We are looking at the history of a 1967 Corvette, known as the Vault Find. This 1967 Marina Blue with the Bright Blue interior has the 427/435 HP engine with the 4-speed transmission. This rare Corvette went up for auction in the Jackie and Gary Runyon Collection Saturday, January 15, 2022, at the Mecum Kissimmee auction and sold for $418,000.
Here is the story as told on the Mecum website:
Source: Mecum Auction
LOT S113 1967 Corvette Vault Find Corvette – Jackie and Gary Runyon Collection – SOLD for $418,000
After returning from Vietnam as a recipient of two Purple Hearts, Keith Litavsky went right to Jack Douglass Chevrolet in Hinsdale, Illinois, and purchased his dream car with money he’d sent home for that purpose. He treated that 427/435 HP 1967 Chevrolet Corvette like a newborn baby. He never drove it in the rain, and he refused to park it in the sun. He used a damp, soft cloth to clean the always-clean car, and its resting place was in his garage on four carpeted jacks to take the pressure off the tires and springs.
LOT S113 1967 Corvette Vault Find Corvette – Jackie and Gary Runyon Collection – SOLD for $418,000 -Photo Credit Bill Wolf
Litavsky was so meticulous about the car he even kept diaries of its use. He’d log each time he started it with dates and details about the RPMs he hit and how the car ran. He bought a second vehicle so he could prevent overuse of the Corvette, and he instructed his children not to talk to anyone about the car, as he feared it might be stolen.
After Keith Litavsky’s passing in 1993 due to cancer from exposure to Agent Orange, his son Matt trailered the car to his home and put it up on a lift in his climate-controlled garage, where it was given the same respect and care until he passed that responsibility along to Jackie and Gary Runyon in 2017.
Known as the “Vault Find” Corvette, the car presents as if it left the factory yesterday. Having spent the majority of its life locked safely away from the elements, and from prying eyes, this car is as close to a vault find as any car can be, and yet its condition reveals that it has clearly been pampered and cared for beyond any reasonable level. Its original 427/435 HP engine still fires up on command with a mean growl; its Marina Blue paint still glistens with a wet shine and its matching Bright Blue interior is pristine.
With just 8,540 original miles on its odometer, this may well be the most from-the-factory original 427 1967 Corvette in existence, save for only its battery and mufflers. It’s most certainly eligible for Bloomington Gold Benchmark status—as there is likely no greater example of originality to be found anywhere. And with its ultra-desirable list of features—including the M21 close-ratio 4-speed transmission, 4.11:1 Positraction differential, F41 Special suspension, power windows, and tinted glass—this car is unquestionably one of the ultimate blue-chip Corvettes, the capstone in a class of its own.
Fully documented and having never been judged or shown in public in its 50-year history, this is an unprecedented opportunity for a serious Corvette collector to add a one-family-owned, original and unrestored ’67 427/435 HP ‘Vette to the stable—an opportunity unlikely to ever arise again.
Documented with the original window sticker, Protect-O-Plate and car shipper, this amazingly original 435 HP Corvette presents a very unique opportunity for the discerning collector. If you bought a fully restored 1967 Corvette, it might look like jewelry, but it would never drive like an original car. If you could find a 1967 Corvette with no miles, it could never be driven due to diminishing the car’s value and the engine would be sluggish or inoperable from lack of exercise and maintenance. This 8,500-mile family heirloom has been regularly serviced and cared for over the past 50 years, plus it can be driven a few hundred miles each year with confidence while never hurting the car’s value. Most importantly, the next owner will be able to drive an original 435 HP Corvette and relive the authentic 1967 experience.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Known as the “Vault Find” Corvette
- Owned by one family from new until 2017
- 8,533 original miles
- Original unrestored condition from top to bottom with exception of battery and mufflers
- Ordered new by Keith Richard Litavsky and delivered to Jack Douglass Chevrolet in Hinsdale, Illinois, on December 23, 1966
- Immediately recognized by Litavsky as a future collector car amidst rumors that Corvette production would cease
- Never judged or shown publicly in its 50-year history
- Meticulously cared for in climate-controlled storage
- Driven a mere 15 miles in the last 15 years
- Documented with the original window sticker, car shipper, Protect-O-Plate, original radio tag, owner’s manual and extensive handwritten maintenance logs
- The original tank sticker is still affixed
- Original drivetrain and components
- Tri-Power 427/435 HP L71 engine
- M21 close-ratio 4-speed transmission
- 4.11 Positraction differential
- F41 Special suspension
- Original Marina Blue paint and Bright Blue interior
- Power windows and tinted glass
- Telescopic column, speed warning
- AM/FM radio, Rally wheels
- Retains all five of its original non-DOT redline tires
- Framed vintage photo
- Framed letter from E.M. Estes, General Manager, Chevrolet Motor Division
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