n a recent trip to Virginia, we were excited to have the chance to stop and check out Black Dog Salvage (If you’re trying to figure out why the name sounds familiar, it’s probably because you’ve seen on the DIY Network’s show Salvage Dawgs).  The store is full of all kinds of items they’ve rescued from historic buildings that were set to be demolished.  They take everything worth saving, from doorknobs to gigantic stained glass windows and sell them in their store in Roanoke, VA.

Visiting Black Dog got me to thinking about all the Corvettes and other cars we’ve “rescued” over the years.  Every day, classic cars become more and rarer as cars are scrapped or slowly rot away in barns or fields until they’re past the point of saving.  We don’t just save cars because it’s our job, we do it because it truly is our hobby.  It would be a very sad day for us when there are no longer classic cars cruising the roads.

One of our rescues has a particularly interesting story.  About four years ago, I got a call from a gentleman who had sold us a Vette a few years prior.  I couldn’t believe the story he told me.  During a violent storm, a HUGE tree (I’m guessing 50-75 tall) fell on his garage.  The tree missed the red 1972 Corvette that had been sitting in his driveway for years (he had been planning to restore it, but in the meantime, it was wasting away to nothing), broke the windows but otherwise barely damaged his 1984 Corvette that was just inside the garage, and fell smack-dab on top of the Shelby GT 500 that was tucked away right in the back of the garage.

Yes, you read that right.  I know this is supposed to be a Corvette story, but as a car-lover, how can you not cry a little inside?  This was the real deal too, not a reproduction that was crushed under that tree.  To top it off, his home owner’s and auto insurance each said the other should be responsible to pay for the Shelby’s damage, so he was facing paying for this car’s major repairs completely out of pocket (this is why I STRONGLY suggest getting a classic car policy for each of your classics).  Let’s just say that the 1972’s restoration was no longer in the cards, which is where we come in, of course.

I don’t know how the ordeal worked out for the Shelby, but it actually turned out to be a good deal for the ’72.  If it had sat in that driveway much longer, there wouldn’t have been much left to restore, but thanks to that tree, we got there in time.  This is one of those projects we’ve been working on slowly, mostly during the winter, and it’s nearly finished.  I’ve included several before, during and after pictures below (plus a few of that infamous tree).  Be sure to check back for the final product!

If you have your own corvette-rescue project, drop by our Facebook page, post a picture, and tell us your Vette’s story!

To view the photo gallery, click on the first photo to enlarge, then use arrow keys to scroll through photos: