For the last few years, Joel has been concentrating on a few things; pursuing a dream to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy (since he first visited there when he was 5), high school grades and athletics, and looking for a Chevy to buy.  On June 27 and 28, all those goals were fulfilled.  Here is the story of his Colorado Springs fulfilled dreams.

Prior to leaving for his first year at the Academy (AFA) Joel had been looking for about a year for a Chevrolet to purchase.  Having been raised in the NICC, he was looking for a Malibu of some sort on various internet sites.  About 4 days before the family left for Colorado Springs on Monday, June 25^th, Joel found a 1978 Malibu Classic station wagon in Canon City, CO (about 40 miles south of Colorado Springs).  The owner was contacted and arrangements were made to see the car on Weds., June 27^th.  After spending some time at the Academy Weds morning, the Primms drove to a Shell station on Rt. 115 north of Canon City where the owner agreed to meet us.  Sandy had already said that she really didn’t think it was a good idea for Joel to buy a car, especially since he cannot have a car at the Academy until his 3^rd year, but knowing it would help Joel relax before his first year started, I said we were going.  I really didn’t know what to expect, as the owners of cars sometimes overstate the condition of their cars.  In the back of my mind though, were Andy Marchiando’s comments that he loves Colorado cars; they are rust free.  That is where “Big Blue”, his 1966 Chevelle SS396 came from.  Bob Mairiano, a former member, got his 1971 Placer Gold SS454 4-speed Chevelle convertible there also.

When we pulled up, Mike, the owner was waiting for us as promised.  We pulled next to it, and introduced ourselves.  We then started looking at the car.  We opened all 5 doors (including the rear gate) and hood and started looking.  It was super clean.  The A/C lines in the engine compartment look brand new, no corrosion.  The door jams, carpet, rear area and seats were in excellent shape.  Underneath, the car was, well, let’s just say what you want your car to look like after you restore it.

 It is two tone, beige on top and a medium metallic brown from the beltline down.  You’ll notice that the front of the Malibu has the SS air dam, added by the owner.  Along the way an owner decided that they wanted the car to look like a woodie wagon, so they painted the lower panels beige, the same color as the top.  For that reason the wheel well moldings were removed because the fronts wouldn’t work with the front air dam.  The A/C was converted to R-134 in ’02.  An aftermarket Blaupukt radio was added.  Mike, the owner, didn’t like the standard idiot light gauges, so he took the time to find a correct El Camino dash with the gauges and wire harness and added that.  While he was doing that he removed the clock and added an appropriate size Sun tachometer.  Very professional installation and looks great.

The carpet, door panels, window cranks, floor mats, seats, steering column and rear wagon area are in phenomenal shape.  In the rear, Mike put speakers in the areas that had carpet there so when you turn on the radio, with the wagon area in back, it is like a concert hall filled with sound.  Awesome.  Mike also put El Camino sport wheels on it, and we are in need of two caps that have all the clips.

Well, after we saw the car, if there was a car Joel was going to buy, this was the one.  Sandy was not going to say no, although she wasn’t really convinced it was the best thing to do as he was just starting the Academy.  But, she said yes and then it was figuring out how to get it 1,100 miles home.  We talked about me driving it back in September after Parent’s weekend at the Academy over Labor Day while Sandy flew.  Well, Andy Marchiando has always been an inspiration to me in many ways and I figured Andy would just drive it and if something happened, take care of it then.  So it was a matter of Sandy deciding to drive the Astro home as she did not want to; she wanted to be a passenger and relax.  At dinner that night Sandy told Joel she’d drive the Astro.  I think that meant a lot to Joel.  We called Mike and made arrangements to have the money wired to him and we picked the car up on Thursday, after going with Joel to In-Processing.

We drove it home starting on Friday, June 29^th at 10am MST.  We drove to Lincoln, NE.  There are one-size larger tires on the car so the speedometer is slower, but the MPG was over 20 at 80 mph.  Being from a higher elevation than Chicago I’ll check the timing and since it is running lean now, richen it up a little.  It has a 305 engine, TH350 trans and 2.73 rear gear.  At 75mph it is at 2,400 rpm.  Just a cruiser and a perfect car for driving from Colorado Springs to Chicago and then wherever he is at upon graduation in 2011.

The neat thing is the maintenance records the owner kept.  He had a file full of receipts and a written record of the items done on the car with the date, mileage and description of the maintenance done on the car.  After looking at all of it with the initial car inspection on Weds. Mike noticed that he had not changed the rear shocks, no big deal, I would do that when I got home.  Well, when I called on Thursday to let him know when we’d be down, he let me know that he felt bad and put new rear shocks on the car.  My family knows that some of our dearest friends have been met through cars, and Mike is a Chevrolet guy and a #3 fan.  When we met him he had his #3 hat on and he noticed that #3 decal on our Astro.

Joel’s car with the Academy Chapel behind it.  This will be the first time he’s seen it on

There’s not much to do on this car.  I think we’ll put new front springs on the car to get the front end up.  There is a vibration between 55-67mph that we’ll have to get out, but it literally drives so smooth below and over those speeds.  When I drove the car on the Academy grounds Friday morning for the Swearing-in ceremony, Sandy was behind me with the Astro.  She said that while I was driving away from the gate the Security detail was looking at the car and giving thumbs up.  Joel got a good one.  He’ll have to wait a bit to drive it there again, but it is cool that in 2 years it’ll be going back to where it came from.

It’ll be at the Bob Jass Show on July 21^st.  While Joel will not be there, I would like to get a group photo of all the NICC members there standing around the car so I can send him a picture of the friends that he grew up with standing with his first car.

Joel won’t be able to visit the website until August sometime, but I am sure he’ll enjoy seeing his car in color and on a website that reminds him of his friends and keeps him up on activities.  In other words, he’ll be living vicariously through the website and civilian life.  GO JOEL!!!

Well, Joel is in.  It was hard, but he is where he has wanted to be since he was 5.  If you want to keep up on Joel and see pics of him, go to www.usafawebguy.com, the will give you a day-by-day update and will have pics.

Joel packing up for the last time as a civilian and entering the Air Force Academy

Checking that he has everything prior to starting in-processing. The girls kept their composure, for now.

Crossing the line in Dolittle Hall prior to saying goodbye before we turn him over to the Air Force Cadets ready to do their thing.  This is when he was the most apprehensive.  Mom is over his left shoulder making sure he's okay and sister Niki is making sure he's in ok.

Joel boarding the bus.  His upperclassman await and the yelling begins.