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MEET ME
I (owner-crafter Cort Stevens) was born 09/19/1973 & have often said I debuted in the wrong decade, at least where my automotive loves are. However, had I entered the world earlier, I may not be alive to enjoy vehicles at all.
You can see & hear me on the 11/22/2022 “Chamber Chat” episode (starting around the 31 minute mark), the Elgin Area Chamber radio program on Elgin IL’s WRMN 1410 AM.
I took this selfie with my newest daily driver, 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis LS, 10/23/2016, 3 days after I bought the car:
Here, I’m standing in front of 1 of my former cars, my “summer cruiser” 1989 Caprice Classic Brougham, bought 10/2012 & sold 09/01/2015:
MY CARS
I currently own 2:
2003 Mercury Grand Marquis LS
daily driver
purchased 10/20/2016 & introduced in this “From The Heart” entry HERE
1981 Monte Carlo SC
sunny days only
purchased from my parents, 12/1999
I bought this to keep it from having the same fate as “my” car, my parents’ former 1976 MC. So far, this car has survived my rounds of selling cars due to job losses. I took the below photo 10/19/2013, the day I sold the 1st car I ever bought; the wire wheels it now has were originally purchased (for that 1st car I ever bought) September 1998 for a grand total of $5 at the Fall Jefferson (WI) Swap Meet.
Special mention:
1979 Caprice Classic
“winter warrior”
bought 11/2009; sold 12/2017
I originally purchased this to keep my then-daily driver 1987 MC LS out of the snow & salt, but it quickly became my preferred daily driver.
Read more about this car in the “From The Heart” entry HERE.
HISTORY
When I was 2 years old, my parents traded a red 1968 Impala SS for what became “my” car, a buckskin tan 1976 MC. The story goes (Mom tells it best) that, shortly after they purchased that car, I started pointing to other 1976 MCs & saying “arlo”, which was special since I had not talked much. Thus, the “love affair” began. When my parents needed a 2nd vehicle, they chose a “leftover” 1981 MC SC, but unfortunately, Dad had the rally MC wheels swapped with Malibu hubcaps. By 1984, “my” car was in sad shape & was replaced with a 1982 Chevette sedan. When I received my driver’s license, Dad asked me what year MC I wanted. I told him: 1979, the midpoint of the 4 generations, 1970-1988. Had my answer been “1976”, I might’ve had “my” car back. During the 1st semester of my college freshman year, I did a title search for “my” car; I learned it had been junked ~1 month before I started searching….
ALL CARS OWNED by the #s
You might say I’m a “numbers” guy. I love statistics, watching tends, sports records, & of course, automotive details. If you look at the last digit of the years of cars I’ve owned, the distribution graph looks like this:
0 = 1 (2000)
1 = 1 (1981)
2 = 1 (1972)
3 = 1 (2003)
4 = 0
5 = 0
6 = 1 (1976)
7 = 2 (1997, 1987)
8 = 1 (1988)
9 = 3 (1979CC, 1989CC, 1979)
ADDITIONAL FORMER CARS
10/1992 – 10/2013 … 1979 MC L (lite green)
12/1993 – 01/1997 … 1988 MC LS (gray)
10/1997 – 10/1999 … 1997 malibu (tan)
12/1998 – 07/2012 … 1976 MC L (3x black)
10/1999 – 05/2003 … 2000 mc (dk green)
03/2002 – 07/2012 … 1972 MC (brown)
07/2003 – 07/2012 … 1987 MC LS (blue)
MY CHDs
So far, I’ve endured 4 open heart surgeries, along with pulmonary banding (10/1973) & a 4th pacemaker, received July 2022:
11/01/1977 … install 1st pig valve in place of missing pulmonary artery
03/10/1987 … install 2nd pig valve in place of 1st
01/06/2003 … install 3rd pig valve in place of 2nd; install 1st pacemaker
11/11/2011 … install 1st cow valve to replace enlarged aortic valve
MY QUILT BLOCK
(by Cathy Schweinberg, “angel liaison”)
The CHD Awareness Quilt Project raised Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) awareness by making & showing quilts at various locations.
