Day 2 - Tours & Delivery

Lee Hart's Web Site

Day 2

Sleep, wake up, shower (darn, I forgot my shampoo and there wasn't any in the room). Pack my bags, check to see if/where I could spend that night. I could, as it turns out in the same room. Unload most of the rental car into the room as I'd be leaving it at the NCM that afternoon.

I got to the NCM at 8 AM. I spoke with the receptionist and was told that I was scheduled to pick up the car at 2:30. I decided to hit the 9 AM tour at the plant. I make a quick visit to the NCM gift shop and then went to the plant tour .

It was a very cool tour. I did see 2 cars with 2000's new body colors and wheels. The colors are a yellow and a "Bowling Green Metallic". The green is pretty; I'm not generally a huge fan of yellow. Both cars also had wheels on with paper taped over them so they were not visible to the tour. The green one had slightly torn paper and it looked like the wheels will be thinner in some ways (the 5 spokes looked thinner, more like the magnesium wheels or the older GS wheels and the shiny part of the ring (for lack of a better term, the part between the spokes and the rubber) also wasn't as thick.

Mule car used in C5 development

After the tour I returned to the NCM for a walk around the museum. It was very cool.

Front engine/rear transmission used in C5

Cutaway LT5 engine as used in the ZR-1 "King of the Hill" C4 Corvettes.

Post-crash-test C5.

C3-era Corvette prototype

Corvette Indy show car/prototype

My car!!! Very cool.

Seeing my car in the lineup was very special - I seriously wanted to stop everyone that walked by, jump up and down and excitedly say that this is my car. It was a very worthwhile experience. However I still had more of the museum to see to I slowly moved on. I would be back.

There was another car on the floor for museum delivery. Cool, but I like mine better <g>

The other cars and exhibits were also very cool; I read most exhibits and many of the details about the cars on display. I was most intrigued by a number of real mules used in Corvette development (like the one above) as well as some of the show cars (like the Corvette Indy). After the tour I make a longer trip to the gift shop.

I then headed outside and walked around the NCRS judging area. Mid America was displaying the Corvette used by Mark Hamill in Corvette Summer. The cars being judged were very sharp looking. I then went back in to double-check w/ Sherry Meyers that all of my info was proper (the bill of sale was being sent from Steve Moore Chevrolet.) Sherry then told me that I was supposed to be there at 10:30 (it was now 1:30). I explained that I'd been told that it was 2:30 when I checked in at 8 AM. It just happens that there were quite a few deliveries at the NCM that day, at least 3. Shortly after that I was going through the delivery process, going over the details of the car, providing the driver's license, temporary plates, proof of insurance, bill of sale, etc. I then watched a video on the details of operating the Corvette. That was useful; I also look forward to reading the owner's guide. Then the car was moved into a bay just off of the display area to be shown more details. That was the first time I saw the heads-up display for myself. I've got to say that it's very cool. I'm glad I got it. While seeing the car I became positive that the big suitcase I'd brought would not fit in the trunk with the top down, and there was no way I could carry both suitcases. Alas. While showing me the details of the car I was also shown where pretty much everything that came on the car from the factory; many/most dealers rip this off and throw it away (plastic bags over the seats, various pieces of paper that were taped places, etc.). I was then given the chance to bring around the rental car and transfer the stuff (mostly bags from the NCM gift shop) to the Vette. I then gave the keys and rental contract to the NCM employee that delivered the car to me (very well; he also showed me where it's best to push to close doors w/o getting fingerprints on the car). I then thanked him and drove off. I knew that I'd need to ship the big suitcase so I got directions from him to the local UPS shop. I went to my hotel, emptied that suitcase and left in search of the UPS shop. Unfortunately the UPS shop in Bowling Green is not easy to find. I spend over a half-hour within 0.5 miles of the place, stopping several times to get better directions. Everyone knew where the UPS plant is but the directions they gave didn't help too much at first. The UPS plant in Bowling Green could really use a sign on one of the nearby major roads. Oh well, eventually I found the UPS and mailed the suitcase. UPS didn't have cardboard so I wrapped it with brown paper and the UPS employee and I wrapped it heavily with packing tape. I suspect some of the paper will tear but the sheath of tape should hold and the damage should be no worse than what would happen in an airport. Just in case I taped a shipping label to the suitcase (underneath the paper) below one of the handles on the suitcase. I put another slip of paper with the to/from address inside the suitcase. I then headed back. I was tired, a ~2 hour nap hit the spot. When I woke up I started to organize my stuff so I could fairly easily carry it out to the car in the morning. Dinner was White Castle. It's only the second time I've ever been to a While Castle; I couldn't pass it up. Funny how time and distance can make you miss food that can easily be seen as disgusting, like scrapple & White Castle.

Tomorrow I believe I'll head to Lynchburg, TN.