BIO OF Kevin Mackay, Founder OF CORVETTE REPAIR, INC.
Kevin’s love for Corvettes blossomed in 1978, while he was working for a Chevrolet dealership at the age of 21. That year, the Corvette Pace Car came out and it was the 25th Anniversary model, his dealer got one. He was in charge of preparing the car for delivery, and his time with it left an indelible impression. He officially got the Corvette bug, but at that time he thought he’d never own a Corvette of his own, as they were too expensive. Well, after a few short years, being fired from every job, including Burger King, and much hard work, he purchased his first Corvette, a 1964 convertible, Kevin said, “I spent my life savings at 23 years old and never looked back”. He then purchased a 1965 Coupe which he restored, trailered it to Bloomington and earned the Gold certificate with the highest score in it’s class, and soon decided to open his own Corvette repair and restoration business, despite the family being against it.
Kevin officially opened Corvette Repair, Inc. in 1985, renting a one-bay garage out of an auto repair shop in Valley Stream, NY. His current, custom-built facility opened in 1987, and it is currently being expanded to accommodate an ever-growing audience of Corvette collectors. When it comes to finding, repairing and restoring all of C1, C2 & C3 Corvettes from basic to the most valuable models, one man stands apart from the rest in bringing Corvettes back to life the correct way. A book called Kevin Mackay’s Greatest Corvette Finds“The Corvette Hunter” tells the amazing stories of the rarest Corvettes. Kevin in reading the forward letter by Reggie Jackson, Baseball Hall of Famer, gave him, Kevin, the title of “Mr. October of Corvettes”. Wayne Carini’s The Chase Magazine, issue Fall 2022, gave him the title of “The King Of Corvettes”. He and his team of amazing expert craftsmen at Corvette Repair, Inc. have won thousands of awards and been featured in hundreds of magazine articles, and over 100+ magazine covers and many books. After more then 39 years in the Corvette business, his passion for America’s Sports Car has never waned. The “NCM Annex” opened in 1991 and Kevin, a founding member, to help in getting contributions towards the completion of the National Corvette Museum, displayed 3 cars, a 1960 Red/Red Corvette, 1966 427/425 Rolling Chassis and a 1967 427/435 Drivable Chassis (first of it’s kind, and one of his first creations). The National Corvette Museum (which Kevin’s business Corvette Repair, Inc is a lifetime member), officially opened in 1994, and the 1969 Factory L88 Rebel Racer, found in 1991 in a junk yard, purchased for $7K and then restored, (which, years later went to Barrett-Jackson and auctioned for $2.86 Million) was exhibited, as well as a 1967 Factory L88 suspended St Louis body drop and over the years more Corvettes were displayed, and in 2006 Chevrolet requested us to build 3 Big Block Engines for the Sema Show.
In 2011 “The Quest” a documentary on the 1960 Cunningham #3 LeMans class winning Corvette was produced, Kevin played an active role in reintroducing the #3 to the LeMans race track in 2010 with John Fitch and Lance Miller. In 2012 Kevin was inducted into the Bloomington Gold Great Hall as one of the 50th most significant people that influenced the Corvette phenomenon. His knowledge and passion for Corvettes earned him NCRS Master Judge and Bloomington Gold Benchmark Judge status. Awards received for cars he has worked on are simply unprecedented, including NCRS Top Flight, Bloomington Gold, and Triple Diamond honors, and other Corvette Events throughout the country for 39+ years, which totals a whopping 1716 awards to date. In July of 2014, Kevin was invited to be the Grand Marshal of the Corvette Homecoming in Bowling Green, KY. He has also given many seminars across the USA and Canada, including NCRS National Conventions, Bloomington Gold Events, Muscle Car Corvette Nationals, and not to mention The National Corvette Museum also. For 2015 Kevin was invited for his expertise for Classic Corvettes on the “My Classic Garage Expert Panel”. In 2018 Kevin Mackay was selected as 1 of the top 20 restorers in America and the only Top restorer for Corvettes.
