A gorgeous arctic blue 1956 Corvette is the proud owner of SouthPointe Villas Resident Tom Grieco. And, no, that’s not a typo. An enthusiastic collector of classic cars all of his life, he swears that “The cars find me; I don’t find the cars.” Tom, who retired from Princeton University as a safety engineer, owns three other collector cars, including a 1957 Chevrolet Belair Sport Coupe, 1941 Packard 160 Coupe, and a 1929 Hupmobile Six Sedan. Other cars that have passed through his hands include a 1926 Ford T, 1948 Pontiac “woody” station wagon, and 1973 Mercedes 450SL.
Tom has always loved fixing things — taking them apart, then restoring or rebuilding them, with or without a shop manual. “I love the satisfaction and the challenge of fixing something that others say can’t be fixed,” he explains. Tom says his identical twin brother, Charlie, has similar traits, but he enjoys refurbishing homes.
Tom’s passion is showing and talking about his cars. He’ll take them out on the road or to a car show and is happy to answer questions and explain any aspect of his vehicles — for as long as people want. “I don’t own any trailer queens,” he states. (A “trailer queen” is a classic restored car that never gets driven.)
The most fun Tom has is when he and one of his vehicles participate in a parade. He’ll purposely play period music from the car sound system, and he just loves to see the people smile as he drives by. “It’s a real thrill,” he says.
Tom and his wife, Robin Buccos, live in SouthPointe, which is also the current home of the Corvette. But he has plans to switch cars soon with the pink 1957 Chevrolet stored at the couple’s second home in North East, MD. And he can’t wait to drive it, show it, and talk about it — for as long as people want him to.
Will Tom be purchasing any more cars? “It all depends,” he says with a wink, “if there is one out there that happens to find me.”
