Preserving Your Investment in Your Collectible Car

Questions? Email: terry@proteamcorvette.com

2. 1962 Corvette Gulf Oil Race Car. Sold at Gooding Auction at Pebble Beach for $1,485,000.00. Great historical car that dates this writer’s personal involvement when he sold this car in the 1970′s for a few hundred dollars as “thought to be” an old drag car out of his bone yard. Oh my!! What a few decades and doing one’s research means to significant Corvettes.

3. 1963 Corvette Z06 Yenko “Gulf One” Race Car. Sold at Mecum’s Kissimmee auction for over one-million dollars. Historical race car with driver present. Great presentation equals great results.

4. 1953 Corvette VIN #003. Sold in ’06 for over $1 million (Barrett-Jackson) and VIN #005 sold same year for over $840,000.00 (Mecum). In 2007, more 1953′s were sold at auction for over $400,000.00 (RM and Worldwide). Only 300 produced with maybe 50% to 60% accounted for. Every true Corvette collection should have at least one!!!

5. 1967 Corvette Coupe “The Last Sting Ray”. Over the top restoration. Over the top promotion by ProTeamCorvette.com of Ohio produced a $660,000.00 winning bid at Barrett-Jackson 2007. Significance is in the eye of the beholder but so much has been written and blogged about this car that can still be accessed at TheLastCorvette.com.

6. 1965 Corvette Cutaway Autorama Display. Sold at RM for over $700,000.00. GM Engineering display and a true marvel. If you never have seen this car, you truly are missing much. Sent to South Africa as an educational devise then reimported in the early part of the 2000′s decade. Neat!!!

7. The L88′s with only 216 produced over a three year span – 1967 (20) • 1968 (80) • 1969 (116). Any sale whether auction or private should be noted. Did Roger Judki pay over the top at Mecum in the earlier 2000′s when he paid $600K plus for the red 1967 12-mile coupe? Was the (BB) auction at Pebble Beach (8/08) for the 1967 L88 Race Car at $744,000.00 a good deal? A slew of 1968 to 1969 L88′s have sold at auction and privately for as high as $650,000.00. ie: 1968=$572K (8/09) • 1969=$446K (10/07) • 1969=$436K (6/08) • 1969=$413K (1/08) • 1969=$335K (1/06) • 1969=$323K (1/25) • 1969=$318K (6/09). The sale (auction) to watch is the 1967 black L88 ex-Tony Delorenzo race car at this year’s Mecum at Monterey auction.

8. The 1970-’72 ZR1′s & The 1971 ZR2′s. The ZR1 is basically a small block L88 where as the ZR2 is GM’s final C3 attempt to produce a big block 425 hp with L88 equipment. Very rare as only 53 ZR1′s were produced over the 1970 to 1972 production years and even rarer are the 12 ZR2′s produced in 1971. Example of auction results for the 1971 ZR2: $550K (Mecum 6/08) • $358K (BJ 1/08) • recent private sales for the 1970, 1971 & 1972 ZR1′s are $250K, $280K, and $100K in need of restoration.

9. GM Styling Corvettes. These are shop order cars that came out of GM Styling and some were done for the “Brass”, ie: Bill Mitchell, Harley Earl, Bunkie Knusen, etc. of which one of the most significant was/is the 1963 Harley Earl Corvette that recently sold for $980K at Mecum’s Spring Indy auction. Just Google Harley Earl and read the volumes of information of what this pioneer did for General Motors before bean counters and Wall Street took over. This is an era that will never be replicated I am sorry to say!!

10. The Original – Unrestored • Unmolested • Survivors that not only are original but also in a condition that they can compete on the show field where they were judged against a standard that they are as they were when driven out of the Corvette plant when new (within reason). These cars represent the most legitimate cars that exist as they are what they are and negate the need for documentation/paperwork (whether real or Memorex). One such example, a 1969 Silver 435 hp convertible with 6,200 actual miles recently sold at RM’s San Diego auction for $231K and many uninformed asked the question, “Why!” as they thought the car was a $100K to $125K car at most. I consider the purchase as “well bought” and in fact was the second to last bid missing this buy for a mere $5,000.00. At the end of the day and as people wake-up they will see that these objects are more than just a car. They are and will be antiques and, like art, will be best left alone. “An item is only original but once.” Please pay attention!!!!

author: Terry L. Michaelis
email: terry@proteamcorvette.com
web: ProTeamCorvette.com

note: List is not in any particular order.

June 30th, 1953 in Flint, Michigan, our national love affair with the Corvette began and continues to grow as we near the car’s 6th decade.

Let’s all lift our glasses to another 57 years!!

