Original paint, clutch remain on 57-year-old Corvette
The 2018 season of Daily Herald Cruise Nights kicked off Wednesday and as soon as I saw a well-loved 1961 Corvette roll in, I knew it had a story, and my hunch was that it would be a real good story, at that.
As soon as I caught up with its smiling driver, Gerald Bonczyk, my suspicions were confirmed. Gerald, a Schaumburg resident, bought the now classic cruiser new and is its very proud original owner. All through our conversation, he was beaming; his affection for his ride was so readily apparent.
The tale starts in 1960, when Gerald went into Fencl-Tufo Chevrolet in Berwyn to buy the car of his dreams, a shiny new Corvette. The one he selected was painted white, paired with a red interior and packing a fuel-injected engine. The driving was great and Gerald liked the thrill behind the wheel.
A few short months later he and his future wife, Bonnie, motored to Northwest Community Hospital to visit a friend in need. “We parked on the street and when we came outside a short time later to leave, it was gone,” he recalls.
Not ready to replace his Corvette with something thieves would find less attractive, Gerald went back to the dealer - against the urgent pleadings of his insurance agent.
“Oh, he begged me not to get another Corvette,” chuckles Gerald. “He wanted me to have anything else.”
Still, the 28-year-old young man spied this Fawn Beige 1961 roadster sitting in the showroom and had to have it. “It wasn't a popular color; only offered in '61 and '62,” Gerald says. “But I thought it showed better than the white.”
Right out of the gate, he put the car into regular use, commuting from his then-home in Cicero to O'Hare International Airport, where he worked on the ramp for Northwest Airlines.
He and Bonnie eventually wed, but passed on including their Vette in the ceremony, opting instead for an uncle's cushy Cadillac convertible. During the early years, the couple could often be found cruising to Skip's Fiesta drive-in restaurant in Melrose Park, as well local movie theaters, but with its small trunk, never on long trips. For vacations, they used Bonnie's 1965 Chevy convertible.
Despite the 'Vette's penchant for speed, Gerald never competed or raced. “When you do that kind of stuff, you're liable to bang them up,” Gerald says. Despite that extreme caution, damage, unfortunately, found him.
In 1965, another driver pulled abruptly into traffic, smacking a front fender. “I cried a lot, but the dealer was able to get it repaired,” he says.
In 1967 the couple moved to Schaumburg, selecting their lot from a quiet cornfield and making sure there was space for their special roadster. That's also the time when the couple started subscribing to the Daily Herald, back when it was only published three days a week. They're still readers today.
After more than 55 years of ownership, the unrestored car shows original paint, 120,000 miles on the odometer and, miraculously, the engine has never been out of the car. It's also still using the original clutch.
“From the beginning, we never thought of getting rid of it,” Gerald says. “It was just the car for us.”
Share your car's story with Matt at auto@dailyherald.com.