Some of the amazing Corvettes Kevin recovered and brought back to life, were the 1953 #003 Corvette Cutaway now on permanent display at the National Corvette Museum. 1956 SR-2 Racer, 1956 Sebring Racer #3, 1957 Sebring Racers #3 & #4 class winner, 1957 FI Airbox, 1959 Purple People Eater BP National Champion, 1960 Cunningham #1 Le Mans Racer, 1960 Cunningham #3 LeMans class winner, 1962 Yenko Gulf Oil Racer class winner, 1963 Pininfarina Rondine, 1964 XP-819 now on display at the NCM, 1964 Cerv II, 1964 GM Styling Coupe, 1966 Development L88 Roger Penske Racer class winner, 1966 Daytona #67 Racer, 1966 Daytona 8 Ball Racer, 1967 L88 Dana Racer, 1968 L88 Sunray DX Racers #2 & #3 class winner, 1968 L88 Owens/Corning Racer AP National Champion, 1968 L88 Rebel LeMans Racer, 1968 L88 Leldon Blackwell Racer, 1968 L88 Bandaid Racer, 1969 L88 Rebel Racer class winner, 1969 V.V. Cook Racer 4X BP National Champion, 1969 Baldwin Motion Phase III & Phase III GT, BFG Greenwood Stars & Stripes Racers #48, #49 & #50, many many L88’s from 1967 to 1969, including an original 1969 factory ZL1 Convertible, which recently broke another world record for a C3 of $3.14 million. And lets not forget the “Unique Creations” collection which consists of the 1953 #003 Corvette Cutaway, 1964 XP-819 rear engined Drivable Chassis, 1965 See-Thru first Heavy Duty Mark IV Engine, 1966 Suspended Body 425HP, 1966 Daytona Drivable Chassis 425HP Race Car, 1967 Drivable Chassis 435HP, 1967 Suspended Body 435HP, 1967 Engineering ZL1 Engine on display featured on the cover of Hot Rod Magazine December 1968 issue, 1968 L88 Sunray DX Cutaway, 1969 L88 See-Thru, the Sideways Chassis 1969 L88 and 1971 ZR2. Last but not least the original owner of a 1967 Corvette Roadster the President of The United States. Including 5 world record priced Corvettes from 1957 to 1971. Kevin and his team at Corvette Repair, Inc. has achieved the highest levels of the greatest award winning accomplishments in bringing Corvettes back to life where any individual or competitor organizations are in awe of.
NEWS 4/29/2022: KEVIN MACKAY NOMINATED AS A FINALIST FOR THE INDUCTION INTO THE NATIONAL CORVETTE HALL OF FAME….2022
4/26/24_ KEVIN MACKAY NOMINATED AS A FINALIST FOR THE INDUCTION INTO THE NATIONAL CORVETTE HALL OF FAME….2024
EVENTS APPEARED IN...
AS GUEST SPEAKER...
HAGERTY I The Amelia….March 3rd, 2023: Seminar guest speaker for “Corvette at Le Mans”
NCRS National Conventions, Regionals and Local chapter events
Corvettes at Carlisle, Pennsylvania & Florida
Houston Expo, Texas
Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals, Chicago Illinois
Bloomington Gold, Illinois & Indiana
National Corvette Museum, Bowling Green Kentucky
NCRS Quebec Chapter Meet, Canada
Top Vette Watertown New York
Many Local Corvette Clubs Northeast
Chevy Vette Fest Chicago Illinois
Mid America Motor Works Effingham Illinois
Barrett-Jackson Auction, Scottsdale Arizona
Russo & Steele Auction Scottsdale Arizona
Hershey Museum Pennsylvania
Heritage Museums & Gardens, Sandwich Cape Cod Mass.
Numerous TV, Radio, Cable & Podcast Interviews
Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival
Hendrick Motorsports
Guest Speaker At Sardi’s Restaurant in New York for the Madison Ave Sports Car Driving & Chowder Society
Guest Speaker At The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, Philadelphia PA
ORGANIZED CORVETTE RACE CAR REUNIONS & PARTICIPATION...
