1967 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe Unrestored with 2,996 Miles

Tig

Fucktangular
The story behind this car is pretty cool.

In the fall of 1966, 30-year-old Don McNamara of Colorado Springs, Colorado, celebrated his retirement from the United States Marine Corps with a trip to Las Vegas. It was the one and only time he would visit Sin City, and it proved fortuitous when Lady Luck intervened and a slot machine Don was playing paid out the massive sum of $5,000. By the time he returned to his parents’ home where he lived, he knew what he would do with his winnings. He asked his father, a car salesman, to take the money and buy a new Corvette.

At first glance, Don’s dream car appeared to be just out of reach; the features he specified pushed the price tag more than $500 past the $5,000 mark, but his father’s persistence paid off when he found a dealership in Lamar, Colorado, about 125 miles away, that agreed to sell a 427 coupe for under $5,000. Built on May 10, 1967, and delivered to McNamara on May 20 by Ray Motor Co. in Lamar, the Corvette coupe was exactly as Don had ordered, with the L36 427/390 HP engine, M20 4-speed manual transmission and 3.36 Positraction rear end; tinted glass, telescopic steering wheel, AM/FM radio, side exhaust and bolt-on aluminum wheels. Don’s innate patriotism influenced his choice of colors: Ermine White paint, Red Stinger stripe and Red interior – a matchup he completed by replacing the factory Black wall rubber with a set of double White-and-Blue stripe tires.

Don drove his new Corvette only sparingly for the first several months, until it inexplicably disappeared. When asked of its whereabouts, he would always answer that he no longer owned it. And yet, rumors that it was parked in his heated single-car garage persisted for years afterward, even after Don McNamara passed away in July of 2011. Only then was the truth revealed: the Corvette had been there the entire time, a full 45 years, discovered by the neighboring couple McNamara had befriended in his later years and to whom he had willed his entire estate.

Recorded interviews with the couple uncovered the story not only of the Corvette but of its enigmatic owner as well. Don McNamara was a unique man, one who loved his country and surrounded himself with its symbols of freedom and individuality while maintaining an intensely private life. He never married or had a family, never had a checking account or a credit card and always presented himself as barely getting by. He had decided to put the Corvette under wraps when after the first year the time came to pay license and insurance renewal fees, and began driving it only late at night, away from prying eyes and ever faithful to the pursuit of happiness. When the Corvette’s odometer approached the 3,000-mile mark in the mid-Eighties, he retired it from the road for the rest of his life.

When the Corvette was removed from the garage in 2012, the late McNamara’s next-door neighbor of 22 years saw it for the very first time. It had been discovered wrapped in a car cover, over which was draped a shipping blanket decorated with large Stars and Stripes and Marine Corps flags. It was in a virtually flawless state of preservation, entirely original except for a few personal touches under the hood comprising polished Edelbrock aluminum valve covers and four Corvette emblems mounted on the air cleaner. McNamara’s Team USA Olympic jacket was draped over the back of the passenger seat, another reminder of his love of country.

The Don McNamara Corvette coupe was purchased from the executors of the estate in 2012 by Dr. Mark Davis, who arranged for it to be unveiled and displayed in the entrance to the Bloomington Gold Great Hall in June of that year. At that time, as now, its odometer showed 2,996 miles. Until its unveiling there, it had been seen by only 12 people. It had only ever been driven by Don McNamara. Only two other people were ever known to have sat in the driver’s seat, and no one had ever occupied the passenger seat. It had never seen the rain or been washed with water and since its discovery had never been cleaned, sat in or touched.

The car instantly caused a sensation in the Corvette community. Numerous high profile Corvette experts including John Rettick have thoroughly documented the car with over 4,000 detail photographs, which along with the car itself serve as in-depth educational resources for Corvette restorers.

The Don McNamara Corvette is not only quite likely one of the most well-preserved, lowest-mileage and exceptionally original 1967 Corvettes in existence, it is also accompanied by exquisitely unspoiled documentation. The paperwork was kept by McNamara in a bank safe deposit box and remains in crisp as-new condition. It includes the original window sticker, showroom sales brochure, Chevrolet warranty book with Protect-O-Plate, the original keys and fob and a duplicate set of keys; the original owner’s manual and plastic pouch, dealer record book issued by Ray Motor Co., a cashier’s check for a deposit and a receipt for the balance of the purchase price, the original State of Colorado license registration and title issued to McNamara dated May 22, 1967 and the NCRS Shipping Data Report confirming delivery at Ray Motor Company in Lamar, Colorado.

