Cruising Through Time: The Spearman Family’s Corvette Legacy

Jim & Judy SPEARMAN CoRvette Story

A Reader Submitted Story

In “Our Corvette Story,” Jim Spearman takes readers on a nostalgic journey through his lifelong love affair with automobiles. From disassembling a lawn mower at the age of eight to fulfilling his dream of owning a ’62 Classic Corvette coupe, the narrative weaves through Jim’s adventures, family life, and the pursuit of a chrome bumper C3 Corvette. The story culminates in the heartwarming resurrection of Mille Miglia Red, a 1972 Corvette, and the triumphs she achieved at car shows. The Spearman family’s passion for cars and the joy derived from their unique car story shine through each section. 

“As an eight-year-old, I was very interested in anything with a gasoline engine. That included motorcycles, cars and even lawn mowers. In fact, at about 8 years old I disassembled my family’s lawn mower engine just to see how it worked. Dad came home from work and found me in the process of putting it back together. He was quite upset but forgave me when I finished the job a few hours later. As I recall, the engine ran better after it was reassembled. 

Over the next few years, I would sit on our front porch and watch cars pass by. At the age of about 9, I could name the model and make of every car that passed by our house. I read a lot of car and hot rod magazines and would dream about my future rides. In early 1953, I read an article about a new line of Chevy’s – the Corvette. Just the pictures of that car sent my head spinning. I convinced my dad to take me to Claud C. Arnold Chevrolet Company in Ardmore just to get a look at that car. He obliged but to my dismay, they didn’t have any Corvettes. The next year, however, someone told him there was a Corvette at the dealership and he took me. That was it. That was the defining moment and I declared myself an official Corvette lover. Dad and mom always had Chevy’s so that brand was already in my blood. No Corvette’s but a few other Chevy’s in my future beginning with a ’55 4-door 210, three-on-the tree with a 265. I bought that car with a blown engine when I was 15 years old, but it was ready to roll when I got my drivers license. Next came a ’56 Bel Air, stick, with a 283 and 2-4bbl carbs. This was the first one that I raced at the Ardmore and Green Valley (TX) drag strips. I was really uptown with my next one – a ’62 bubble top Bel Air 409/380hp. 

Fast forward to 1966. I graduated from college at Oklahoma State and moved to Norman to start my new job. I was driving the ’62 bubble top 409, and it was a great car. However, I decided to go for my real dream car and traded the Bel Air for a ’62 Corvette coupe, tuxedo black with a red interior, four-speed but a base 250 horse 327. WOW – on top of the world. I would like to think this Vette helped me lasso my wife-to-be, but it really didn’t. Regardless, she had her own ‘49 Ford Business Coupe with a flathead six. “

“As an eight-year-old, I was very interested in anything with a gasoline engine. That included motorcycles, cars and even lawn mowers. In fact, at about 8 years old I disassembled my family’s lawn mower engine just to see how it worked. Dad came home from work and found me in the process of putting it back together. He was quite upset but forgave me when I finished the job a few hours later. As I recall, the engine ran better after it was reassembled. 

Over the next few years, I would sit on our front porch and watch cars pass by. At the age of about 9, I could name the model and make of every car that passed by our house. I read a lot of car and hot rod magazines and would dream about my future rides. In early 1953, I read an article about a new line of Chevy’s – the Corvette. Just the pictures of that car sent my head spinning. I convinced my dad to take me to Claud C. Arnold Chevrolet Company in Ardmore just to get a look at that car. He obliged but to my dismay, they didn’t have any Corvettes. The next year, however, someone told him there was a Corvette at the dealership and he took me. That was it. That was the defining moment and I declared myself an official Corvette lover. Dad and mom always had Chevy’s so that brand was already in my blood. No Corvette’s but a few other Chevy’s in my future beginning with a ’55 4-door 210, three-on-the tree with a 265. I bought that car with a blown engine when I was 15 years old, but it was ready to roll when I got my drivers license. Next came a ’56 Bel Air, stick, with a 283 and 2-4bbl carbs. This was the first one that I raced at the Ardmore and Green Valley (TX) drag strips. I was really uptown with my next one – a ’62 bubble top Bel Air 409/380hp. 

Fast forward to 1966. I graduated from college at Oklahoma State and moved to Norman to start my new job. I was driving the ’62 bubble top 409, and it was a great car. However, I decided to go for my real dream car and traded the Bel Air for a ’62 Corvette coupe, tuxedo black with a red interior, four-speed but a base 250 horse 327. WOW – on top of the world. I would like to think this Vette helped me lasso my wife-to-be, but it really didn’t. Regardless, she had her own ‘49 Ford Business Coupe with a flathead six. “

Honeymooning in a ’62 Classic Corvette

1968 marked a significant chapter in Jim’s life as he eloped with his wife, Judy, and embarked on their honeymoon in a ’62 Corvette. However, the early years of their marriage and as children entered the picture, family responsibilities took precedence, and the Corvettes took a temporary backseat to family cars.

” Our Corvette story really begins here because we eloped and went on our honeymoon in that Vette in 1968. Four other Vettes followed but when our children came along – there went the Vettes. There was no way to have a family car and Vette on a cop’s salary but I always “stayed in touch” with the Vette scene. Once we got the kiddo’s out of college, here came the Vettes again. Three late model C3’s, a couple of C4’s a C5 and now a C6 GS. However, there was one elusive Vette that I never got – A chrome bumper C3.

