Two of the themes in Joni Page's life were established at an early age. "I wanted a convertible," Joni recalls, "like Nancy Drew had." Given that Joni had also established an affinity for vintage Corvette roadsters, that's the direction her drop-top dreams took, eventually being fulfilled in the form of this triple-black '93 convertible. It probably wouldn't be a stretch to say that the fictional detective influenced Ms. Page's choice of occupation as well, given she is also known as Animal Services Officer Joni Page of the Santa Ana, California, Police Department.
After earning a degree in criminal justice from California State University, Fullerton, Joni started off her law enforcement career by working in the Santa Ana city jail. After three years of helping to keep locked-up Southern California criminals in check, Joni decided to make a change, and transferred to the Animal Services section of the Santa Ana Police Department. "I like it," she says of the position she's held for two years. "There are hard days, and it's sad sometimes." No doubt Joni is thinking of a recent case, where she had to remove 81 cats and one dog from a one-bedroom apartment-all were too ill to be saved. On the other hand, there are the animals that can be helped, and that's what Joni focuses on, saying, "I like it 'cause of the animals I deal with."
One small downside to the job, however, is Officer Page's daily conveyance, which she refers to as "The Doggie Wagon." It may be well suited to the job, but, for a person whose idea of a nice ride is a Corvette convertible, piloting a paddy wagon leaves a bit to be desired in the driving excitement department. "The public watches," Joni has observed, "so you can't really put the pedal to the metal." That desire for something with the proper "oomph" was fulfilled last year-of course, the pedal in question was touching fiberglass rather than metal when pushed to the floor.
Joni's partner in Corvette crime was (and is) her husband, Jason. Jason had owned a '77 Corvette prior to meeting Joni. Though the Shark was long gone, the memories and desire were still there. "He was into it," Joni recalls, "and that was cool with me." After the couple married, careers were started (Jason minds the store at Page by Page, the duo's audio book rental and sales business), a daughter, Alexandra, born, and of course, Corvettes were dreamed of the whole time. They finally took the plunge last summer.
"It wasn't a conscious decision," Joni remembers. "We were always looking in the Auto Trader, but figured we couldn't afford it." That assumption was quickly reversed during the couple's first trip to Corvette Mike's Anaheim, California, showroom. "We happened to be in the area and decided to stop by, as we had never been there," Joni tells us. "The car was screaming to come home with us...it took about two minutes to decide."
The car in question was a triple-black '93 convertible, stock except for Borla mufflers and chrome ZR-1-style wheels, and showing just over 20,000 miles on the clock. The deal was made, and the Pages immediately set out to give their new black beauty a bit of attitude. Plastic surgery was performed by adding a high-rise hood and an ACI rear wing, both from the Corvette Central catalog. The engine is stock for the most part. The LT1 breathes through an opened-up airbox and K&N filter; out back, the Borlas were replaced with a pair of muffler eliminator pipes. A 2,700-rpm stall speed torque converter and 3.75:1 gears hint at the Page's future plans for their Vette-we'll get to that in a moment.