Corvette Racing Legend John Fitch Is Just Fine
Dateline: 1.9.12
Stockbridge police located Mr. Fitch. He’s okay! He’s okay!
A shock went through the Corvette community today when it was reported that race car driver, inventor, and Corvette legend, John Fitch was reported missing for a time, but was found, and was unharmed. Perhaps the most startling part of the report was that John is suffering from emphysema (an incurable condition) and mild dementia. If you have ever had a family member with dementia, you know what a rough ride that can be.
The Stockbridge police found John, which wasn’t too difficult, as he drives a black ‘05 Mercedes with yellow racing stripes on the sides. I’m sure they all know who John is and what he drives. John was taken to the local medical center and appeared to be in good condition. And his family was notified that he was found.
Can you imagine thundering around the Le Mans countryside in this beauty? Forget Bridgette Bardot!
In Summer ’10 John was part of the festivities in Carlisle, Pennsylvania for a special presentation of the film, “The Quest.” The film is about Fitch’s involvement with the restoration of the 1960 Fuelie Corvette that he raced and won his class at the 1960 Le Mans race. In ‘10 after the car had been fully restored by Corvette Repair, the race car, along with the Miller family AND John went to Le Mans where John and Lance Miller took a lap in the car that Fitch raced full-out 50 years before. The moment and the car’s story is the subject of the film. Continue reading
Mako Shark Attack Week!!! The 1961 Mako Shark
Dateline: 1.2.12
A Look Back At the First of Bill Mitchell’s Beautiful Mako Shark Corvettes
The family connection is obvious. Fortunately, both cars are still around.
Former GM Chief of Styling, Chuck Jordan said it best about his colleague and former boss, Bill Mitchell, “The man had STYLE!” And why wouldn’t he? Can you imagine learning car design from the great Harley Earl? Mitchell was 46 years old when he took over the reins of General Motors Chief of Styling in 1958 when Earl retired. Bill’s design leadership was so prodigious that it’s often overlooked that he spent his entire 42-year professional career with General Motors. That’s something that almost never happens today.
The tires don't quite look wide enough.
Mitchell’s styling sense can be best described as “edgy” – figuratively and literally. Known as a snappy dresser, Bill liked to “look sharp” and designed his cars with that ideal in mind. Mitchell believed that you could tell a successful man because his cloths were pressed and sharp, so he designed cars the same way! Unlike today’s “bar of soap,” smooth, rounded designs, a common threat in Mitchell’s designs were sharp edges and creases. Note the bold horizontal crease line and edges of the Stingray Racer and the ‘63 – ‘67 Sting Ray, the Mako Shark I, the Mako Shark-II, the Manta Ray, and the production ‘68 – ‘82 Corvette. Continue reading
My First Corvette Moment
Dateline: 12.31.11
You remember the first time you saw a Vette and said to yourself, “What’s that?!” Sure you do!
Let’s hear your “First Time” Corvette story. Use the “Leave a Reply” box at the bottom of this post.
There’s a first time for everything, right. Do you remember the first time you became aware of a Corvette? I’ll be you do, I certainly do. Although it was a very long time ago, I never forgot it. Here’s what happened.
It was the mid-’60s and like most boys, I was into building plastic models. There was something magical about seeing those kit boxes wrapped in plastic with artwork of the models, photos, and all kinds of interesting information, most of which I didn’t have a clue about. I built all kinds of models, as I wasn’t into anything specific, just the experience of building a model kit. I built ships, airplanes, boats, rockets, monsters, Rat Finks, and a few cars.
And opening the box was a real kick to. You break open the plastic, carefully take the lid off and inside was all this interesting stuff! Military models often had mostly silver-gray parts on trees, or sprues. Model cars were usually white and there was always one sprue tree that was bright chrome (vacmetalizing was just a total mystery to us kids), one was clear plastic, usually for the glass and headlights, and a clear red sprue for the taillights. Plus a decal sheet and an instruction sheet with wonderful exploded isometric technical illustrations that showed you how to build your model. It was all a delightful kid’s experience. But I wasn’t really into the car thing, just yet. Continue reading
CorvetteReport.com’s Top 10 Corvette Stories for 2011
Dateline: 12.30.11
A look back at a VERY BUSY year for the Corvette Community
The other day I was telling my wife, Karen, that the Corvette topic is virtually endless. With nearly 60 years of production, 21 special editions, race cars, tuner cars, experimentals, prototypes, events, auctions, car shows, history, plus the personalities associated with Corvettes, IT’S HUGE! An army of bloggers couldn’t cover it all, but I’ll do my best! As we ease into the last two days and the last weekend of 2011, I thought it would be fun to look back at what I think were the Top 10 Corvette Stories of 2011. So, in no particular order or importance, let’s take a cruise through the 2011 world of Corvettes.
