regan visited me recently so I might do a photo shoot of his 2000 Camaro. The first surprising thing I learned about the car is that it is not his car. The car belongs to his wife, Ellen. Tom is just the nice guy who negotiated the purchase and gave the car to his wife.
For most of her life Ellen had never ridden in a convertible. She had no idea what the experience was like. Then one day she had an opportunity to ride in a friend’s convertible and that opened a whole new automotive window for her. She loved the car. That was all Tom needed to hear. He began looking for a really nice convertible that they would both like. The 2000 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 that he discovered was owned by a young couple who had a growing family and the Camaro was not a good fit for small children. They were asking a very reasonable price that Tom was more than willing to pay. Of course Tom had to ask them what their bottom line was. No true car guy would overlook the opportunity to leave a little more cash in the family bank account. The couple consulted privately and to Tom’s surprise they came back with a price that was about $1,000 lower, a significant discount. The deal was done.
For most of her life Ellen had never ridden in a convertible. She had no idea what the experience was like. Then one day she had an opportunity to ride in a friend’s convertible and that opened a whole new automotive window for her. She loved the car. That was all Tom needed to hear. He began looking for a really nice convertible that they would both like. The 2000 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 that he discovered was owned by a young couple who had a growing family and the Camaro was not a good fit for small children. They were asking a very reasonable price that Tom was more than willing to pay. Of course Tom had to ask them what their bottom line was. No true car guy would overlook the opportunity to leave a little more cash in the family bank account. The couple consulted privately and to Tom’s surprise they came back with a price that was about $1,000 lower, a significant discount. The deal was done.
The Camaro Z28 has the Corvette LS1 V8 engine that puts out over 300 HP and accelerates like a bullet. Tom had very little to do to get the car to like new condition. The top needed replacing and so did the rug due to a leak that had got some mold and surface rust started in the carpet area. The top and back window was professionally replaced with new components that look great. The carpet was removed, cleaned, and dried and then put back in. It looks like new now and all the mold and rust are gone.
The Camaro has the automatic transmission, an option for 2000. If Tom had ordered the car new for himself he would have gone with the 6-speed manual. But this car was meant for Ellen and an automatic is just what she needed. The paint looks very good with just minor dings (hail damage) and a bit of age. Tom will be getting a repaint soon. If you are considering a paint job you might want to check with Tom first because the painter he deals with gives a great deal.
The Camaro has the automatic transmission, an option for 2000. If Tom had ordered the car new for himself he would have gone with the 6-speed manual. But this car was meant for Ellen and an automatic is just what she needed. The paint looks very good with just minor dings (hail damage) and a bit of age. Tom will be getting a repaint soon. If you are considering a paint job you might want to check with Tom first because the painter he deals with gives a great deal.
This isn’t the first special interest car that the Regan’s have owned. Not too long ago Tom was perusing an online auction site when he noticed a really nice authentic 1973 Caprice. The 4-door car had an appealing light yellow exterior and a green interior plus a vinyl top. He put in a relatively low bid of $2500 on the Georgia car and then promptly forgot about it. Sometime later his wife approached him with a bill that said he owed someone in Georgia $2,500.00 and she wanted to know what that was all about. It took Tom a little thinking and he finally recalled the car that he had no expectation to win. Tom drove down to Georgia with his big 24 foot enclosed trailer and picked up the Chevy. When he found it the car had been stored for many years and had not been started in a long time. The outside was covered in white mold but the interior was like new. Once the car arrived home in Westerly a local detailer restored the outside paint and top to new condition. The 454 cubic inch big block with only 64,000 miles on it had not turned over in many years and Tom did not want to mess it up. He decided to call on the aid of a friend. His friend removed the distributor and the valve covers. He then was able to turn the oil pump through the distributor shaft. He kept doing this until he saw oil spurting out the ports in the head. They then drained the radiator and had it tested and cleaned. The automatic transmission was dropped (Tom had the use of a special transmission jack) and delivered to The Transmission Shop in Coventry where all necessary maintenance was done for a total of $70! The men also replaced two freeze plugs that were only accessible after removing the transmission. After all was reassembled and the old ignition was replaced with an electronic upgrade a liberal supply of Marvel Mystery oil was added to the fuel and the engine oil. Spark plugs and cables were replaced. Now it was time to turn it over. The car fired right up. It sounded a little rough at first but soon it was as smooth as new!
Tom enjoyed driving the Caprice for several years until he decided to sell it. One morning a local man knocked on his door and announced that he wanted to buy the car. He said he would return at 5:00 PM with the full price. He returned at the appointed time with the cash. Tom insisted that the buyer take back $500 since Tom expected some haggling. The nice elderly gent refused to take the discount. Tom refused to sell the car to him unless he accepted the $500. The deal was done. The buyer never once drove the car or even opened the doors to look inside. He also passed up the opportunity to drive it home while Tom would drive the buyer’s car. So, Tom drove the Caprice the mile or so to its final home. That’s when things got really interesting. The nice old man offered to show Tom around the place. The first stop was the garage which featured an original Shelby Cobra Mustang sitting up on a lift. It had about 8 miles on the odometer! The gentleman had originally bought the car new for his oldest son who unfortunately was killed in Vietnam and thus never took possession of the car. The Shelby is now destined to go to the younger son when dad passes.
And the story is not quite over. The elderly man insisted on showing Tom what he had in his basement. Down they went to the train room. Thousands of train sets, all in good working order, were on display. Racks of engines and cars lined the room. 10 complete train sets are in motion at all times. Every so many months the 10 sets are taken down, given preventative maintenance, and then returned to ‘display status’ while 10 more different sets are then put in motion. Tom was absolutely amazed by the collection.
I am sure Tom has many more stories to tell and I hope we hear more of them in the not too distant future. He plans to spend more time with club activities as he gets a little closer to retirement age. Did you know he is on the lookout for a 1970-1971 Barracuda? But that’s another story. Ask Tom about it when you see him.
(Click on the photos for an enlarged view)
Tom enjoyed driving the Caprice for several years until he decided to sell it. One morning a local man knocked on his door and announced that he wanted to buy the car. He said he would return at 5:00 PM with the full price. He returned at the appointed time with the cash. Tom insisted that the buyer take back $500 since Tom expected some haggling. The nice elderly gent refused to take the discount. Tom refused to sell the car to him unless he accepted the $500. The deal was done. The buyer never once drove the car or even opened the doors to look inside. He also passed up the opportunity to drive it home while Tom would drive the buyer’s car. So, Tom drove the Caprice the mile or so to its final home. That’s when things got really interesting. The nice old man offered to show Tom around the place. The first stop was the garage which featured an original Shelby Cobra Mustang sitting up on a lift. It had about 8 miles on the odometer! The gentleman had originally bought the car new for his oldest son who unfortunately was killed in Vietnam and thus never took possession of the car. The Shelby is now destined to go to the younger son when dad passes.
And the story is not quite over. The elderly man insisted on showing Tom what he had in his basement. Down they went to the train room. Thousands of train sets, all in good working order, were on display. Racks of engines and cars lined the room. 10 complete train sets are in motion at all times. Every so many months the 10 sets are taken down, given preventative maintenance, and then returned to ‘display status’ while 10 more different sets are then put in motion. Tom was absolutely amazed by the collection.
I am sure Tom has many more stories to tell and I hope we hear more of them in the not too distant future. He plans to spend more time with club activities as he gets a little closer to retirement age. Did you know he is on the lookout for a 1970-1971 Barracuda? But that’s another story. Ask Tom about it when you see him.
(Click on the photos for an enlarged view)
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