Frank Almeida's Dark Red '89 Coupe

   " I drove my first Corvette as a college sophomore, a brand new 1973 orange T-top with black interior, that a  (crazy or trusting, you judge) friend let me borrow while he was away.  My goal then was to own one someday.  The dream came true in 2002 when Denise and I became the fourth owners of a 1989 dark red metallic coupe.  For its first 12 years, this car had been a daily driver with some half-hearted, catalog customization and a lot of wear and tear.  During our first summer we enjoyed just driving the car, going to shows (but not entering) and learning about Corvette restorations.  Over the winter, my son and I took the car apart like a tinker toy, removed all of the customizing that had been done, restored the interior, and got the car ready for its first paint job.  Thanks to Falmouth Auto Works for the bodywork and paint and Falmouth Motorcar for mechanical repairs we think it came out pretty good!  I know where that old ‘73 is and have my eyes on owning it someday as well."

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Some historical information about the '89 model year.

total production: 16,663 coupes (base price $31,545)   9,749 convertibles (base price $36,785)

the coupe weighed 3,229 lbs and the convertible weighed 3,269 lbs

the engine was the L98 producing 240/245 hp. the 245hp was available with the coupe only with the 3.07 rear axle ratio.

17" wheels became standard in 1989. A 6 speed manual also was introduced in 1989. The ZR-1 was supposed to be released to the public that year but held off at the last minute until 1990.

Body colors in 1989 were: white, medium blue metallic, dark blue metallic, black, dark red metallic, bright red, grey metallic and charcoal metallic. Chevrolet also painted 33 cars in non standard colors - 6 were done in yellow and 27 were painted in arctic pearl. Interior colors were blue, black, grey, red, saddle, and white.