1. Chevrolet’s 100th Birthday - The early days of the automobile industry were indeed wild. Companies were formed, bought out, merged, or went out of business – often very quickly! The truly wild part of the Chevrolet story has to do with the company’s namesake, Louis Chevrolet. It seemed that Louis and his partner Billy Durant didn’t see eye-to-eye and after a few short years, Louis cashed out and went on his merry way building race cars. But in what has to be the ultimate irony of the automotive world, after numerous businesses failed and the Great Depression caught up with Louis, the man “needed a job!” And where did he find employment? At Chevrolet, as an assembly line mechanic! For more of the story, CLICK HERE.
2. The 100 millionth Small-Block Chevy Engine - Last August GM announced that Chevrolet would be building its 100 millionth small-block Chevy engine later in the year and it would be installed into a ‘12 Corvette. Pretty damn cool, considering that the car’s survival was very iffy well into the ‘60s. Regardless, it’s great to see how Chevrolet has honored the small-block Chevy engine AND the Corvette by officially making what is currently the most powerful production engine ever built in Detroit, the ZR1’s 638-horsepower LS9 engine, the “100,000,000th Small-Block Chevy Engine.” BRAVO Chevrolet. Last November CorvetteBlogger.com did a very nice post covering this once-in-a-lifetime Corvette/Chevrolet event. To read the story, CLICK HERE.
3. Jalopnik’s MAJOR C7 Sneak Peek - Thanks to the internet and the blogosphere, there has NEVER before been this much anticipation for a new generation Corvette. When new scraps of C7 red meat hit the floor, us Corvette doggies go wild! Last November Jalopnik.com dropped a major slice on the Corvette community. At first they claimed they had photos. Then the next day they released three, very well done, computer-generated illustrations they claim are based on an unnamed insider that swears on a stack of Bibles piled up on his mother’s grave that this IS the new C7 Corvette! And not “just” the 2014 C7 Corvette, but the 2015 ZR1 Corvette. Of course, Chevrolet says Jalopnik got it all wrong, to which Jalopnik followed up with a post saying, “GM issues weak-ass denial of our 2014 Corvette exclusive.” Come on kids, PLAY NICE! You can catch out post HERE.
4. Another Le Mans Win For The Corvette Racing Team - It’s no secret that the Corvette Racing team didn’t have a spectacular year. Which goes to show us all that there’s no resting on your laurels. Just because the team won 100% of their races in 2004, 90% of their races in 2002 and 2005, and Le Mans six times before, doesn’t mean that a hundred things can’t go wrong out on a race track. Of the 10 races in the season, the team won two and came in 2nd place two times. Le Mans and Mosport were the team’s two first place victories and Long Beach and Mid-Ohio were the team’s second place wins. While a 20% win rate isn’t “spectacular” Le Mans IS the big prize. CorvetteBlogger.com did a very nice post on the Le Mans victory that you can read HERE. And you can keep up with the latest from the Corvette Racing Team at their official www.CorvetteRacing.com site. Continue reading
Zora Arkus-Duntov, Ahead of the Curve in 1953!
Dateline: 12.23.11
Duntov’s Thoughts Pertaining To Youth, Hot Rodders, and Chevrolet
Chevrolet engineer and Duntov co-worker, Gib Hufstader, managed to save one of Duntov's DOHC experimental engines from the scrap heap! It might have been one of the above engines. Too bad they all weren't saved!
Zora Arkus-Duntov started working at General Motors on May 1, 1953. His first few months were a little bumpy, plowing through some junky assignments, such as sorting out why a prototype car with a heavy rear end wouldn’t handle right and solving a driveline vibration on a GM bus. A few weeks after Zora started, his immediate supervisor, the very capable senior engineer Maurice Olley, suggested that Duntov quit because he didn’t like Zora’s non-engineering solution to the prototype’s handling problem. And Duntov actually considered it! (for a very short time)
But ever the “GO-GO!” racer guy, Duntov had gasoline in his veins and was a pretty good writer for an engineer. Below are his thoughts on the then burgeoning aftermarket hot rod industry Continue reading
FOR SALE – C6.R Ridemakerz Corvettes
Dateline: 12.21.11
The Most Affordable C6.R Corvettes!
