Pratt & Miller’s NEW 2025 Sebring Mobil Livery
Throwback to 1987 IMSA GT V6 4.5-Liter Turbo Corvette – 1,000 HP Since 1999 the Pratt & Miller Corvette Racing Team has built and campaigned...
Category: C4 Corvettes
The Duntov Files, Pt. 1 – Zora’s 1969 427 ZL1 Racer – PDF E-Book
New series of FREE Corvette E-Books from K. Scott Teeters’ collection of Corvette Reference Material To open the free E-Book, CLICK HERE. The C8 ZR1...
Four Classic C4 Corvette Art Prints Available!
My next Corvesport project will be a series of six stories highlighting interesting Corvettes from the C2 1965-1967 L79 327/350 4-speed Corvettes to the C6 2008-2013 Z51 Corvettes. In 2024 it is easy to spend over $100,000 for a new C8. But you don’t have to break the bank for a cool performance Corvette that might not be a stump-puller, low E.T., top speed machine, but will be a fun street machine.
Dan Barr’s 1989 Factory-Built Corvette Challenge Race Car
The new Corvette-only series was called, “The Corvette Challenge Series” and it came together quickly. The concept wasn’t new, as the International Race of Champions Series (IROC) had been around since 1974. IROC was launched with Porsche Carrera RSR cars that proved to be too expensive to build and maintain. From 1975 to 1989 it was an all-Camaro series.
The Tale of Two C4 Grand Sport Corvettes in a Tiny Florida Town
Lake Placid is also home to two of the rarest special edition Corvettes, a 1996 Grand Sport Coupe and Convertible. And here’s the kicker – they both reside within two blocks of one another! Ron Ellerman is the original owner of the 1996 Grand Sport Corvette Coupe and John Meyerhoff is the owner of the 1996 Grand Sport Convertible.
Duntov Files, Pt. 6 – Zora Looks Back at the 1963 Grand Sport Adventure
This story, “Zora Looks Back” offers some interesting insights into Duntov’s tenure at GM, as well as the “Lightweight Grand Sport Corvette” experience. For instance, Duntov said, “It was a quick and dirty sledgehammer project that we put together in a couple of months. There were so many compromises and constraints that we made something of which I am not particularly proud.” Interesting. Well, we sure love them!
The Duntov Files E-Book, Pt. 4: Time Machines, 1963 Grand Sport vs 1989 Trans-Am Corvette
Late in 1989 Corvette Quarterly (formerly “Corvette News”) arranged a special event. Grand Sport #002 was brought together at Sebring International Raceway for a side-by-side comparison test with the then “state-of-the-art” tube chassis Trans-Am C4 Corvette. Twenty-six-years separate the two cars, they are both tube-frame cars with replica bodies, and powered by Chevrolet engines. But that’s where the similarity ends, and the difference is startling.
Corvette Chiefs, Pt. 2 of 5 – Dave McLellan
When Dave McLellan took over as Corvette’s new chief
engineer on January 1, 1975, it was whole new world. The prevailing trends went from performance cars to safer cars with reduced emission. Not even Duntov could have made a difference in the ‘70s. But as performance went down, Corvette sales went way up! The sales department was happy, but the Corvette was really getting old. Dave McLellan was an unknown to the Corvette community and many wondered what he would bring to the brand. It turned out; he brought a lot!
Dean Kaliakmanis’ 1986 Corvette
Dean Kaliakmanis of Burlington, Illinois is a 16-year old sophomore at the Burlington Central High School. Dean got the car bug from his Dad, Dean Kaliakmanis. Dean Sr. is a group health insurance professional but has been a car guy since he was a teenager. Along the way, Dean’s dad has owned five Corvettes, including; a 1969 Stingray, a 1977 Corvette, a 1985 Corvette, a 1987 Corvette, and a 1993 Callaway Corvette. The 1987 Corvette and the 1993 Callaway, plus a 1971 Z-28 Camaro are Dean Sr.’s current rides. Obviously, Dean the younger has been around Corvettes all his young life, so it’s no surprise that he would want to follow in his Dad’s footsteps.
