Longtime Vette guru, Chevrolet dealer and Corvette Hall of Famer Bob McDorman has passed away at age 82. He ran his dealership in Canal Winchester, Ohio for fifty years and was known for his vast collection of rare old Corvettes. He loved low VIN number cars and well as one-off executive cars and had several cool examples. His collections have brought big money too.

McDorman liked one-off executive cars like the pink Corvette (center) that Harley Earl commissioned for his wife.

McDorman, like other Vette fans, remembers the day he saw a polo white ’53 Corvette. He recounted the experience by saying, “I spent two hours looking over that car. I couldn’t believe that Chevrolet had designed a car that sharp. From there on, I’ve had a passion for them. I couldn’t afford one for awhile but my desire to get one kept building over the years. I remember when that ’63 split window came out. I wanted one so bad I could taste it.”

At 20 years old, he took a job with a Buick Pontiac GMC dealer in London, Ohio where he advanced quickly to Service Manager and then Body Shop Manager. He then started selling cars for a Chevrolet Oldsmobile Cadillac dealer as a used car salesman and then eventually became the used car manager.

Bob purchased the store in 1965 and transformed a dealership that had never sold any Corvettes to one of the largest Corvette sellers in the Midwest. The motto at the dealership was “Corvette Spoken Here” and he sponsored and supported many of the Corvettes in the area.

Fulfilling one of his last goals came in 2012 when Bob McDorman was inducted into the National Corvette Museum’s Corvette Hall of Fame. On the Hall of Fame website, Bob was quoted as saying “I learned a long time ago that you can fake your attitude, you can fake enthusiasm but you can’t fake passion. I’ve got the passion.”

Rest in peace Bob, we’re envious that you’re up there in Corvette heaven…