SAN DIEGO — You really must put the pedal to the metal to transform your garage into the prettiest room in your home.
In this Zevely Zone, I went to Mira Mesa to see a father and daughter's touching tribute.
In 2006, Tom Cuevas' garage was an eyesore.
"It looked like studded walls, open ceiling, none of this was here," said Tom.
That was the year, Tom, his wife Annette, and their daughter Alexis bought a classic Corvette.
"It was special because we all went and bought it together, me and my wife and my daughter," said Tom about the silver 1972 Stingray.
The only problem, Tom says you can't park a car that beautiful in an ugly garage.
"Exactly, a car did not belong in just a plain garage," said Tom.
Usually, it's the car that needs fixing up, but this time it was the garage from the ground up. Tom has dozens of pictures of the renovation.
"My daughter she was in her pajamas, one day putting the floor down," said Tom.
In 2009, just when things started to shine, Annette was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
"We didn't catch it until she was already at stage four and by the time we caught it, they gave her four months to live," said Tom.
Father and daughter needed a distraction from the pain.
"We'd go to Pomona," said Tom.
Together they travelled all over searching for the memorabilia that mom would have loved.
"Oh yeah, I was a little kid, and I had no choice because he could not leave me at home, but I loved it was so interesting and he has such a big passion for this," said Alexis.
These days, their Mira Mesa garage looks more like a museum and there's lots to learn. Tom showed me how oil used to be sold in glass bottles instead of cans. He also showed me an old gas pump from the 1920's that a driver manually pumped. The gas was sent up into a glass container which then flowed into a vehicle using gravity. Tom and Alexis are still adding to the collection.
"Rearranging and changing," Tom chuckled. "I personally like it a little cluttered he likes it clean," said Alexis.
Their project may never cross the finish line.
"Hey Google, turn on Elvis Presley," said Tom into a drive-in movie theater speaker wired to Wi-Fi.
The music that played from the King himself was the perfect excuse to park it there for as long as it takes.
Tom sold the 1972 Corvette and remarried two years ago.
This year, he plans on buying a brand new Corvette for the garage.
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