One of the lowest-mileage Corvettes from the '70s has emerged online with the one-owner example reading only 967 miles (1556km) more than four decades after it left the showroom.
Jim Kevan from Pennsylvannia, USA, is the sole owner of the 1972 Corvette convertible in question, a car which has intentionally spent most of its life locked away in a storage unit.
After reading an article about another 1972 Corvette with 3749 miles on the clock by Hot Rod Network, Kevan got in touch to share the tale of his completely original, even lower mileage Corvette from the same year.
The story began when Kevan, 22-years-old at the time, made the trip to his local Chevrolet dealer to order a brand new 1972 Corvette.
Kevan had made up his mind up and had a clear plan of action. Before he got married, started a family and settled down he wanted to buy the car of his dreams: a top-spec Corvette ZR1.
“I talked to my uncle. He set up a meeting. I went out to Grabiak (Chevrolet dealer) and I told the guy what I wanted," Kevan explained to Hot Rod Netork.
Unfortunately for Kevan, the owner of the dealer wasn't too enthused about the prospect of a 22-year-old behind the wheel of a ZR1: "Son, you don’t want that car," was his reply.
Kevan remembers clearly what transpired next.
“I say, ‘Well, I drive a GTO and I race it every summer night across the McKeesport Bridge.’ And he says, ‘Son, this is nothing like your GTO.’ He said this car here is a race car. This car is radio delete. It has standard steering. He says you couldn’t handle this car. I said I think you’re wrong. I drag race every night. And he said ‘Son, this is nothing like you are used to,’ and I bought into it. I wasn’t going to argue.”
So instead of the ZR1, Kevan ordered a blue 454 Corvette convertible, however, when he went to insure his new car he was in for a shock. Kevan paid $6,200 for the Corvette, but he was then quoted an annual rate of $1,200 to insure it.
“I said are you kidding me? He said you’re 22 years old. You’re not married and you want a Corvette insured? He said if I would wait until I was 25 and married the rate would go down to about $400.”
Despite his youth, Kevan was mature enough to realise that driving a brand new car with no insurance was a silly idea and, after a few small trips around his state, garaged his Vette with the intention of keeping its mileage under 1000 miles.
“All my buddies were saying how could you have a new Corvette sitting in the garage and not drive it? And I said well I had no choice. I couldn’t take a chance."
"I was in the midst of buying a home. We were getting married and planning a family, and I couldn’t take a chance on driving without insurance, so as much as it killed me, that’s why I ended up putting it in the garage. And then by the time I turned 25 and married, we already had a couple kids and now the Corvette wasn’t a big issue.”
“I was thinking if I keep that mileage under 1,000, it’s going to be one of a kind. If it goes over 1,000 miles, it’s like the old sale price, $99.99 seems like a bargain compared to $100. That’s why I never put it back on the road again.”
The Corvette is finished in Bryar Blue body paint with white soft top folding roof, 454 engine, four-speed manual transmission an is still sitting on its original Firestone Wide Oval tires.
As yet, Kevan has no plans to sell his low-mileage 454 Corvette, but he admits the thought of a low-mileage ZR1 sitting in its place still plays on his mind.
“If I would have told him, hey look, this is what I want. I’m willing to pay an extra $1,000. You either order it or I’ll go to another Chevy dealer that will order it."
"There were 20 of them made in 1972: 20 ZR1 packages. I mean, to be that close to getting one and not getting one, oh man.”