Although I had looked for several years, I just didn’t find the right chrome bumper C3 Vette to match my budget. However, in late 2015, I found an online ad for a 1972 one-owner Corvette with 16,000 actual miles. A check of the phone number listed in the ad indicated that it was in the Nashville, TN area. I phoned and the owner told me that the Vette sold the previous day. Just being curious, I asked at lot of questions about it and the description seemed to be the closest match to what I had been searching for the past few years. He told me that his dad died and willed the Vette to him but he wasn’t a car guy and didn’t have any interest in it. How could I have missed out on my dream Vette and for a good price by being a day late. “

Jim retired from the Norman, OK Police Department in 2015 after 45 years.

The Hunt for the Dream Vette

Jim’s relentless search for his dream car, a chrome bumper C3 Corvette, becomes the focal point in this section. Despite years of looking, the perfect match seemed elusive. The story takes an unexpected turn when a chance conversation at a police conference in Ardmore leads Jim to the exact Vette he had previously missed out on.

“On Wednesday, June 26, 2016, I was attending a police conference in Ardmore, OK and was talking with another police officer and fellow classic Corvette owner. I began telling him about my dream Corvette that I missed out on and he asked, “Why do you think that Corvette was in Tennessee?” I told him the phone area code checked to the Nashville, TN area. To shorten the story, Ernie responded that there are not many Corvettes with that description still around and believes it may be in Stillwater, OK. He said the owner is a former Stillwater resident who lives in TN. He also said that he stays in touch with Corvette scene around Stillwater and understands that a previous offer to buy the Vette fell through. 

Ernie continued that if we are discussing the same Vette, it is parked in a garage in Stillwater and is just a few houses from his house. He said that the wife of the deceased original owner and mother of the current owner, is a close friend of his wife.  Ernie gave me a number and I immediately phoned. The lady who answered confirmed that the Vette was in her garage in Stillwater, that she was the mother of the owner who lives in Nashville and that a previous possible sale fell through. She also said that her late husband purchased the Vette new and transferred the title to their son before his death, but it had been parked in her garage for over 25 years. To me, this was indisputable evidence that it was the same Vette that I had called about months previously.”

Bringing the Dream Vette Home

The discovery of a 1972 one-owner classic Corvette in Stillwater, OK, becomes the focal point of this section. Jim’s determination, negotiations, and the eventual agreement to sell the Vette form the climax. The narrative vividly portrays the journey of bringing the dormant beauty, named Mille Miglia Red, back to life, culminating in the triumphant moment of starting the engine.

“My wife and I drove to Stillwater the following Saturday to look at the Vette. I spent the next couple of hours of checking serial numbers, engine numbers, inside, outside and underneath and making notes of things that would have to be done to make the Vette drivable.  After that my wife and I huddled. She said, “if you want it, make an offer, it’s good with me.”

I told her we wanted the Vette and she phoned her son. He said that he remembered my call from a few months previous. I offered him the same price as the previous potential buyer but he refused, explaining that since that sale fell through, he paid an expert to appraise the Vette. The appraiser placed the estimated value of the Vette several thousand more than the original asking price. I told the owner that was way out of my price range and reminded him of the enormous amount of work that needed to be done. I explained that I would probably have to spend thousands to make it drivable and after 25 years, the engine might be locked. I handed the phone back to his mother and was sure that this deal had failed. As I recall, his mother seemed to be having a mother-to-son talk with him, after which she handed the phone back to me. The son agreed to the original asking price plus the cost of the appraisal. We agreed and sealed the deal on the phone. An old fashioned but gentlemen’s way to do business. I immediately named her Mille – Mille Miglia Red. 

As we drove home to Norman my wife said, “this ends your talk about a new C7 Grand Sport”. My response – “yes dear”. The following Sunday and Monday were spent clearing the garage to make room for Mille. 

A few weeks later we drove back to Stillwater, loaded Mille on a trailer and brought her to Norman.”

From Garage to Car Shows

Celebrating Mille’s resurrection and the Spearman family’s joy as they take her out for the first time. From local drives to charity car shows, Mille’s restoration shines, marking the fulfillment of Jim’s dream.

“Following a lot of parts and hours and hours of labor, Mille was about ready to start. I filled the cylinders with a mixture of Marvel Oil and automatic trans fluid and had turned the engine over a few times each a day for several days by hand. I sensed that my wife was becoming frustrated because I kept delaying the Mille “start date”. I was hesitant, no, I was scared to put the key in the ignition and try to start it. On September 16, my wife announced that we were going to start Mille today. To no avail, I argued but my wife emphatically said, “put the key in the ignition and start the car”! My anxiety was overwhelming. However, I did as I was told. Mille coughed and sputter for a few seconds, then puffed out some smoke and then began to purr. My anxiety disappeared and I immediately hugged her for the push to finally start Mille. 

It was finally time to drive Mille out of the garage for the first time. On November 16, 2016, two grandchildren were there to be a part of the festivities. They helped me put on the wheels and take Mille off the jack stands. As planned, my wife would drive Mille out of the garage while the kids and I videoed the event. Once out of the garage, she would turn Mille over to us. To our surprise, my wife drove out of the garage, continued down the driveway, into the street and away she went. The kids were screaming for her to stop but she just kept on trucking…down the street and around the block. 

We continued to drive Mille around town and on short trips. One Saturday we decided to drive Mille to Stillwater to a charity car show. They didn’t give trophies at this show, but we wanted an opportunity to show off Mille in her hometown. While there, we drove to the house where we bought it and took them for a ride. “