TBV goes to Classic Corvettes and Collectables in Tarpon Springs

Two of our wonderful members, Deborah Freshwater and Bob Cordova, set up a day for Tampa Bay Vettes to spend over at Classic Corvettes and Collectables, owned by Al Wiseman, in Tarpon Springs.

And all I have to say is THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for what became an INCREDIBLE, FABULOUS and TRULY AMAZING day that I’ll never forget. Those of you who were unable to attend this event really missed what could only be called a "once in a lifetime opportunity".

Earlier that week, I received about a dozen emails from various members stating they would either meet us there or along the route to Classic Corvettes. The big day came – Saturday, May 15, 2004! Irene and I met 5 other Corvettes at the usual meeting place behind Bennigan’s. I thought to myself "a small turnout", but I was not to be let down. As planned, we started the caravan at 8:15am and Tom and Sandy Asbury along with Harry Williams met us on the corner of Memorial and Hillsborough Avenue at about 8:40. When we arrived at Classic Corvettes at 9:15am, I was a bit surprised. There were another dozen TBV club member Corvettes in the parking lot along with a couple of other cars (non Corvettes) from the club which gave us a turnout of about 20 vehicles at that time… And it didn’t end there. In the next 20 minutes 8 more TBV club member cars arrived. TBV had a great turn out of about 28 club vehicles. But it gets better!! Don’t stop reading here. Before 10 am, a Hudson Car club showed up with about 8 vehicles along with Corvettes R Us from Lake County. Needless to say, we had a contingency of about 140+ people for this gathering!

Classic Corvettes was kind enough to open their doors around 9:25 am (35 minutes early) and immediately upon entering the showroom you are just in amazement! There have to be over 150 pristine vehicles on display and most of them are for sale. And these aren’t your average everyday car... they aren’t even your everyday show car. The cars in this showroom are in the category of 90 point plus to 100 point show cars and most of them are muscle cars. There are Corvettes, Camaros, Shelbys, Chevelles, Tempests, Cutlasses, a Rolls Royce with a P51 aircraft engine (not for sale), street rods, one Mustang and many others that I wasn’t familiar with or that are experimental cars. There is even an original 1956 Duntov Corvette!

After I had explored the showroom for about an hour enjoying all of the cars, Deborah Freshwater introduced me to Al Wiseman, owner of Classic Corvettes. As I was talking with him, I learned he was going to give us a guided tour of some of the more special cars in the showroom... those in the back of the showroom that are part of Al’s personal collection and NOT for sale.

Al talked about a few of his favorites - President Roosevelt’s limo, the 1956 Duntov Corvette and then he got behind the wheel of the Rolls Royce Silver Shadow II with the P51 Rolls Royce aircraft engine. After telling us a 10-minute story on this car he started cranking the magnetos - yes I said magnetos because there are 3 of them on this car - and fired up the engine on this 1000+HP vehicle right in the showroom! This car has a rumble you won’t believe. Thank god for mufflers!

This Silver Shadow has a 50-gallon fuel tank and if you are gentle on the throttle you could get the car to go maybe 50 miles with a tail wind. After this demonstration Al then informed the group the show had only just begun. He personally invited all of us to go over to his house - about 3 miles away - where he has his private collection that he would like to show us! After the applause settled down we were allowed to continue looking at the cars in the Corvettes and Collectables showroom for another 30 minutes before we went to his place.

At this time, Al’s son Kevin allowed us to sit in the Batmobile… the actual 1960’s TV series Batcycle! First I saw Laura Cintron get in and have pictures taken, followed by my wife Irene, then Deborah Freshwater, and followed by Chuck Pipher. I lost track after that and the battery died on the digital camera. So if I left anyone out I apologize, because I am still in shock and amazement at the cars in this showroom and am still recovering from the tour of Al’s personal collection that followed.

Okay as we headed over to Al Wiseman’s house, about a 10-minute drive from the showroom, I was wondering if Al would have enough space to park 60+ vehicles. Not to worry, the driveways alone could handle this many cars and we weren’t even close to his house. To the east side of Al’s home are massive brick and stucco garages. Okay, how big can they be you ask? You’re going to have to read the rest of the story to find out!

We entered the first garage to see a Rolls Royce Mr. Wiseman is personally restoring, along with a 1957 Oldsmobile Fuelie convertible and a Shelby, in this very complete machine shop. Al commented that what he can’t get, he builds, and what he can’t build here he builds at the Classic Corvette and Collectables machine shop.

Al then took us to the 2^nd garage. All I have to say is wholly #%@#$^!!! This garage is filled with some of the earliest manufactured and completely restored motorcycles. Not to stop there, he has 27 nearly if not completely restored vehicles in this garage as well. Al reviewed each and every motorcycle, car, and truck as well as the collectables hanging on the walls and gave us a history of each. This man has a true love and fascination for these vehicles along with an incredible ability to provide the history of each vehicle. While Al was talking he reminded me of a recent movie I’d seen called BIG FISH… but more on that at the end of the article.

He has got to be kidding! Ben Pardo asked me if I could have any one of the vehicles Al showed me, which one would I pick? I told Ben there was no way I could choose among them. They are all unique, gorgeous and unbelievable!

We entered the museum quality garage. All of these vehicles - and I mean ALL of these vehicles - are 100 point vehicles. There is no flaw in paint, no crack in leather, no dust, and no rust on any of them. There have to be another 35+ vehicles in this garage along with models of cars, garage accessories like gas pumps plus other museum quality items such as popcorn machines, vehicles with calliopes, player pianos and barber shop equipment. After getting about 1/3 of the way through this garage I found the Holy Grail! Or at least what I consider the Holy Grail… a Duesenberg. I was standing the closest I have ever stood to one of these cars. I was within 2 inches of a 100-point Duesenberg. I can’t even guess what this magnificent automobile is worth in terms of dollars, but the opportunity to see it up close was worth a million to me! These vehicles were manufactured in the 1920s and were $30,000+ then. As a kid, I had always admired them and when I went to Las Vegas I saw the Imperial Palace collection of Duesenbergs but I never got to be this close. For me, this was the fulfillment of a lifetime dream!

Again, Mr. Wiseman went through a brief history of each vehicle and some of the other museum pieces along with the garage collectibles. He even demonstrated the calliope and the player piano. When we exited the last garage, I thanked him for his generosity and time in sharing his intriguing knowledge of the history of each item as we toured the facilities. To me, Al Wiseman is the Father in the movie Big Fish. He loves life, loves what he is doing, and most importantly, he loves to share his treasures and the story behind each one with fellow automobile enthusiasts. This man is truly remarkable and what he is does for an automobile enthusiast is simply amazing! Thank you Mr. Wiseman!