Last September I took you through a behind the scene look at the delightful “You Build Your Ride” toy line of cars from RideMakerz, plus my personal experience of working on the body styling of many of the first wave of RideMakerz cars. Unfortunately for me, by the time RideMakerz secured the license for the C6.R body shape from General Motors, my art director and designer friend at Scrambled Eggz Productions in Medford, New Jersey, Don Amadio, had the time to do the styling on the C6.R Corvette himself.
The RideMakerz store and website offers a dazzling selection of accessories!
The toy concept was essentially Build-A-Bears meets Cars and Trucks. Each toy was available either online or at specific RideMakerz stores where Dad and Junior could go, pick out their favorite body, body color, chassis type (static or R/C), then trick out their ride with a dazzling selection of ala’ carte options including wheels, tires, engines, wings, side pipes, nurf bars, wheelie bars, and graphics – just like a real car. And if all that wasn’t enough, each car had lights that turned on, engine sounds, pealout sounds, plus a tool box-styled cardboard case. It was a very cool concept! Continue reading
The XP-819 REAR ENGINE Corvette Will Get Its Day
Dateline: 12.7.11
“Pearl Harbor Day”
The Frank Winchell rear-engine Corvette gets the Corvette Repair treatment.
The XP-819 was once a genuime basket case. Literally. The purpose of the car was to prove a point. There was a bit of a pissing contest going on in ‘64 between Zora Arkus-Duntov and co-engineer Frank Winchell. Winchell was part of the Corvair team and had a different religion as to the path to handling glory. Winchell said, “Hang it out the back! It works for Porsche and VW.” Duntov said, “No, the engine needs to be in the middle to keep the car balanced.”
When the topic of mid-engine Corvettes come up, the name “Zora Arkus-Duntov” is almost unanimously, and immediately connecter to the subject. But there was “another guy” that championed mid AND rear-engine Corvettes. That would be, Frank Winchell. I’ve covered the XP-819 and Winchell’s Corvettes in my Illustrated Corvette Series VETTE Magazine column. Most of the Corvette blogs are talking about the newly restored XP-819 by by Kevin Mackay and his team at Corvette Repair. I thought it would be interesting and different to share with you the Frank Winchell / XP-819 story.
What I like about this car is that it kind’a-sort’a is cool. It was a very interesting design idea, and the back story between Duntov and Winchell is interesting as well. When researching my stories, I learned that the two engineers with strong personalities, had totally different management styles. Many of Duntov’s coworkers are on record saying that because of his passion of high performance cars and his almost boundless enthusiasm, he was wonderful to work WITH. You worked hard, but Zora made things exciting. (Duntov was such a misfit in General Motors!)
What I learned about Winchell was very insightful. So as to not seem “harsh or bias,” let me first say that Duntov was on record saying the Winchell was a fine engineer and very smart. It should also be mentioned that Winchell was the Chevrolet go-to guy in the early years of Jim Hall’s amazing Chaparral race cars – the pre- Chaparral 2J ”sucker-car” days. Continue reading
Corvette Race Car Files: C4 1989 GTP Corvette Racer
Dateline: 12.2.11 zzz
A Look Back at the Last Time Chevy Went Prototype Racing With a Corvette
It’s been well over 20 years since Chevrolet got into prototype racing, but it’s good to see them back. The Daytona Prototype Corvette is nicely dressed in exotic material with some very stylish styling points that are very “C6.” I’m surprised they didn’t name the car “Grand Sport,” after all, the front fenders ARE wearing C6 Grand Sport fender vents. But, let’s not pick. The Corvette community wishes them the best and we’ll all enjoy watching the latest round of Corvette racing history in the making.
So, I thought it would be fun to look back at the last time Chevrolet went prototype racing with a Corvette. I covered the 1989 GTP Corvette back in October ‘03 in The Illustrated Corvette Series. The short article and illustrations are below. I see some feature “comparison” stories coming up. It’ll be fun to examine 20-plus years of prototype development. Below is the story, “GTP Corvette Racer – Unrealized Potential.” Continue reading
2011 16th Annual Fleming’s Pumpkin Run Car Show in the Pines!
