Wally Grivna

I ordered the car from Iten Chevrolet, Brooklyn Center, MN in June of 1982 while a group of us from the Suburban Corvette Club of MN were meeting there prior to a caravan to Brainerd for our annual speed events at BIR. Mine was the first 1983 they had placed on order, and my salesman kept me up to date on the order status as production began in early 1983. He also informed me that they would be considered 1984 models, not 1983. This was after I had already applied for the personalized license plate 83 VETT. Another $100 to the state DOT and I had 84 VETT. (Once it was 20 years old and eligible for collector plates, I switched to CORVETE as the plate, which I had previously on my '59.)

The first 1984 they received in time for the introduction in April of 1983 was not mine, however, as the color red was not included in the initial production startup. White and silver were the first colors built, so my car did not arrive until May 11, 1983. (As build #4935 it is early in the red production, but I have been unable to document when the first red ones came off the line.) That date also happened to be my girlfriend's birthday, which resulted in us picking up the car that evening rather than going out for her birthday dinner as planned. Despite my priorities, we did continue the relationship and were married that October. The two events on the same date have helped me to never forget her birthday, as I always know what day I got the '84!

I have an unmounted window sticker for the car, as the final option pricing was not finalized at time of shipment so it was sent separately from the vehicle itself. This is fairly rare, I would think, and always draws attention at shows when displayed.     

Prior to the '84 I had a '69 and a '79. I have also owned new an '89, '97, '03, '05 and a restored '59 - still having the '03 and '05. The 1984 has been so much like a member of the family it will not be sold/traded. Perhaps my sons will be able to be its' caretakers in future years.      

When I ordered it I had no idea the red/saddle combination would be the one used in a lot of the advertising materials that year including the foldout piece included in the sales brochure. When I display the car in shows I try to include some of these items as well as other 1984 items I have been able to collect. Over the years, I have driven the car to the Bloomington Gold show where it received a Gold Certification, Survivor Certification, and in 2006 it was selected as a part of the Special Collection recognizing various year Survivor Corvettes. It has also received a Top Flight Award with 99.7% at a regional NCRS event in 2007. The current mileage is approximately 20,000 which will be significantly increased during the Motorama II event.      The car is original except for battery, A/C compressor, serpentine belt, and the tires which I am replacing prior to this event. I also have a second set of the original Goodyears which are unique to the '84 model, but I prefer to make the trip on newer rubber and save the originals for NCRS events.

I ordered the car with the Z-51 suspension, as I had done autocrossing with my '79 and wanted to continue to participate in these type of events. Although the ride is definitely stiff, it was designed as a no-compromises suspension from the engineering standpoint that was tweaked in subsequent years to make it more driver-friendly. Mine is an early enough model in the run that it has standard Delco black painted shocks, not the yellow Bilsteins that came with the package later in the model year. Other running changes in trim, fasteners, etc. are evident when compared to later '84's produced during the extended model year production.

As far as myself, I am 58 years old, a sales representative for The Bureau of Engraving, Inc., a 100+ year old printing company in Minneapolis, and have been there 35 years. My wife Lori and I will be married 25 years this October and we have two sons, Stephen, 22, and Alex, 18. Lori is involved in her campaign for a Minnesota State House of Representatives seat and cannot take the time off to participate in Motorama II, so my older son is planning to accompany me on the caravan. He has graduated college and currently is job-hunting while my younger one will be starting classes at Vanderbilt University in August. Our current Corvettes consist of the red '84, red '03 convertible, and a black '05 coupe. I participate in autocross events, cruises, and shows in addition to volunteer working at the ALMS race in Elkhart lake, WI held at the Road America track. I am a founding member of the National Corvette Museum and also belong to NCCC and NCRS in addition to my local club, Suburban Corvettes of Minnesota. I appreciate being selected to represent the '84 model year, and look forward to the event-also to owning a C7 in a few years!