Keith at CorvetteBlogger has some neat vintage shots and more information on the Corvette’s first days.

Raffle tickets are available for the 22nd Annual Classic Car Giveaway benefiting Saint Bernard Parish and School in Rockport, Indiana. This year’s car is a NCRS restored venetian red 1957 Corvette Convertible valued at over $83,000.00.  The Corvette hotline number to order tickets is 812-362-7313.  Ticket orders may also be downloaded from the parish website at www.StBernardRockport.org where a photo tour and video tours of the car are featured.

The cost of each opportunity is $30.00 or 4 for $100.00.  Only 10,000 tickets will be sold.

“We were 116 tickets short of a sell out in 2009,” said David Lovell of Saint Bernard Parish.  “This 1957 Corvette is show-ready and is absolutely gorgeous. We’re hoping to sell every ticket this year.”

Saint Bernard Elementary School is the only accredited private/parochial school in Spencer County.  Over 20% of Saint Bernard students are non-parishioners and a bus service is available for families in the North Spencer area for daycare, pre-school and K-8 students.

The winner will be drawn on Sunday July 11 at 5:00 p.m. CDT at the annual Saint Bernard Summer Social on the church grounds at 6th & Elm St. in Rockport, IN.  Admission is free.  The Summer Social hours are 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and everyone in the community is invited to attend.

The 1957 Corvette was purchased from the fine selection of classics from ProTeam Corvette.

22nd Annual Classic Car Giveaway benefiting Saint Bernard Parish

Napoleon, Ohio – - Terry Michaelis, president of ProTeam Classic Corvette Collection, has been named to the selection committee for Bloomington Gold’s The Great Hall, ie: Hall of Fame. Terry is in good company as some of the biggest names in the hobby sit on the eight member committee, among them is baseball hall-of-famer Reggie Jackson who is also a Corvette collector. Over the next five years, the committee will submit 50 of the hobby’s most significant Corvettes and 50 of its most influential people that pioneered the Corvette phenomenon for induction to The Great Hall.

Bloomington Gold USA founder, David Burroughs, decided to put together a select brain trust to find the Corvettes and the people that have influenced and shaped the sport. A selection committee will name ten people and ten cars each year for the next five. The inaugural Great Hall class will be announced at the Bloomington show in June. The Great Hall’s selection committee runs independently of Bloomington Gold making this more than a marketing gimmick for the annual show. Burroughs would like The Great Hall to “serve as a document that puts the Corvette phenomenon into print and serve as a historic document.”

Terry Michaelis has been a recognizable figure within the classic Corvette hobby for 38 years. His lifelong connection to these Corvettes and the people passionate for these cars made him a natural for the The Great Hall selection committee. “The Corvette phenomenon was and is driven by passion and the love of the marque with many milestones along the way but  it is more than just about the car.” Michaelis continued, “Bloomington has always been about connections. It’s renewing friendships. Reminiscing. First and foremost, it is the people that have chartered the course to the point of ‘The Great Hall’.”

Michaelis purchased a 1964 Corvette in 1971 and never looked back. Over the decades he has became synonymous for his over-the-top promotions and his encyclopedic knowledge of the Corvette. In 1987, he and his brother Fred opened ProTeam Corvette in Napoleon and are owners of the largest collection of classic Corvettes in the world. He’s bought and sold over 10,000 Corvettes in nearly four decades with a current collection boasting several 1953 Corvettes, some 30 iconic 1967′s, a stable of coveted L88′s, and two GM Styling cars, one of which he was recently seen on Discovery Channel bidding to a successful purchase of $925,000.00.

Bloomington Gold USA will mark its 38th annual show on June 25th-27th, 2010. It has become a mecca for Corvette enthusiasts worldwide. It pays close and continual attention to both the die hard hobbyist and the everyday fan. An award from Bloomington carries much weight within the Corvette set, moreover, past Special Collections have generated unrivaled buzz within all collector car circles. These examples and much more have made Bloomington Gold the longest running national Corvette show. It has become affectionately known as “The Granddaddy of all Corvette shows”. For more information, go to BloomingtonGold.com

ProTeam Classic Corvette Collection and Sales, based in Napoleon, Ohio, showcases the largest inventory of classic Corvettes in the world. More than $10 million worth of Corvettes are displayed in 60,000 square feet of showrooms and restoration facilities with over 100 classic Corvettes on display at any time. In addition, ProTeam offers more than 10,000 sq. ft. of used, new and hard-to-find parts. For additional information, write to ProTeam Corvette  • PO Box 606 • 1410 North Scott Street • Napoleon, OH 43545 • toll free: 888-592-5086 • For more information, email: beth@proteamcorvette.com or go to ProTeamCorvette.com