To say that Kenosha resident Tom Walther likes Chevrolet Corvettes would be like saying pigs like mud or children like candy.

You couldn’t come up with a bigger understatement.

The recently retired engineer not only likes Corvettes, he loves them. So much so that he has four, including one friend’s, stored in two garages at his house and another at an off-site location because there wasn’t enough room for it.

“I’ve always loved Corvettes, ever since they were first created back in the ’50s,” said Walther, 58. “For some reason back then, I always liked the looks of them. I like the style and speed of them and everything else. Sports cars got into my blood somehow.

“I just kind of like the Chevy more than any (other classic muscle car). I always found them easy to work on. I’ve worked on Fords and Mopars and stuff like that and always came back to (Corvettes) as far as working the mechanics over. I’ve built engines and chassis and I’ve always found these to be the best as far as I’m concerned.”

An intimidating car

Walther bought his first, a 1969 Corvette Stingray coupe, in 1992 near Whitewater for a little less than $10,000. He has invested about that amount into it, including completely rebuilding its 427 big-block V8 engine (400-plus horsepower).

His favorite features of the cortez silver-colored car are that loud engine and chrome pipes just below the driver’s and passenger’s side doors.

“This is a very intimidating car,” Walther said. “I’ve been cruising down the streets here in Kenosha a number of times and you can see somebody from behind is trying to work their way up to get next to you to check it out.

“Maybe a Mustang wants to race or something on the street, and they take a look once they get up here and it’s right on red,” Walther added with a laugh. “They say, ‘I ain’t messing with that one’ because it is very fast.”

Done by summer, maybe

The sleek ride can go from zero to 60 mph in about 3.8 seconds. But that’s nothing compared to Walther’s atomic orange 2008 Z06 Corvette, which races from zero to 60 in 3.2 seconds and is “like driving a rocket ship,” according to Walther.

“They’re kind of the same car with (427 cubic-inch engines and manual transmissions),” Walther said. “But ’60s technology versus today’s technology is night and day, and (the Z06) would blow that one away.”

Walter is also in the process of completely restoring a 1963 Corvette Sting Ray coupe, which includes a unique split window in the back that was only produced in that model year. He has invested more than $30,000 into the project, meticulously searching for parts, down to every last nut and bolt. He has been saying for the past three years that he hopes to get it on the road by summer.

“I’m not in a rush. I want to do it right,” said Walther, who won an eBay auction for the ’63 in 2004 and had it shipped here from California.

Always his favorite

Additionally, Walther owns a 1966 Corvette Sting Ray and also helped fully restore his son Andy’s 1964 Corvette coupe.

“I really just like driving them more than anything else,” Walther said. “You get into one and then you get into the other and you find out the uniqueness of each one. You’ve got to treat each one and drive each one a little bit different.

“After I bought the ’08, the Z06, I had to learn how to drive all over again because (that) car is so fast and the way it handles compared to any other of these ones is night and day. (The ’08) stays glued to the road no matter if you’re on curves or whatever, up and down hills.”

In addition to its speed (which tops out at 198 mph, although Walther has only gone as high as 140 mph), the Z06 is very comfortable, Walther said. The ride is so smooth that he and his wife, Sue, have driven as many as 800 miles in a day and not felt tired.

Walther has won so many awards he barely has enough room for them all. He is an active member of the Southeastern Wisconsin Corvette Club, which has 30 to 35 couples as members who collectively own about 75 Corvettes that they often showcase in summer parades.

Of his four Corvettes, which does Walther like the most?

“This one (’69) is probably always going to be my favorite because it’s the first,” he said. “I’ll never get rid of it.”