Nature Coast Corvettes Joins Gulfside Corvettes to Tour Classic Corvettes and Collectables in Tarpon Springs

By Ron Bivens                                                       

First of all I want to thank the Gulfside Corvette Club for the invitation to join them on this trip to Corvettes and Collectables, owned by Al Wiseman, in Tarpon Springs.

And all I have to say is 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".

Classic Corvettes was kind enough to open their doors around 9:30 am (30 minutes early) and immediately upon entering the showroom you are just in amazement! There have to be over 150 pristine vehicles on display and some of them are for sale. And these aren’t your average everyday cars... 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,  and many others. There is even an original 1956 Duntov Corvette!

At this time, we all followed Al’s son Kevin 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 20+ 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.

After going through all of the vehicles in the 2^nd garage, he started a V8 (Corvette) powered motorcycle and revved it for us. You could feel your bones vibrating! He then led us to the 3^rd garage housing more unbelievable, remarkable, rare, one-of-a-kind and world-class show cars. I want to say there were probably another 50+ vehicles not including the motorcycles and buggy carriages. Again, all of these are show quality. Some are completely original and unrestored and these are even fabulous. Al Wiseman has a Shelby Stage 1 this carbon fiber body and aluminum frame beauty is one of just over 400 made and has over 525HP to the rear wheels. After going through a brief history of each of these vehicles, Al then informed us - get this - that he was now going show us his museum quality vehicles!

He has got to be kidding!

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 myself standing next to 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. We were told this magnificent automobile is worth 1.5 million 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.

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.  Al  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!

Ron Bivens

Send any questions or comments to : ncvette@tampabay.rr.com