Tim Barnes Jr.’s '95 Corvette
His First Car Was a Bulls-Eye
By Andy Bolig
photographer: Andy Bolig
In April 1999, Tim Barnes Jr. turned 25 years old. He’d been turning wrenches and whiling away the time on customized trucks and SUVs, but being raised around Corvettes and having the enticement of Corvette ownership constantly waved under his nose took its toll. At the age of 25, and showing intelligence beyond his years, Tim began scouring the market for a Corvette to call his own. Two months later, his search ended when he located this ’95 Admiral Blue coupe.
The car is equipped with sport seats, a Delco-Bose Gold Series CD player and his favorite option, the 3.07 performance ratio gears. When a performance option reaches favorite status, you can tell the owner definitely has driving as the main priority for enjoyment. And that’s exactly what Tim does. When the car isn’t making the 60-mile trek to work, he’s hammering down the track regularly in the Dynomax Club Clash Series. At the time we took these pictures, Tim was 23rd in points for that series of over 250 participants. During the few moments that Tim isn’t traveling in his car, you might find him at a local show or participating in some type of club event in the Denver area.
Tim’s driving was limited for a short time in October 1999 when an accident sidelined his Corvette experience. With the work done at Motorsport Concepts, Tim’s car now sports a new paint job with one understated addition. Tim asked them to paint a set of Grand Sport hash marks over the front wheels. To carry the performance tone of the Grand Sport without the appearance of copying, Tim had the hash marks painted in Pearl Blue. Barely noticeable to all but the most observant, they entice onlookers to look for other variations like the K&N filter and air lid, airfoil, and the 1,000-cfm MAF sensor.
Tim states that the car was in excellent condition when he purchased it, and when you include the improvements Tim’s incorporated since then, his Corvette is definitely A-OK! With such a rush from the gate, what’s the next step for Tim? He affirms that his second car will be a 2003, 50th Anniversary Corvette. It’s obvious that Tim plans for a flourishing relationship with Corvette, but then that’s easy to do when you make such a great first impression.