‘Vault Find’ 1967 Corvette 427 Auctioned for $675,000
All-original, manicured L71 finds new home at Mecum auction, but it’ll be tough to surpass its first home..
We’ve seen Corvettes sell at auction for more than this “Vault Find” Corvette sold at Mecum Indy 2017. However, few cars of any type carry with them the weight of such an incredible story. While Keith Litavsky was serving in Vietnam, he sent money and instructions home to his family to buy this 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L71. His family followed his wishes and ordered the ‘Vette. When he came home with two Purple Hearts, Litavsky sunk his life into caring for the Corvette.
Litavsky treated his car like few people treat anything, let alone a car. He rarely drove it, and polished it to a fine sheen in between those drives. While in the garage, the ‘67 Corvette sat on cushioned jacks to relieve wear on the suspension and the original tires, which the car wore across the Mecum auction block. The car remained largely a secret for most of its life, for fear it would be stolen, or dented, or otherwise ruined. We don’t know for certain what it meant to Litavsky, but the Corvette likely served as a reminder of the hellacious conflict he survived, and a token of remembrance for those who hadn’t. He survived many years, and the car’s keys were passed onto Keith’s son, Matt, in 1993.
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After another 24 years of painstaking care, the family placed the Corvette up for auction, a half-century after it had first shown up at the Litavsky home in suburban Chicago. The odometer read only a few ticks past 8,500 miles as Matt drove it onto the auction block. Everything on the car remains original, from the triple two-barrel carbs to the red-lined OEM tires. Before bidding began, “Taps” was played in honor of Keith Litavsky.
The car changed hands for $675,000, which is an astonishing figure for a standard-order L71 Corvette. That speaks volumes about the quality of this Corvette’s story, and the man behind its 50 years in existence.
