Corvettes rev up car show

July 23, 2012 at 12:02a.m.

AUSTINTOWN

For all but the first four years of Debbie Allison’s life, her father’s 1956 Corvette has been part of the family.

“There’s a lot of history to this car,” the Canfield woman said about the pristine black vehicle her late father, David P. Campolito, bought in March 1964.

Campolito died Nov. 30, 2011, of cancer.

The vintage Corvette also was a special part of Sunday’s 2012 car show at Greenwood Chevrolet, 4665 Mahoning Ave.

Sponsoring the annual fundraising show in its 18th year were Greenwood Chevrolet of Austintown and the Mahoning Valley Corvettes Club, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Proceeds will benefit Cindy Buntz, a Greenwood Chevrolet service- department employee who has cancer, as well as other local charities, noted Dave Millich, MVCC’s president.

An estimated 92 Corvettes and 30 other makes and models made up the show. Twenty-four plaques were to be given to winners in a variety of categories, Millich said.

Campolito’s wife, Charlotte, recalled having been a bit upset with her husband the day he bought the car from its original owner in Salem for about $1,100 because she felt the money was needed for the couple’s young family. That feeling soon dissipated, however.

“I’m so proud of him now,” an emotional Charlotte said. “I have to appreciate how much he put into this — blood, sweat and tears, I’ll tell you.”

The Corvette owned by David Campolito, who was a longtime MVCC member, is equipped with a 265 dual-quad engine, power windows, bright-red upholstery on the original seats and original hubcaps, noted the Campolitos’ son, Dino Campolito of Canfield, who stood next to a table on which numerous mementos, trophies and awards his father had won were displayed. Nearby was a jigsaw puzzle one of David Campolito’s 10 grandchildren assembled showing the car.

Also on the table was a photo album detailing the 1956 vehicle’s history, which shows pictures of Campolito the day he brought the car home. The album also chronicles the years he used it for drag racing and the efforts he took to restore the vehicle.

A much newer – and lighter – Corvette belongs to Rex Swartzbeck of Greenville, Pa., who proudly talked about his bright-yellow 2003 model that he bought new.

“I didn’t know a lot about what can be done to cars,” admitted Swartzbeck, a member of the Shenango Valley Corvette Club.

Nevertheless, such an admission was probably lost on attendees who were drawn to his car, which sports a 5.7-liter engine, stainless-steel panels, chrome under the hood and rear-mounted twin-turbo pipes. It gets between 22 and 24 mpg on the highway, Swartzbeck said.

His grandchildren gave him a few nicknames, which morphed into “T Rex,” said Swartzbeck, who’s received about 80 awards and has participated in about 10 car shows this year.

He also isn’t shy about letting others know of his newly acquired sobriquet: His rear license plate reads “TREX03.”

Another eye-catcher at the show was the few dozen antique, classic, Hot Rod and vintage vehicles, such as the bright-red 1957 four-door Chevrolet Bel Air hardtop vehicle owned by Jerry Apger of Lordstown.

“The whole car’s been modified,” said Apger, adding that he bought it in October 2009 in Biloxi, Miss., and had a friend bring it to his home.

The car mixes the old and modern, with features including air conditioning, a 350-horsepower engine and a modified chrome-aluminum radiator. Also part of the package is the original clock built into the dashboard, added Apger, who had a series of dash plaques from such shows he attended.

Sunday’s car show also included a 50/50 drawing, a Chinese raffle and music by Big Rick. The first 125 cars received 50th anniversary dash plaques.