Timeline Tales – 11-25-81: A pre-production C4 Corvette runs 1.01 g on skidpad at GM Milford Proving Ground!

When it comes to skid-pad figures, Corvettes have been in “exotic territory” since 1984!

Dateline: 11.29.17 (Photo GM Archives) – Thirty-five years ago the statistical benchmark for performance sports car handling was getting as close to, or over the magical “1 g” mark on the skid pad. So when news broke that a development Corvette had gone past the 1 g mark, the rumor mill kicked things up a few notches, because the only machines that were in the 1 g territory were racecars, and perhaps a few exotic streetcars.

When the new 1984 was finally released into the hands and lead feet of magazine road testers, the numbers weren’t over the magic 1 g level, but here’s what Car and Driver had to say, “The road holding on this new machine is so advanced that we recorded the highest skidpad lateral acceleration — 0.90 g — ever observed with a conventional automobile by this staff. That figure practically trivializes the previous high-water marks, in the 0.82-g range, generated by such exotics as the Porsche 928 and assorted Ferraris.” (Take THAT Germany and Italy!)

Today’s performance benchmark is 0-60 in the 2-second zone. So far only a few modern streetcars are capable of that head-swimming feat. Continue reading


Timeline Tales – 11-25-81: A pre-production C4 Corvette runs 1.01 g on skidpad at GM Milford Proving Ground!”


NEW!!! Corvette Report’s “Vette of the Month” Contest

We are happy to announce the launch of Corvette Report’s “Vette of the Month” Photo Contest.
Here’s the deal.

Dateline: 11.25.17 – Send us your best photo of your Corvette and we will post it on our “Vette of the Month” photos page.

At the end of the month we will pick a winner, and announce it as a post here at Corvette Report.

The winner will get;

An “America’s Old Glory Sports Car” print of their year Corvette, signed and numbered by K. Scott Teeters.

PLUS! a feature story in Vette Vues Magazine.

After the story is published in Vette Vues, we will post it on CorvetteReport.com.

To enter, use the below Entry Form. Continue reading


NEW!!! Corvette Report’s “Vette of the Month” Contest”


ANNOUNCING! America’s Old Glory Baseball/Trucker Caps!!!

Show your Corvette passion,

your patriotic American pride,

and keep the sun out of your eyes!

We have every year “Old Glory Corvette” layouts from 1953 to today,

available on 12 different baseball/trucker cap color/trim patterns.

Whatever year Corvette you own or love, we have a baseball/trucker cap for you.

Prices start at just $18.95!

To start to order your America’s Old Glory Corvette baseball/trucker cap, Continue reading


ANNOUNCING! America’s Old Glory Baseball/Trucker Caps!!!”


ANNOUNCING! America’s Old Glory Mugs!!!

Show your Corvette passion
with a heap’n help’n of
patriotic American pride!

We have every year “Old Glory Corvette” layouts from 1953 to today,

available on three mug styles: Coffee Mugs, Travel Mugs, and Beer Steins

Whatever year Corvette you own or love, we have a mug for you.

Prices start at just $18.70!

To start to order your America’s Old Glory Corvette mug,
CLICK HERE.
Continue reading


ANNOUNCING! America’s Old Glory Mugs!!!”


ANNOUNCING! America’s Old Glory Corvette Tees & Sweats

Show your Corvette passion
with a heap’n help’n of
patriotic American pride!

We have every year “Old Glory Corvette” layouts from 1953 to today,

available on tees, sweats and more!

Whatever year Corvette you own or love, we have a shirt for you.
Sizes Small to 2XL.

Prices start at just $13.95!

To start to order your America’s Old Glory Corvette shirt,
CLICK HERE.
Continue reading


ANNOUNCING! America’s Old Glory Corvette Tees & Sweats”


NEW!!! “America’s “Old Glory” Sports Car” Corvette Prints Series

Scott Teeters’ New Corvette Art Prints Series for 2017!