Dateline: 11.26.11
When it comes to eclectic cars and machines, Piney people know how to have fun!
WE have a DOZEN slide shows at the bottom of this post!!!
If you are going to have an old cars and machines show, what could be a better place that an old junk yard for some Autumn car fun. Let’s face it, modern junk yards, er, ah, salvage yards, or worse yet, auto recycle centers, are BORING! I mean, who wants to wander up and down rows and columns, like walking a giant spreadsheet? Well, that a lot’a fun, like working in a Big Box store! But the really old junk yards are FUN. They wander and meander all around like a child’s board game. You never know what you’ll find around the bend and behind that pile of old gas pumps.
Fleming’s Auto Parts, in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey is such a junk yard. The first weekend of every November since 1996, Harry Fleming and his team have been having their Street Rod Show and Antique Engine & Tractor Show at the family owned junk yard. We first learned about the show from our friend John Loeper of Ocean City, New Jersey. John described the show as a “celebration of machines,” and he wasn’t kidding. Open to the Pumpkin Run show are: show cars and trucks, antiques, classic ‘50s cars, muscle cars, street rods, rat rods, motorcycles, military vehicles, antique race cars, steam tractors, and just about any kind of mechanical machine you can think of. They even have an air cannon that fires pumpkins at a junker minivan. The crowd really likes the cannon!
I don’t know why, but the weather pattern here in New Jersey is very consistent. Early November always delivers cool, crisp, autumn weather – PERFECT for an outside car show. But it’s not just the weather and the cars that create the ambiance of the Pumpkin Run, it’s the smells. There’s a wonderful blend of smells – the pine trees, the Jersey sand, the fallen maple leaves and pine needles, the closeness of the Atlantic ocean, the kettle corn, the burgers, the french fries, AND (I know this sounds really weird) engine exhaust. Ahhh… SMELLS GREAT! Continue reading
Vette Videos: The Life & Times of The Father of the Corvette, Harley Earl
Dateline: 11.23.11
Harley Earl gave us much more than the Corvette. He could have also been called, “The King of the Razzle-Dazzle!”
Three Harley Earl Videos!
Yesterday we shared with you a brief overview of the life and career of General Motors’ first chief of design, Harley Earl. When it comes to Corvettes, it’s easy in retrospect to say that GM should have done this and done that. But it’s essential to remember that when Earl first showed his sports car renderings of what they were calling the “Project Opel,” there were no sports cars being made in Detroit. And no one even knew if there was an American market for the little machines. And on top of that, no one in Detroit really knew “how” to build a true sports car. But, everything has a beginning. And lucky for the Corvette, it skimmed by for a time, just on its good looks.
So much of what Earl pioneered in his career at GM is now commonplace practices in the automobile industry. Two of the best examples of Earl innovations were the “design studio” and “annual model changes.” Today all of the major car companies have their own private facility where ideas and concepts are thrashed out. Before Earl’s Technical Center was officially christened in 1956, there were no such places where ideas could be securely developed in private. Continue reading
Vette Videos: My Dad’s Chevy – The Long Version
Dateline: 11.10.11
Chevrolet goes straight for the heart strings! Before you watch this, get some tissues…
Okay, this isn’t a Corvette video, but it’s close enough! What a sweet story. Dad gave up his 1965 SS-396 Impala Fastback so that his children could go to college. Years later, his youngsters got Dad’s car back! (Hey kids! I had a ‘65 Vette back in ‘75, how about… oh, never mind.)
Never before or since did the big Impala have so much Corvette in its styling. The rear fender humps are straight off the mid-year Sting Ray and the two sets of triple round tail lights is what many felt the Corvette should have had, so they added their own. Chevrolet could have done something special for the hood and the Corvette knock-off wheels would have looked “boss.”
More Interesting, Little Known, Seldom Talked About Chevrolet History
Dateline: 11.8.11
So, what became of the three Chevrolet brothers, Louis, Gaston, and Arthur?
The Chevrolet Brothers: Louis Chevrolet, Gaston Chevrolet, & Arthur Chevrolet
We might be learning more about Chevrolet than their public relations department would like us to know. One of my favorite car blogs is from Hemmings Motor News. Every day they serve up a heap’n, help’n of automotive history and fun. Today they posted an interesting story about the final resting place of the three Chevrolet brothers – Louis, Gaston, and Arthur. As Chevrolet rolls into their centennial celebration year, I’m sure there’ll be all sorts of special features, articles, videos, and books. So, let the fun begin!
