A Special Corvette Helps Save Lives … and Builds a Museum Too
By Jim Weidenbaum, SCCA Foundation Board of Directors
This is a story of a special Corvette from an exceptional SCCA couple … or maybe it’s a story about an extraordinary couple with a Corvette that will do wonderful things, such as save the lives of young drivers, help build a motorsports museum, and much more.
Let’s start with that wonderful couple. SCCA doesn’t have actual royalty, but we are blessed with members who truly standout, earning respect, appreciation, and building friendship wherever they go. 2023 SCCA Hall of Fame members Costa and Wilma Dunias absolutely fit that description to a royal T with their over 110 years combined SCCA membership, a Woolf Barnato Award, John McGill Awards (plural!), RE’s, and Race Chairs, winners of a National Solo championship, and years working on the SCCA National Staff … they are rumored to sell programs between run groups too. Truly, Costa and Wilma have seemingly done everything possible to support SCCA to the point that there could nothing more for them to give … but they did: they donated their “baby” to the SCCA Foundation.
The Dunias’ baby is a 1965 Corvette coupe, which they purchased new, and used as a daily driver, autocross race car, Hill Climb racer, and race school instructor car. Through all those decades since its purchase off a Lubbock Chevrolet dealer showroom floor, the Dunias’ kept and maintained their Nassau Blue Corvette coupe with a 327/350 hp and 4-speed manual transmission. It’s important to understand that the specialness of their Corvette was not due to it being a valuable collector car: it was because their Corvette was transformational in their lives.
Through a bit of serendipity, the Dunias’ Corvette led them to meet a future legendary SCCA member, the late Dan Sherrod. The Dunias story greatly interacts with Dan’s. On their first wedding anniversary, Wilma and Costa, drove into town – looking rather “grody” – on an impulse they stopped by to look at a beautiful blue Corvette coupe sitting on the dealer’s showroom floor. Before they knew it – they were Corvette owners. About a year later, they chanced upon an autocross event – purely to look – when this “kid” (aka Dan Sherrod) invited them to race. As Dan drove a GT350, the invitation turned into a throw-down dare with Corvette vs Mustang. Costa won that race, but more importantly won a life-long friend in Dan, which blossomed into a life-changing entry into the SCCA.
After 58 years of continuous ownership, while keeping the car in top running shape, the Dunias were seldom driving their Corvette and needed the garage space for a newly acquired car. Still, after all those years they were reluctant to let their “baby” go to a new home; their biggest concern was to find a new owner who would care for their car as much as they did. Costa, being a former member of the SCCA Board of Governors, was well-aware of how the SCCA Foundation supports outstanding programs such as Teen Street Survival, VET Motorsports, the International Motor Racing Research Center, Women on Track, and more. So, when Costa ran into SCCA Foundation Executive Director Arnie Coleman, the conversation turned to the possibility of donating the Dunias’ 1965 Corvette to SCCA Foundation. Costa and Wilma appreciated how donating their classic Corvette to the SCCA Foundation both supports worthy programs, while also providing a tax benefit from donating an appreciated asset.
With Wilma and Costa united in their decision to donate their Corvette to the SCCA Foundation, the next step was how best to raise funds. As a “survivor” vehicle, it was thought best to get the advice of experts. SCCA Foundation Director Raleigh Boreen drove to Texas and trailered the vehicle to Indianapolis to a noted Corvette specialist who could objectively appraise the vehicle. With an appraisal in hand and understanding the Dunias’ clear direction on the car going to a caring home, Grassroots Motorsports President and former SCCA Foundation Board of Director Tim Suddard stepped up to buy the Corvette and feature its restoration in Classic Motorsports, which he also owns. Tim has been restoring cars since he was a too young to drive teenager; he will give the Dunias Corvette the care and attention it has so-well earned.
The SCCA Foundation profoundly thanks Costa and Wilma for their incredible generosity in their gift and in their trust that the monies raised from the sale of their baby will be used to support meaningful programs through the Foundation’s stewardship.
If you have a street or race car you want to donate to the SCCA Foundation, please contact SCCA Foundation at donations@SCCAFoundation.org or call 1-719-500-3232.