Dateline: 9.1.17 – In November 2015 I helped out with Jan Hyde’s John Greenwood Tribute Event at Daytona International Speedway. Jan is the owner of Registry of Corvette Race Cars. My part of the effort was the creation of a promotional flyer, a two-sided poster featuring Greenwood’s Stars and Stripes BF Goodrich Corvette and his Spirit of Daytona ’76 Corvette on the high banks of Daytona, and a hand-out sticker featuring a profile view of Greenwood’s Sebring ’75 Corvette in front of an American flag. (see the end of this post)

The graphic layout for the sticker stuck with me and I kept looking at it thinking there might be something there as a new prints series that would appeal to Corvette owners and fans of all generation Corvettes.
 
After numerous prototype layouts I settled in on “America’s “Old Glory” Sports Car”. The first one was kind of easy, but once layout completed, I knew I had a ton of work ahead of me. What started out as a fairly simple idea turned into my Project for 2017! And now, it is ready to present. Continue reading


NEW!!! “America’s “Old Glory” Sports Car” Corvette Prints Series”


The Story of the ZR-1 Corvette – C4 1990-1991 ZR-1 Corvette: Part 2 of 4

1990 ZR-1 Corvette – Finally! A Dedicated “Performance” Model Corvette

Dateline: 8.11.17 – Photos: GM Archives, Michael Beal, Illustrations: K. Scott Teeters – There’s an unwritten, unofficial “Law of the Jungle” that basically states, “If you are at the top of the food chain, you might not be there for long.” Such was the case for the C4 ZR-1 Corvette, for a little while. The C4 ZR-1 had a six-year production run with only 7,018 units produced. The ZR-1’s head-exploding price was the biggest limiting factor. The crummy economy in the early ‘90s didn’t help, and the much-rumored, all-new C5 no doubt was a drag on the ZR-1’s sales. And then there was also that pesky Dodge Viper. The 427 Cobra’s “Marley’s Ghost” was obvious, only this time disguised as a Dodge,
 
While armchair quarterbacking is easy and hindsight is 20/20, it is worth asking the question, why wasn’t such an awesome car more successful? “Timing” aside, the ZR-1’s aesthetics was a big factor. Stated simply: When viewed by itself, the C4 ZR-1s look like “regular” Corvettes. As an illustrator and stylist, I find it astonishing that Chevrolet would have done this, after all the engineering work that went into the ZR-1.   The body panels from the doors all the way back to the rear bumper cover, are unique to the ZR-1 – made wider to cover the widest tires put under a factory-built Corvette body, to that point. This means that the panels had to be redesigned. But rather than make them visually unique, the Corvette stylists were commanded to imitate the basic design of the standard Corvette, with one exception   Continue reading


The Story of the ZR-1 Corvette – C4 1990-1991 ZR-1 Corvette: Part 2 of 4″


1,000,000th Corvette Restoration in 10:08! VIDEO

It took seconds for the 1,000,000th Corvette to fall 40 feet and be nearly totally destroyed. I took almost a year to make the car GOOD AS NEW!

Dateline: 7.12.17 – The 1,000,000th Corvette, a white Convertible with a read interior (just like the first 1953 Corvette) rolled off the Bowling Green Assemble Line on July 2, 1992. Zora Arkus-Duntov was there to help celibate the event. Then, on February 9, 2014 the Ground under the National Corvette Museum’s Skydome display area opened up and swallowed 8 precious, special Corvettes.

The Corvettes that went into the 40-foot deep hole included;

1993 ZR-1 Spyder (on loan from General Motors) <– Beyond repair
2009 ZR1 “Blue Devil”
(on loan from General Motors)<–Restored in late 2014
1962 Black Corvette <– Restored in 2017
1984 PPG Pace Car <– Beyond repair
1992 White 1 Millionth Corvette <– Restored in 2015
1993 Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Corvette <– Beyond repair
2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette <– Beyond repair
2009 White 1.5 Millionth Corvette <– Beyond repair
Continue reading


1,000,000th Corvette Restoration in 10:08! VIDEO”


Corvette Timeline Tales: June 21, 1996, Mike Yager’s Last C4

June 21, 1996 – Mike Yager helped build and take delivery of “The Last C4 Corvette”

Dateline: 6.21.17 – “First and Last” Corvettes have become a niche specialty in the Corvette hobby. Year-by-year, the “first and last” Corvette is only marginally interesting. They’re cool to own or set aside, but not nearly as unique as the “first or last” of a generation.