Louis Chevrolet in his senior years.
Regardless of what your favorite auto maker happens to be, there’s no argument that “Chevrolet” is one of the all-time top iconic brands in American popular culture. Although the name may well have originated in France, it turns out that Louis Chevrolet emigrated from Switzerland. But first, he went through Paris, then Montreal, before arriving in Brooklyn in 1901. Louis had two younger brothers, Arthur and Gaston.
The Chevrolet car company story is fairly well known. Louis teamed up with William Crapo Durant to form the Chevrolet Company in 1911. Louis and Willy had a falling out in 1915 and Willy sold his shares in the company. With some interesting money machinations, Durant used his funds to eventually buy the controlling shares of General Motors, the company he had lost a few years before. Then in 1917 Durant bought out Chevrolet and folded the name into his General Motors company. (This is starting to sound like a Gordon Gekko story!) Louis took his money and got into the auto racing business, but went broke by the time of the 1929 stock market crash. Needing a job, Louis ended up as a line mechanic in a Chevrolet factory. Although he was a mechanic first, it must have been a humiliating experience.
Here's the first turn at the first Indy 500 in 1911. Arthur Chevrolet is somewhere in there.
What became of the other two brothers whose name became a cultural icon? Gaston Chevrolet first raced in the 1919 Indy 500 and came in 10th place. But it turned out that 1920 was Gaston’s year – sort of. He won the 1920 Indy 500 with an average speed of 86.63-mph – a very fast speed for the day. Later that year, Gaston was killed in a race at the very dangerous, one-mile board track in Beverly Hills, California. Ironically, because of the points structure at the time, Gaston posthumously won the AAA National Championship. He was only 28-years old. Continue reading
Vette Polls: Would You Buy A New, Factory-Built Retro Corvette?
Dateline: 10.20.11
If Chevrolet offered brand new C1, C2, and C3 Retro Corvettes, would you buy one?
Imagine if you could buy a NEW one of these babies!
Take our Poll at the bottom of this post.
The other day I posted a story featuring a collection of make-believe Chevy billboards titled, “Billboards We’d Like to See”. (check it out HERE) Without really thinking deeply about it, my subtitle was, “If Chevrolet was to make retro Corvettes, would billboards such as these help sell cars?” The subtitled popped into my head because as I was looking at the mocked up Corvette billboards, I was struck by just how beautiful the C1, C2, and C3 cars were.
Now this would never, ever, ever happen – but it’s fun to imagine. The basic idea would be this. Start with two Corvettes from each of the first three generations. Let’s say a ‘57 and a ‘62 for the C1 group, a ‘63 and a ‘67 for the C2 Sting Ray group, and a ‘69 and a ‘78 for the C3 group. The idea would be to take the original designs and update the drivetrains, wheels, tires, and brakes, safety requirements, and interior materials and creature comforts. Aside from modern paint colors, wheels, and tires, they would look very much like their original counterparts. They need not be quasi race cars, loaded to the gills with hi-tech hardware. Just brand new, modernized, old-style Corvettes. Sound interesting? So, let’s look at each component.
You could get modern kicks, on Route 66!
Engine & Drive Train: Each car could be powered by an LS3 engine, coupled with a 6-speed manual or automatic transmission. Suspensions should use essentially the original design layout, but with modern shocks, correct anti-sway bars, bushings, steering, etc. The frames should be patterned after the originals, but strengthened in all the known areas of weakness and modified to accept wider tires.
Wheels, Tires, & Brakes: The modified frames could accept tires with modern widths. The wheel diameters should stay at 15-inches so that the wheel/tire proportion looks period correct in the wheelwells. Wheels should be spun-cast aluminum and period styled. C1s could get 15×8 Halibrand styled wheels. C2 and C3 cars could get 15×8-inch spun-cast aluminum Rally wheels or finned knock-odd-style wheels. Brakes should be modern C6 base model brakes.
Could there be such a thing as "too sweet"? This might be it!
Interior: The dash layouts should stay true to their original design, but with upgraded electronic gauges, Bose sound system, airbags, modern leather bucket seats (the original C2 and C2 buckets are really just narrow bench seats), A/C, electric windows and side mirrors, and Nav system. These are cruisers, so the emphasis is on comfort and amenities.
