Lincoln Middle School student becomes owner of rare 1982 Corvette

A student from Lincoln Middle School is well on her way to being an avid car collector.

Skye Westfall, 13, is the proud owner of a 1982 Collector Edition Corvette C3. Her grandfather Kelly purchased the car last year and put it in Skye's name. The car was displayed June 13 at the Route 66 Festival in City Park in Edwardsville.

Only 6,759 Collector Edition models were made, and Skye's has several special features that distinguish the edition. It has badges on the front and rear, as well as a three-tone leather interior, unique wheels and a rear window that opens.

Except for the battery, every part of the car is original. Kelly heard about the car from a friend and ended up buying the Corvette from its original owner, a woman who received it as a gift from her parents in high school. The woman kept it covered in her garage except on nice weekends, when she and her husband would take it for a drive.

Kelly has collected cars since high school, and he currently owns about a dozen, including Corvettes and Volkswagens. He and his wife decided they didn't need any more cars, but he couldn't pass up the C3, so he bought it for Skye.

"Thirty years from now, it'll still be a two-female owner 1982 Corvette," Kelly said.

The car has fewer than 15,000 miles on it, and everything works, Kelly said.

"It was all good to go, it just needed to be cleaned," Kelly said.

Kelly, who is co-owner because Skye is 13, cleaned and polished the car. It has since received three coveted certifications in Illinois: the Concours Gold Certificate from the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals, the Bloomington Gold Survivor Corvette Award and certification from the National Corvette Restorers Society. This year, Skye will receive the Triple Diamond Award in Chicago because the car received all three certifications.

Kelly has passed on his love of car collecting to his granddaughter. While Kelly had a hard time narrowing down his favorite makes and models, Skye's answer was quick.

"I'm more into Corvettes and stuff like that," Skye said.

When Skye gets her driver's license, she won't drive the Corvette as her daily car, but Kelly does plan to take her on a drive to celebrate.

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This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 2:02 PM.