Corvette
did offer a charcoal/silver, upper/lower body paint for 1981. Mel’s red/silver
T-top is similar, but not a knock-off of the ‘81. His color scheme is more
similar to the ‘78 Pace Car, with the lower silver paint flowing up and
over the wheel wells. "You’d be surprised the Corvette owners who
ask me if my car came painted that way," Mel laughs. "And that’s
from people that really know Corvettes a lot better than I do."
The president of Cowtown Corvettes and his wife, who
live in nearby Ft. Worth, were impressed and convinced Mel and his wife to enter
the coupe in a show at "The Ballpark" in Arlington, where the Texas
Rangers play baseball. When 15 members of the club opened their hoods to reveal
sparkling, detailed engines, Mel got his wake-up call and told his wife, Lois,
that he would never be put in that position again.
