Texas Couple Donates Their 2005 Corvette to the National Corvette Museum

Ron and Lori Galt’s 2005 Corvette won’t be riding off into the sunset anytime soon, despite being coated in Daytona Sunset Orange Corvette.

Ron and Lori have toured America in their Corvette ever since they bought it new, and now that they’ve picked up another new Corvette, a 2019 Arctic White Grand Sport Coupe, the Crawford, Texas couple has decided to donate the ’05 to the National Corvette Museum.

“This was my first Corvette,” Ron explains. “I’d watched them throughout the years, from day one, but I just got to the point where I just wanted a car for me to drive. Lori and I both wanted to take trips around the USA, and this is the car we wanted to do it in. We went everywhere. We got it down pat with packing it up and knowing where everything goes. I could drive this car every day, and I did for a while.”

As a museum staffer pulled the car into the display area, with Ron in the passenger seat for one last time, the horn sounded and applause roared from the group of other NCM employees who had gathered for the special occasion. In the background, the Galts’ new C7 can be seen on display!

“We’ve spent a lot of time in it,” Ron recalls of the ’05. “I remember when we first got it. We saw a car in the same color in the back of the dealership. When we saw the color we said, ‘this has got to be the best color I’ve ever seen.’ And it changes colors as the day goes on, which you have to really watch to see. I’m glad that somebody else can see it now.”

Ironically, it’s the first 2005 Corvette donated to the NCM, perhaps only fitting since it’s such a rare color for that year. Indeed, just 2,379 were made in Daytona Sunset Orange out of the 37,372 cars that helped Corvette kick off its sixth generation.

Ron and Lori have been Lifetime Members of the Museum since the day they bought their ’05 and had last visited the Museum and Plant in 2013.

“We were members of a Corvette Club in California and they kept saying ‘you’ve got to go to the Museum’ and so we did,” said Lori.

With so many memories made in the ‘05, Lori finally overcame her hesitation about donating the car when Ron eased the pain by buying the brand new Grand Sport.

“I didn’t really want to give it to anybody else,” Ron says. “I thought it would be better if the Museum can use it, so I called them up to see, and they said sure, so I thought what the heck.”

The couple enjoyed one last road trip in the ’05 last week when they drove the car from Texas to the Museum for the donation ceremony on Tuesday, March 12, 2019. While leaving their much beloved car behind, we’re sure they had a great time in their new C7 on the way back home!

“Thank you to Ron and Lori Galt, not only for the wonderful donation but for choosing the Museum to take delivery of your beautiful new Corvette!” a Museum spokesman said.

If you’d like to join the crowd and donate your car to the NCM, visit corvettemuseum.org to see a complete list of “wish list” cars the Museum would like to add to its ever-growing collection, thanks to the generosity of enthusiasts like the Galts.

Source:
National Corvette Museum

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