Читать книгу The Corvette Hunter - Tyler Greenblatt - Страница 8

Introduction

Kevin Mackay officially opened Corvette Repair in 1985, renting a one-bay garage out of an auto repair shop in Valley Stream, New York. He didn’t know back then that there would soon be a need for high-end Corvette restorations and maintenance work. After receiving widespread praise for his first restoration, a 1965 Corvette coupe, he realized he had the talent to achieve award-winning results. In 1987, a new custom-built facility was officially opened where it currently sits today. It has been expanded over the years to meet the varying needs of scrupulous Corvette owners and collectors. Over the last 30 years, Kevin and his team of specialists have earned a world-class reputation for restoring many of the finest and most famous Corvettes to ever see the street or the track. Many have even been secret experimental cars hand-built by the father of Corvette himself, Zora Arkus-Duntov.

Today, Kevin’s passion and knowledge are unmatched in the Corvette hobby. Since its inception, Corvette Repair has been awarded 517 NCRS Top Flights, 198 Bloomington Gold awards, 139 Bloomington Gold Special Collection awards, 137 Triple Crown Diamond awards, 5 Bloomington Gold Great Hall awards, 113 Carlisle Chip’s Choice invitations, 21 NCRS Duntov awards, 28 Bloomington Gold Hall of Fame awards, 22 Bloomington Gold Benchmark awards, and 20 NCRS American Heritage awards. In addition to winning awards, Kevin is an NCRS Master Judge and Bloomington Gold Benchmark Judge. Corvettes restored by Corvette Repair have also won awards at such high-profile events as the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.

In 2010, the documentary, The Quest, was released, featuring Kevin as one of the principal narration speakers. Produced by filmmaker Michael Brown, the story followed Kevin and friend Lance Miller’s quest to return the legendary 1960 Briggs Cunningham #3 Corvette, which won its class at Le Mans in Corvette’s first attempt there, back to France for the 50th anniversary of its win.

In June 2012, Kevin was awarded one of the highest honors in the Corvette hobby by being inducted into the Great Hall, which consists of 50 individuals who have done incredible work to improve the Corvette and the hobby. In 2014, he was invited to be the Grand Marshall of the Corvette Homecoming in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Along with that invitation came the additional honor of being made an official Kentucky Colonel.

Kevin has been featured in numerous publications and is often spotted on television at auctions and giving interviews at car shows. He continues to take part in elite discussion panels and Q & A sessions at automotive events worldwide, and he teaches classes and seminars about classic Corvettes and their restoration. Although his work has been seen on more than 100 magazine covers and in numerous books and television shows, this is the first book entirely devoted to his life’s work and his unmatched passion for Corvette.

Publisher’s Note: In reporting history, the images required to tell the tale will vary greatly in quality, especially by modern photographic standards. While some images in this volume are not up to those digital standards, we have included them, as we feel they are an important element in telling the story.