Corvette Chassis History, Pt. 3: The C4 Chassis That McLellan Built
One of the C3’s endearing features was the T-top roof. The design wasn’t just for aesthetics; the T-bar connected the A-pillar windshield frame to the B-pillar frame “roll bar” and provided significant structural stiffness. The initial design of the C4 had a T-bar connecting the A and B-pillars, but with a one-piece, roof panel. It wasn’t until the first prototype was built in 1981, when Chevrolet general manager Lloyd Reuss made the decision to eliminate the T-bar to open up the cockpit. This single decision impacted the C4 design such that the biggest complaint about C4s is the tall side frame sills that make ingress and egress challenging. To compensate for the lack of the important T-bar, the side frame sills had to be made extra tall. As the years rolled by, C4s, especially the convertibles, took heat for not being as stiff as their competitors. Those two elements, plus the fact that progressive Corvettes kept getting better and better, are part of the reason why C4s are today the least desirable of all Corvettes.
Tommy Storino’s 1986 “VADER VETTE”
However, this situation does create an interesting condition for Corvette enthusiasts looking for a donor car. Early C4 Corvettes can be had for as little as little as $4,000. But for Tommy Storino of Chicago, Illinois, his 1986 Corvette deal was bitter sweet.
Tommy’s Uncle Pete was a Lincoln Towncar man because he was a very big man; 6’-4” and 350-pounds. So the family was surprised when he bought a 1986 Corvette, and wondered if he was playing a joke on them. No one knew why he would ever buy a Corvette. Two months later, he died suddenly.
After the funeral proceedings were completed, Tommy’s cousin invited him to stop by the house to look at the mystery Corvette. Tommy’s cousin is a Jeep guy and wanted to restore the Corvette, but he just didn’t have the time. The car pretty much needed everything, except for the interior, which was in very good condition. But everything else; paint, tires, engine, transmission, you name it, was shot. And the car was leaking fluids.
When Tommy’s cousin handed him the keys, he thought his cousin wanted help getting the car out of the garage. Actually he did. Then his cousin said, “Take it, it’s all yours!” The car was drivable, but obviously needed a lot. Now Tommy had the beginnings of a project car, and he didn’t have to spend $4,000 for a donor car.
Ed Nieves Journey Into the World of Tri-Power, NCRS, Bloomington Gold and Triple Diamond-Level Corvettes
Ed Nieves was like lots of red-blooded American males that have a “Some day I’ll get a Vette!” mental infection. But Life and obligations typically keep the Corvette daydreams way down the list. Ed had the itch we can all relate to. But in 2008 he decided to go for it!
John & Patti Hutchinson’s 1996 & 2017 Grand Sport Twins
Question: What’s better than a Grand Sport? Answer: TWO Grand Sports Special Edition Corvettes are a fun part of the Corvette hobby. Production numbers for...
HOT Corvette Auction Action Starting TODAY!
Two major car auctions are upon us with some very interesting and unique Corvettes that may or may not find new owners. The Mecum Kissimmee Auction starts today, January 5, 2018 and runs to January 14, 2018. The Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction starts January 13, 2018 and runs to January 21, 2018
Of interest to Corvette fans are the following cars;
January 12, 2018 – Mecum Kissimmee, 1969 Baldwin-Motion Phase-III GT Corvette. Lot F139
January 13, 2018 – Mecum Kissimmee, 1988 ZR1 Corvette Engineering prototype. Lot S165
January 19, 2018 – Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale, 1958 Fiberfab Centurion. Lot 1009.1
January 20, 2018 – Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale, 1965 Corvette Cut-Away Show Car. Lot 1413
January 20, 2018 – Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale, 2018 Carbon 65 Z06 Corvette. Lot 3007
January 20, 2018 – Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale, 2019 ZR1 Corvette. Lot 3009
