Mother’s 1982 Corvette Finds New Life Through Son’s Love

Racing fan finds deep connection to his late mother by driving her T-Top ‘Vette.

Memories come in different forms. For Kevin O’Brien of Beaufort, South Carolina, they come from driving a blue 1982 Corvette owned by his late mom.

Kevin’s mother passed when he was in 5th grade, and some of his fondest memories of her were from driving to preschool and kindergarten in the ‘Vette. O’Brien’s dad originally bought the car for his mom back in 1986.

But, as highlighted in a report by The Island Packet, for 21 years the car sat under a tarp at an auto service station owned by Kevin’s father. But now that he’s older, Kevin decided to trade his dad a 2013 Corvette for his mom’s old ‘Vette, along with a ’71 model.

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For Kevin, an avid racer, the Corvette is much more than a car. It’s a chance to reconnect with his mother. She sadly drowned in a hot tub she used to help ease the pain of fighting cancer.

It seems Kevin’s mom has had an impact on him in a number of ways. For example, five years ago, he actually donated to breast cancer half of an $8,000 check he won in a race.

As far as his mom’s Corvette? Well, Kevin finally took it out of the garage and started it up for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Needless to say, it was quite the emotional moment.

“It’s really kind of all I’ve got left of her,” Kevin said.