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From time to time we catch wind of a car or car collection that winds up getting donated to a museum or even a charity in an effort to help those less fortunate. While the later is always a kind and necessary gesture, many museums also rely on the goodwill of others for funding and items for their displays.
 
 
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The Schrodts were car lovers before they came together, and have since enjoyed many years sharing their automotive passion with each other. While they have always loved the automobile, Corvettes weren’t always their main focus. When the two met, Mary was driving a 1968 Camaro while Ivan was behind the wheel of a Datsun (a custom 510 or 270Z perhaps?).
 
 Ivan mentioned, “We had just donated our Toyota MR2 to a charity benefiting troubled youth, so we were without a fun car and looking for something new. We were thinking that maybe a convertible would be good this time as it had been a while since we had one of those.”

The Five Donated Corvettes

1966 Rally Red 327 convertible
1980 Dark Blue coupe
1996 Polo Green convertible
2002 Millennium Yellow Z06 coupe
2007 Black Z06 coupe
 
It was only a matter of time before a Vette would be adorning these car lover’s garage, and that time came as a bit of a surprise to Ivan. One day while at work Mary called his office, and began making small talk.
 
 Apparently this was not common practice for Mary, so Ivan asked her what she was really calling about, at which point she told him she had made an offer on a 1996 Polo Green convertible Corvette. The rest was history as Ivan explained, “That was our first Corvette. Mary loved that car and it is one of the ones we donated to the Museum. It’s a lovely car.”
 
This was the starting movement of their own Corvette passion, which has lasted for many years. In fact, after many visits to the National Corvette Museum in its earlier years, Ivan was invited to join the Board and graciously accepted the position.
 
 Ivan explains, “When I came on we didn’t have the expansion, or even the land for the track. It was a wonderful time to be involved with transforming the Museum into something more. Before it was a Museum with a lot of nice cars to look at, but it became a place to come and interact with the Corvette Museum Family and other enthusiasts.”

Throughout the years, the other Corvettes were gathered and added to the Schrodt family. Ivan expressed interest in each and every one explaining that you can love them all equally for different reasons as each one is so unique. While there is a beautiful classic and some mid-years in the mix, we figured we’d also also highlight the final two, more modern Vettes.
 
 The C5 and C6 Z06s were geared towards performance driving and Ivan explained, “I modified it to make it a dedicated track car with new seats and a five point racing harness. That one and the 2007 black Z06 both love going on a track at speed.”
 
Ultimately, the Schrodts are happy to pass their beloved Corvettes on to their new homes at the NCM, and with regards to the two pictured below, Ivan wanted to impress that, “We hope they get a lot of track miles and give a lot of track smiles.”
We couldn’t say it any better ourselves. Corvette Online would like the thank you both for your continued generosity to the NCM and Corvette world.
 
 
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