Payne: ‘Lost Corvettes’ find owners at Motor Bella charity giveaway

Posted by Talbot Payne on September 24, 2021

Pontiac — When Corvette expert Chris Mazzilli saw 36 forlorn Corvettes buried in dust and bird droppings in New York garages, one thought crossed his mind: “This is the greatest barn find in history.”

Today at Motor Bella on M1 Concourse’s event center stage, six of those historic coupes — polished like new — will be given away to six lucky ticket holders in the ‘Vettes for Vets Sweepstakes.

Corvette collector, restorer, and expert Chris Mazzilli spearheads the restoration of the 36 "Lost Corvettes" from the Peter Max collection.

Mazzillii and his New York partners, the Heller and Spindler families, created Corvette Heroes and have spent the last seven years restoring the “Lost Corvettes” from legendary pop artist Peter Max’s collection to their former glory. In the process they have raised over a million dollars for American military veterans with disabilities like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and traumatic brain injuries.

As part of their fundraising efforts Corvette Heroes created a national Sweepstakes to win the rare ‘Vettes in which participants could buy $3 tickets online at TheLostCorvettes.com. Of the the 36 Lost Corvettes, 22 have already been given away in drawings on Veterans Day and Memorial Day in New York City — and in Chicago in July. After the Pontiac giveaway, eight will be left.

Corvette Heroes is flying the six winners into Detroit from all corners of the USA to collect their treasure at the ‘Vettes for Vets event — but winners won’t know which cars they will take home (tax-free) until noon Friday at Motor Bella.

The six ‘Vettes are classics.

A white, 1955 model — one of only 700 produced — headlines the group with a value approaching $200,000. A 1973 Stingray with unique chrome bumpers, made for only one model year. An ’82 model in two-tone blue is the last of the Corvette C3 generation.

The 1955 Corvette (right) is valued at up to $200,000.

A 1962 black Corvette, ’71 model, and ’89 convertible with just 7,000 miles round out the offerings, which have been on display since Tuesday. Heavy rain has kept them under wraps some of the time.

Artist Max purchased the collection in 1989 from the winner of a VH1 giveaway. His intent was to use them as one-of-a-kind art canvases — but instead they sat for more than a quarter-century in a series of New York City parking garages managed by the Hellers and Spindlers.

“The dust and layer of grime actually protected them,” laughs Mazzilli. “But some were in pretty bad shape. We restored them or, in some cases, modified them, like a 1967 Corvette that we upgraded with a 427 big block engine.”

A Lost Corvette before and after its restoration.

The Hellers and Spindlers bought the collection from Max in 2014 and set about restoring it with Mazzilli’s assistance.

“It’s very personal to me,” said Mazzilli who owns the Dream Collection restoration shop on Long Island. “A number of my family have served in the military and we are very close to veterans.”

The sweepstakes money benefits Stand for the Troops, a national nonprofit that offers a diverse set of therapies to veterans suffering from PTSD, brain injuries and other permanent and debilitating psychological and physical wounds of war.

After the Pontiac six are awarded at Motor Bella, eight Lost Corvettes remain to be auctioned at two more events later this year.

‘Vettes for Vets

WHEN:  11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 24

WHERE: Motor Bella, M1 Concourse, 1 Concourse Dr, Pontiac, MI 48341

WINNERS of the six classic Corvettes Sweepstakes:

Tommy Cain from Austin, Texas

Joseph Keller from Stoughton, Wisconsin

Jean Lamborn from Grapevine, Texas

Peter Lawrence from Studio City, California

Steven Mortensen from Parkland, Florida

David Trautenberg from New Orleans, Louisiana

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.

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