36 Corvettes Found in a Garage After 25 Years

1. A Contest of a Lifetime

In 1989, an unusual contest by VH1 took place. The contest was quite appealing, as it offered a grand prize of one Corvette for each year, from 1953 to 1989, all by calling the network and participation. VH1 spent $610,000 on the 36 Corvettes, and they charged $2 for each call, just to make up for the cost of the Corvettes. They ended up making $1.3 million on just calls, and Long Island carpenter Dennis Amadeo was the winner of the contest. Pop culture icon and "Summer of Love" artist Peter Max purchased the collection from Amadeo for $250,000, and he offered him an additional $250,000 worth of artwork.

>>Join the conversation about the Peter Max Corvette collection right here in Corvette Forum.

2. Peter Max

As the official artist of many events including the Super Bowl, Grammy Awards, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to mention a few, Peter Max spent a small fortune for the 36 Corvettes, which he shipped to Brooklyn, New York. Unfortunately, Peter Max was quite the busy man, thanks to numerous projects, and some problems, like the IRS investigating him. He wound up leaving the Corvette collection in a parking structure below a building, where they slowly rotted for over 20 years.

>>Join the conversation about the Peter Max Corvette collection right here in Corvette Forum.

3. The Discovery

In 2005, a New York Magazine writer discovered the collection in the parking garage, and he ended up writing a column on it in the magazine. The column grabbed the attention of members from Digital Corvettes, and shortly after, Josh Dean, the New York magazine writer, posted pictures of the collection, and the internet responded and went absolutely crazy.

>>Join the conversation about the Peter Max Corvette collection right here in Corvette Forum.

4. Peter Max's Plans

After the members from Digital Corvettes and New York Magazine writer Josh Dean reached out to Peter Max, they discovered that his intentions were to purchase 14 more Corvettes to round up the collection to 50 cars. He also wanted to paint them all properly, then auction them all off.

>>Join the conversation about the Peter Max Corvette collection right here in Corvette Forum.

5. Notable Corvettes

Under the thick layer of dust that accumulated over 20 years, there are some seriously valuable cars in the collection. The most valuable car in the collection is a 1953 Corvette, which was one of only 300 ever made. Another valuable Corvette was a 1955 Vette, which was one of only 700 ever sold. The 1953 Vette is set to be one of the most valuable Corvettes in the world once it's done being restored by their newest owners -- Peter Heller, his cousin Scott Heller, Scott Heller's sons and Gary Spindler, a New York parking management executive.

>>Join the conversation about the Peter Max Corvette collection right here in Corvette Forum.

6. Adam Heller

Adam Heller had originally tried to collaborate with Peter Max to restore the Corvette collection, but Peter Max's artistic demands and legal troubles made collaboration impossible. He offered Heller and his family the entire fleet of Corvettes. Though the Hellers are not Corvette experts, they enlisted the help of Corvette expert Chris Mazzilli, and restoration is already underway at a shop in Hicksville, 30 miles east of Manhattan. 

>>Join the conversation about the Peter Max Corvette collection right here in Corvette Forum.

7. The Restoration

Cleaning off the grime alone can take two weeks. Each car gets washed five or six times; carpets and seats are shampooed over and over. Some of the cars have significant damage to the fiberglass bodies: holes in quarter panels, smashed bumpers, shoddy repairs from years ago. The 1955 model, one of 700 made that year, is getting an extensive restoration. The remainder of the cars will be thoroughly cleaned and restored to running condition. The group doesn’t have a specific plan for the auction yet, Mazzilli said, but they would like to find someone interested in buying the whole set. But if a buyer with such deep pockets doesn’t emerge, the cars will be sold individually.

>>Join the conversation about the Peter Max Corvette collection right here in Corvette Forum.

For help with your do-it-yourself maintenance or repair project, please see our how-to section in the forum.