Also included are McNamara’s last driver’s license, a photograph of the car he always carried with him in his wallet and video and photos documenting the car’s discovery, its removal from the garage and its unveiling and display at Bloomington Gold 2012. Documentation is contained in two 4-inch binders that also include CDs containing copies of all documents and photos of Don McNamara’s dream Corvette.

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Yep, 2,996 original miles...
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- Unrestored with 2,996 original miles
- One owner until July 2011
- Original 427/390 HP V-8, M20 4-speed and 3.36 Positraction rear end
- Original paint, interior and chrome
- Documented with practically every original document including the window sticker, Protect-O-Plate, purchase receipt, title, registration, photos and owner's manual
- The original owner, Don McNamara is the only person to have driven the car
- 3 people are known to have sat in the car
- No one has sat in the passenger seat
- Factory original side exhaust
- Telescopic steering wheel
- Tinted glass, AM/FM radio
- Original Kelsey Hayes bolt-on wheels
- Double whitewall and Blue stripe tires
- Last driven regularly in October 1967 and not driven since the mid 1980s
- Stored in a dry Colorado Springs garage for over 40 years under a car cover
- Displayed in the entrance to the Bloomington Gold Great Hall in 2012
- Mr. McNamara's belongings remain in the car
- Discovery photos from McNamara's garage
- Unveiling video from 2012 Bloomington Gold
- One of the best preserved, lowest mile, original 1967 big block Corvettes in existence
 
That's a mighty suspicious story ....I've seen several cars that have sat, untouched in garages for a couple decades under car covers and they show plenty of time wear, at a minimum, where as this example appears to have lived it's life (including those 2996 miles) in a bubble. I'd be curious to see the 'as discovered' pics.
 
That's a mighty suspicious story ....I've seen several cars that have sat, untouched in garages for a couple decades under car covers and they show plenty of time wear, at a minimum, where as this example appears to have lived it's life (including those 2996 miles) in a bubble. I'd be curious to see the 'as discovered' pics.

It is highly documented and featured in craploads of publications so I don't doubt the story. There are plenty of things that can be polished and replaced while still remaining unrestored (all rubber, batteries, etc.).
 
It is highly documented and featured in craploads of publications so I don't doubt the story. There are plenty of things that can be polished and replaced while still remaining unrestored (all rubber, batteries, etc.).

What a car like this you start talking about degrees of originality so what has and has not been touched is a story in itself.
 
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I can certainly appreciate stashing away a car like that, but it aint me. I'd be driving the hell out of that car.
 
Yep, cars and guitars are meant to be driven and played.
Most ultra rare 7 figure cars and 6 figure guitars are sadly locked away in personal museums.
 
+1

That's why I drive my vette everyday. Why should I save it for someone else?


I dated a girl in high school who's dad had a pretty serious collection of cars....none of which he drove. (He did have a Grand National he drove around but it was fairly new at the time). He had them all arranged on display in this huge garage behind the house that he would take people over into and show them off. You weren't permitted to get to close to them or god forbid, do anything but look with your eyes. It was pretty odd. His thing was all about passing them down to his son when it was grown up.
 
I knew a guy whose father worked for the South Carolina division of the ATF. He had a stash of cars that never went anywhere; I can recall a 1955 ElDorado, a 1962 Chevy II, Several 50s Fleetwoods, a late 50s Porsche Speedster, 1955 Caddy Eldo in Clemson Orange, and a gold 1955 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing.
 
Sounds like Dan McNamara was an eccentric guy, and that he appreciated living in a country that gave him the right to be just that. He sure did have an eye for a beautiful car!
 
That's a pretty eclectic collection of cars.

"eclectic collection" :grin:

This was in 1981 or so, in a little town called Lexington, SC just outside of Columbia. They were in one of those giant, metal buildings on a concrete slab. I wonder if they're still there, but I doubt it.
 
Beautiful car but he never got to enjoy it IMO unless his idea of enjoyment was looking at a covered car and imaging how beautiful it was :shrug:

Some things are meant to be used to be enjoyed
 
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