Thrill Pilot

Doc Lambert and his Corvette "Ann"

              Flying low over the trees along the Mekong Delta in an O-2 Cessna certainly trained the young lieutenant's rear end to feel every rise and fall of the machine around him. Flying observation missions and spotting for bombing aircraft, the small twin engined craft taught him nuances and the technical aspects of flying. It also left him with a love for the sensation of speed.

  After surviving his tour in Vietnam, "Doc" Lambert did what every respectable military pilot did. He bought himself a Corvette. His favorite had been the 1962 model, but he found the cockpit was a little small for his size. He owned a succession of newer model cars till he saw the Classic Reflection Coachworks design of a 1962 Corvette. He eventually found himself a 2003 Anniversary C-5 model with a tan interior and had his own vintage 'Vette built instead. The company uses the supplied car and replaces the body work, creating an old look on a newer chassis.
   There are some noticeable differences to the enthusiast from an original car. Monstrous tires, big disc brakes and a racked windscreen are the most obvious, but the overall feel is the same and the rumble from the tailpipes brings back boyhood memories racing down country lanes with wind in the hair and bugs in the teeth.
   Those sensations are what Doc is looking for more than the authentic serial numbers and original carpet liners of a classic car. Now he keeps the sensors in his rear sharp by sliding around SOLO courses and gymkhanas and driving his pride and joy.