By Marshall Gordon
Photos By Brent Fleury
"I love Jesus. I love my wife. I love my Corvette," quips Dr. Greg Mathis, pastor of Mud Creek Baptist Church in Hendersonville, and proud owner of a rare, jet-black, meticulously restored 1963 split-window Corvette coupe.
His romance with the classic American muscle car began when Dr. Mathis was just nine years old. "The first Corvette that I ever noticed was a 1963 split-window. I fell in love with it. When I was in high school, I bought a used 1967 Corvette. I kept it for about five years, through most of college," he says.
After graduation, Dr. Mathis joined the ministry and did something he’s regretted ever since: he drove his Corvette to the very first church he preached at. "A senior-citizen lady at the church said she didn’t think a preacher ought to drive a Corvette," he recalls. "I wanted to be a good minister so I sold it. I grieved for years. I couldn’t get over the thought of it."
Dr. Mathis married, raised a family and advanced in the ministry. Still, he never gave up his love for Corvettes. "I kept talking about how much I loved them. I began to pray and asked the Lord if He would let me have one back. The Lord actually said ‘yes’ before my wife did. I jokingly told my wife that at least it’s not a woman. She answered, ‘I think a woman would be cheaper.’"
That was about ten years ago. Dr. Mathis hasn’t looked back. He’s been happily buying, restoring, selling and trading 1960s vintage (and a few 1970s-era) Corvettes, faithfully following what he considers one of his life’s callings. He does mostly on-frame restorations, taking the cars he’s restored to cruise-ins and shows — the majority exclusively devoted to Corvettes — where he can potentially sell a completed project and scout a good candidate for his next makeover.
The crown jewel in his long string of restorations is the 1963 split-window coupe, which he found two years ago, and he vows he’ll never sell or trade it. "This car is very special to me. It’s the first one I remember as a kid. This car is a keeper. It’s here to stay."
Dr. Mathis acquired the car through one of the country’s top Corvette collectors, Tom McNeil of Wilksborough, NC. A good friend and mentor, McNeil has been his go-to resource throughout the years Dr. Mathis has been collecting and restoring Corvettes. "It was just what I was looking for — a split-window and a black one with a red interior," continues Dr. Mathis.
The coupe is a "matching numbers" car — one featuring the original 327 cubic inch 300 horsepower engine, 4-speed manual transmission, 4-wheel independent suspension, color scheme and interior. Making it even more desirable as a collector’s item are its options: power steering, power brakes, air conditioning and knock-off wheels — all rare in a ‘63 Corvette.
While the Corvette was in excellent shape, Dr. Mathis spent three months restoring it to showroom condition, replacing the interior, painting the exterior, re-plating the chrome and detailing the engine and undercarriage. But beyond good looks, what’s important to Dr. Mathis — as with all his Corvettes — is that the coupe is roadworthy. "It’s not a show car, a trailer queen. It’s a really nice driver. Looks like a show car, but you can actually get out and drive it." Which he does, at least once a week, and sometimes to church.
Some might question how the pastor of one of North Carolina’s largest congregations reconciles his ministry with something as worldly as collecting Corvettes, but to Dr. Mathis, there’s no contradiction. "I’ve actually had an opportunity to minister to people and have a spiritual influence on them through this. A lot of people who come to shows won’t come to church. It’s given me the chance for people to see me. The people I’ve talked to at Mud Creek know I work hard. The ministry is a very demanding profession. They’re glad to see me have a hobby, an outlet away from church."
There are even certain family values attached to his diversion, including the aspiration to pass on a legacy of Corvettes to his offspring. "I have three children and my dream is to end up with three Corvettes and leave one to each child." The first, of course, would be his ‘63 split-window coupe. He’s currently in negotiations with Tom McNeil for a ‘67 convertible, a white beauty with a red interior, complete with all the original documentation, including the window sticker. "It’s just like the one I had in high school," says Dr. Mathis. The last would be a ‘67 coupe with a 427 cubic inch 400 horsepower engine and air…a rare collector’s item. He’s still praying for that to come along.
But for now, he is still a relatively young man, and Dr. Mathis envisions a long future, filled with the passions and people he loves most. "One day, I’m going to be 75 years old and I’ll be driving this ‘63 split-window. I’m going to preach ‘til I die and I’m going to drive old Corvettes ‘til I die," he says. Amen.