Corvettes at Carlisle 5x Pennsylvania
Bloomington Gold Illinois & Indiana
National Corvette Museum Bowling Green Kentucky
Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance Florida
NCRS National Conventions, Regionals and Local Chapter Events
Concours d’Elegance at St. Johns Michigan
Laguna Seca Racetrack, Chevrolet Invite 50th Anniversary, Monterey California
Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals Chicago Illinois
Chevy Vette Fest Chicago Illinois
Elkhart Lake Race Track, Wisconsin
Watkins Glen Race Track, New York
Lime Rock Race Track, Connecticut
Yenko Race Car Reunion Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
Simeone Foundation Museum, Philadelphia Pennsylvania
Klassic Automobile Museum, Florida
Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles California
Gilmore Car Museum, Hickory Corners Michigan
American Muscle Car Museum, Melbourne FLA
Texas State Fair, Participation
CONTRIBUTION TO COMMITTEE’S...
Bloomington Gold Collection Committee
Bloomington Gold Great Hall Committee
Bloomington Gold Senior Instructor
Bloomington Gold Benchmark Judge
NCRS Master Judge
Corvettes at Carlisle Celebrity Judge
Mid America Motor Works Celebrity Judge
National Corvette Museum Celebrity Judge
RM Auctions Consultant
Bonhams Auctions Consultant
Gooding & Company Classic Car Auctions Consultant
My Classic Garage/Expert Panel
Chip Miller Charitable Foundation, Board Member
TEAM SEMINARS & AND NATIONAL CORVETTE MUSEUM HALL OF FAMERS ASSOCIATED WITH...
Dick Guldstrand 1999 Dave Mclellan 1999
Dick Thompson 2000 John Fitch 2000
Gib Hufstader 2001 James Jeffords 2002
Noland Adams 2003 Dan Gale 2004
Ray Battaglini 2004 Chip Miller 2005
Doug Hooper 2007 Allan & Don Barker 2008
Anthony Delorenzo & Gerald Thompson 2009
Fred Gallasch 2010 Bob McDorman 2012
Will Cooksey 2013 Jerry Burton 2014
Rick Hendrick 2015 Ralph Kramer 2016
Donna Mae Mimms 2016 Burt & John Greenwood 2018
Mike Yager 2018 Tom Peters 2019
PERSONAL CORVETTE COLLECTION...
1960 Tanker
1962 Tanker
1963 Yenko Z06 Tanker
1966 Development L88 Roger Penske Racer
1967 Factory L88 Dana Racer
1968 Factory L88 Bandaid Racer
1969 Factory L88 Black/Black Sidepipe “See-Thru”
1969 Factory L88 Daytona/Sebring Racer
1969 Factory L88 Blue/Blue
MEDIA COVERAGE..
MotorTrend Auto Biography 2021 History of the Cunningham Corvettes with Kevin Mackay
Kevin Mackay’s Greatest Corvette Finds “The Corvette Hunter” Book
Vette Vues Magazine Contributing Monthly Articles
48 Hours TV, Velocity Channel TV, Corvette Nation Cable
Contributed & Serviced Corvettes for TREES LOUNGE Movie Starring Steve Buscemi & Chloe Sevigny & CON AIR with Nicolas Gage, John Cusack, Steve Buscemi & John Malkovich…
100’s of Magazines, Newspapers, like The New York Times & New York Post, & Many books
Column Writer For Corvette World Magazine
What To Look For When Buying Corvettes Video
Serviced The President of The United States of America’s original owner 1967 Corvette
My Classic Car with Dennis Gage
Motormouth Radio Long Island, NY, Multiple Time Guest Speaker
Meccanic Shop/1600 Veloce, Multiple Video Interviews
MCACN 2023: Interview with Motor Trend TV…… Interview with Wayne Carini…….Interview with Frank Pope Vettester.com, on a yearly basis
Steve Garrett: CorvetteTodayPodcast.com
Mike Yager Interview On The XP-819
