Pete and Nancy Coronato
Pete says that it was in 1984 that the old car bug first bit him, when he woke up one morning after dreaming about the ‘56 Chevy that was his first car. He decided he would like to have another one, so he started asking around. It wasn’t until he hooked up with the then-president of the San Jose Classic Chevy Club that he ultimately found his ‘57 Chevy hardtop.
Because he doesn’t do restoration work himself, he found some willing help among the Chevy Club members. The ‘57 soon became a pristine Concours-quality show car. Because this car was too nice to drive, Pete bought a stock ‘55 Chevy, which he and Nancy drove on many CHVA tours, both mini and national, including tours to Mt Rushmore, Oregon and the Grand Canyon.
As he recalls, it was about 1987 that Pete joined the Redwood Region of CHVA. Jim and Ruth Sinclair signed him up. It was Jim who also got him involved with the Cadillac La Salle Club, when he purchased a red ‘60 Cadillac convertible. The ’60 Cad, which Frank Ritteman called “outrageous”, was nostalgic because that was Pete’s second car in the early days. He followed the ‘60 Cad convertible with the purchase of a ‘66 Cad convertible, also red, both of which were also car show winners. A third Cadillac, a ‘67 Eldorado, was the next addition to the fleet. Pete’s final Cadillac, which he inherited from his uncle, was a red (what else?) ‘75 Eldorado convertible with only 3500 original miles! This car was factory new in every respect. Pete decided not drive it much since adding miles would only reduce it’s value, so he ultimately sold it.
Pete also had always loved Buick Rivieras, so he bought a white ‘63 from the original owner who lived across the street from him. He drove it on CHVA tours, but he preferred to have one with air conditioning, so he was lucky enough to acquire one that did -- his current ’64 which he now drives on tours.
In 1995, Remo Buti introduced Pete to the Danville Dukes Car Club, and Pete liked the easy-going, fun atmosphere of this popular hot rod club. It was about this time that he bought the black ‘40 Buick Special Coupe to be his Dukes car. He eventually hired Carl Dahl to perform a firewall-forward restoration, installing a ‘67 Camaro clip to upgrade the chassis and improve the handling. A Chevy ZZ4 engine completed the project and it became a great driver and road car.
Next, Pete decided that it was time to give the ‘55 a facelift. Once again, he turned to Carl Dahl for a frame off work over. Carl did a meticulous job and Pete won first place in his class at the San Mateo Grand National Roadster Show.
Nancy and Pete met in 1986 at the Bank of America where he had applied for a line of credit so he could buy old cars. Nancy had also grown up in the Willow Glen area of San Jose, not far from Pete’s home, so they had a lot in common. Nancy attended Willow Glen Elementary and WG High School, and graduated from San Jose State with a business degree. She has two grown and married daughters, Kim and Krissy.
In March,1997, Nancy’s oldest daughter, Kim, got married. While attending her wedding reception, Pete suggested that maybe he and Nancy should follow suit – which they did in July. (It only took Pete 11 years to finally ask her!) Later the same year, Nancy’s youngest daughter Krissy also got married after returning from her mission in Brazil! Pete and Nancy are proud and doting grandparents of 5 beautiful grandchildren -- 3 grandsons reside in Utah, which accounts for the many trips in that direction. Their two beautiful granddaughters live a bit closer in nearby Sacramento.
After 16 years working for Hewlett Packard and Agilent Technologies, Nancy hopes to retire in about 5 years. Pete has really gotten the hang of being retired and is contemplating his next old car purchase. He sold both the ‘40 Buick and the ‘55 Chevy last July so he has garage space now for a late 30’s or early 40’s Chevy.
Pete and Nancy both agree that they have met some of their best friends through their participation in the CHVA. Every tour is like a party with old friends.
Published in AAN January, 2005
