Pulling the valve cover (left) allowed Klebonas to inspect the Mustang engine, while no effort was needed to see the damage to the badge on the Newton Corvette.
Before the water even reached the tires, Richie Klebonas and Bill Newton knew they’d never let their cars go.
The Mustang had belonged to Rich’s late brother, and the younger Klebonas loved his uncle’s car. After a brief stint with Uncle Jackie’s daughter, who crashed it twice, he gave it to Richie, who spent years restoring it with his father. The pair did practically every job themselves, including the beautiful Vintage Burgundy paint. As Rich explains, “There was no question the car would be kept and fixed,” so they bought it back from the insurance company.
As a kid, Bill Newton fell in love with his best friend’s brother’s 1958 Cor- vette. In 1986, he searched for his own. “We went to look at this car in Brook- lyn,” Bill says. “It was a basket case and I didn’t even know what year it was. My friend said, ‘If you don’t take it, I will.’ So I took the car and it had bullet holes in the windows and a trashed interior.” Newton began collecting OEM and NOS parts, though the 10-year restoration didn’t start until 1990, one Sunday at a time. Meanwhile, young Ray wondered why Dad focused on the old wreck instead of taking him dirt bike riding.
For the Klebonas father and son, the Mustang is the best reminder of a lost brother and uncle, and they restored it together in his memory. And Ray Newton now understands his father’s passion for the Corvette and loves it more than his own car, although at 24, he still hasn’t driven it. But Dad has a dream for the car: He wants to leave it to Ray for him to share with his children.
For both cars, the road to restoration will be long and costly. But at the end of the day, it’s not about the money or the time; it’s about the family. Plus, they’re New Yorkers, and no mere hurricane is going to take their cars. Fuggedaboutit!
To see our video interview with the Klebonas and Newton families, go to
hagerty.com/sandy.
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