Mike Yager of Mid America Motorworks came up with a novel idea. While most collectors think of ” special editions” and “firsts,” Mike thought of the “last” C4 Corvette off the production line. No one had ever considered that before. When GM announced in mid-’95 that the ’96 model would be the last of the C4 Corvettes, Yager launched his plan. Mike leveraged his relationship with Chevrolet with a unique proposal. Yager’s request was to be permitted to buy the very last Corvette to roll off the production line, on the condition that the he would retain ownership of the car and display it at his “MY Garage” (Mike Yager Garage). GM liked the proposal, had nothing to lose, and a lot of publicity to gain.

Mike decided that the Last C4 should be visually unique. In honor of the first Corvette, he chose polo white as the body color. From there he added the Grand Sport rear fender flares, white ZR-1 wheels, red Grand Sport front fender hash marks, special embroidery for the seats, and special “Last C4” decals for the front fenders and the windshield. Under the hood was a (See Videos) Continue reading


Corvette Timeline Tales: June 21, 1996, Mike Yager’s Last C4″


Morrison 1990 ZR-1 Speed Record: Aver 24-Hour 174.885-MPH! – VIDEO

Race-prepared, stock 1990 ZR-1 Shatters a 50 Year 24-Hour Speed Record

Illustration by: K. Scott Teeters

Dateline: 5.22.17 (This story first appeared in the May 2017 issue of “Vette Vues”) – Racing Corvettes used to have a long history of durability issues. There are many reasons why Corvette racecars had durability issues, but one of the biggest is easy horsepower. It’s always been relatively easy to get a lot of power out of a small-block or big-block Chevrolet engine. If a builder is more oriented towards drag racing, the temptation for an extra 50-horsepower is just too tempting for many builders. That’s fine for drag racing where a car is stressed to the max for a matter a seconds. But in endurance racing, you have to finish to win.

From the perspective of the mid-1980s, the new C4 Corvette was light years ahead of the previous two-generation Corvettes. In the mid-1980s Corvettes were so fierce in SCCA Showroom Stock racing that after two years they were kicked out for being too fast! So, the factory-built Corvette racecars duked it out in their own series, The Corvette Challenge. Breakage with the C4 cars wasn’t much of an issue thanks to the much-improved structure and suspension, plus the cars weren’t powered by massive, torque-monster big-blocks. Continue reading


Morrison 1990 ZR-1 Speed Record: Aver 24-Hour 174.885-MPH! – VIDEO”


1983 – Production begins on the First C4 – 1984 model Corvette

2-1984-Corvette-72

By Scott Teeters as written for Vette Vues
January 3, 1983 – Production begins on the 1984 model Corvette, the all-new C4 Corvette.

Dateline January 2016: Chevrolet had a lot riding on the all-new C4 Corvette – expectations were very high since the C3 had been riding on the C2 chassis that was designed in 1960! Even though the new C4 used the 1982 Cross Fire Injection, rated at 205-hp, the new structure, modern suspension and brakes, and huge tires made the new Vette handle better than ever. Continue reading


1983 – Production begins on the First C4 – 1984 model Corvette”


C4 Grand Sport Coupe & Convertible On Block at Mecum Anaheim – TWO VIDEOS

by Scott Teeters, Editor of Corvette Report
Sellers disappointed when reserves not met.

1996-Grand-Sport-1-7

Dateline 11.23.15: The 1996 Grand Sport was the sixth Special Edition Corvette and did more to bring the moniker “Grand Sport” back into the consciousness of the Corvette community than anything else. Prior to 1996, it was mostly Corvette racing fans that knew what a “Grand Sport Corvette” really was – Zora Arkus-Duntov’s lightweight Cobra killer that he envisioned being offered in every Chevrolet dealership in America. It was a noble concept, but even Chevrolet General Manager Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen couldn’t get a special exemption from GM’s management to allow the Chevrolet build and sell Corvette race cars. (I know, it’s a bummer, man!)

As the original 1963 Grand Sport racers faded into the collective memory of motorsports, the legend turned into a myth, until slowly but surely, Continue reading


C4 Grand Sport Coupe & Convertible On Block at Mecum Anaheim – TWO VIDEOS”