(WXYZ) — When Ron Robinson passed away due to heart complications in 2017, his family thought they would never see his beloved Corvette again. That is until by a stroke of luck, his sister found it at an auction last year. Now, the family is taking it on its first Woodward Dream Cruise since he passed.
Janet Wood's prized possession is her burgundy 1962 Corvette, not just because it's a beautiful car, but because of who it belonged to before. The car belonged to her older brother who bought it in the early 2000’s and restored it with his best friend, Ernie Miyamoto.
“He enjoyed the living crap out of the car when it was done," Miyamoto said.
But Robinson only got to enjoy the car for a couple of years until he started having serious heart problems. Robinson served in Vietnam and was exposed to the dangerous chemical, Agent Orange.
“It definitely played a role in ravishing his body and it damaged his heart and that’s why we ended up losing him, from congestive heart failure," Wood said.
Robinson passed away in 2017 at the age of 69.
Just one month later, unbeknownst to his siblings, the car was sold. The family was devastated and thought they would never see it again. That was until Wood saw it on the road heading to a local dealership not too long after.
“I see the car drive by me at the light and I went 'holy you-know-what', that was Ronnie’s car, I know it was," she said.
Wood followed it and planned on buying it, but it was gone when she returned days later.
Years had passed and in 2023 she thought of the Corvette again, so she looked up the model online and learned that it was being auctioned off in Indianapolis. She packed her bags and was hopeful, but knew anyone could outbid her.
"As soon as I bid, all the bidding stopped, the whole place went quiet," she said.
Wood later found her story of wanting to get her brother's Corvette had spread at the auction, and people backed off the bid so she could buy it and get a piece of her brother back.
"It’s a Cinderella story," Ron's brother Jerry Robinson said.
After additional renovations, Wood held a memorial cruise in honor of her brother and will take it out to its first Woodward Dream Cruise since he passed away.
"My brother’s riding shotgun with me, every time I drive this car, he’s right there," she said.
