One of the great things about Corvettes is not only their incredible history, heritage and performance, but their ability to forge long lasting impressions on their owners that can last a lifetime.
In 1962, Stan Schmidt of Kansas traded his 1959 Chevrolet Impala and $300 cash on a Venetian Red 1957 Corvette that he found on a California used car lot. He brought the car back to Kansas, and met Carolyn. They started dating and by the fall of 1963, Carolyn became his wife and the two of them spent much of their courtship in the 1957 Corvette.
Shortly after they were married, he sold the Corvette because he felt the need to get something a little larger and more accommodating, but he never quite forgot his first Corvette. In 1966, he bought a 1956 Corvette and restored it to look just like his Venetian Red ’57.
“Then in late 1983 or 1984, our 10-year-old daughter, Tracy, answered the phone and it was a guy in western Kansas who said he had a Corvette he was planning to restore,” Schmidt said. Stan called Bob Meistrell, of Plainville, Kansas back, and was told that Meistrell had been trying to contact all of the Sam Schmidts in Kansas to try and locate the previous owner and document the Corvette’s history. After much discussion, Stan realized it was his 1957 Corvette.
Stan ended up developing a friendship with Bob and eventually convinced Bob to sell him the ’57 Corvette back; although by now, it was in pieces in boxes awaiting a full restoration.
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