Body: The C1 and C2 cars should get small ‘67-’69 Z-28-style chin spoilers. The C2 cars need a slight forward rake to keep the front end down at higher speeds, All of the cars need to be slightly lowered too. There should be optional hoods. Headlights should be modern LED units but styled in period correct housings. Continue reading
Corvette Billboards We’d Like To See
Dateline: 10.18.11
If Chevrolet was to make retro Corvettes, would billboards such as these help sell cars?
As a “car person” I’m sure you get car related emails from your friends too. The other day my good friend Bill Fackelman sent me a collection of made up images that “should” be Chevy billboards and several were Corvettes. You might have seen a few of these, but they’re still pretty neat.
Here's a REAL Corvette billboard. Part of Chevrolet's "Chevrolet Runs Deep" ad campaign.
Chevrolet has never gotten too much into billboard advertising for Corvettes. It’s understandable, as in the big world of General Motors, the Corvette is a very low-volume car. In 1953 when the Corvette came out Continue reading
Vette Videos: How Hi-Tech Z06 & ZR1 Aluminum Frames Are Made
Dateline: 10.17.11
What was once considered pie-in-the-sky and experimental, is now regular production!
To see the much larger version of the Z06/ZR1 chassis, just click the above image
Aluminum has been the automotive industry’s magic material for over 60 years. Corvette engineers have been thinking about an all-aluminum engine and drive train for the Vette since the 1957 Q-Corvette proposal. While it took until 1997 to get there, the engineering department seeded aluminum parts whenever they could.
Nearly 40 years ago, Corvette engineering decided to explore an all-aluminum Corvette. Everything but the tires, plastics, wiring, glass, and other essentials was to be aluminum. Working with Reynolds Aluminum Company, the experimental XP-895 was debuted to the automotive press in 1973. The chassis design was the same as the experimental 2-rotor Corvette, but power was supplied by a 400-CID small-block engine. The completed aluminum car weighed 400-pounds less than the steel bodied XP-892 Wankel-powered experimental. While the styling of the aluminum “Corvette” was interesting, the only design element that connected it to anything Corvette was the aft portion of the roof, from the B-pillar back. Overall, it did not scream “CORVETTE!” but then again, the all-aluminum car wasn’t supposed to be a styling exercise for the C4 Corvette, it was a feasibility study.
The B-pillar roof section of the car looks like a Corvette, but not much else.
Fast forward to the 2006 Z06 and its aluminum chassis. One of the biggest challenges with an aluminum chassis is the strength of materials issue. Lightweight aluminum is soft, so there were interesting shape and construction problems that had to be worked out to mass-produce such a chassis. While it is true that the Z06 wasn’t the first car to use an aluminum chassis (many hand-made exotic cars had aluminum chassis) the Z06 was the first “mass produced” car to have an all-aluminum chassis, engine, and suspension. The net result to that the 2012 Z06 weighs about the same as a C2 mid-year Corvette… with nearly double the horsepower as a base model C2. That’s progress for you. Continue reading
Another Chevrolet-built Custom Corvette – The Bob Wingate FS&O 1967 427 Corvette
Dateline: 10.12.11
Possibly the ONLY factory-custom Corvette for a non-executive Chevrolet employee.
The last two days we’ve been telling you about the two factory-custom Corvettes built for Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen. As if the customized ‘64 Roadster for Semon wasn’t enough, Mrs. Knudsen may have asked, “Bunkie, where’s my Corvette?” This is total humorous speculation on my part, but one “could” imagine such a conversation. Regardless, they are stunningly beautiful cars and actually, there’s another Knudsen Corvette we’ll be sharing with you soon.
The special custom cars for GM’s top honchos has been for decades a low-key topic and were it not for several of these cars going to auction, we most likely wouldn’t know about them at all. But it seems that not all GM customs were for executives. Of course, we’ll never know for certain how many customs were built and for whom, but here’s one that went to the top Corvette salesman back in the mid-’60s. In the world of Chevrolet sales, Bob Wingate was known as “Mr Corvette” because he sold more Vettes than anyone else. This is an amazing story of achievement, reward, loss, recovery, and a beauty of a restoration. I covered this car in my VETTE Magazine Illustrated Corvette Series No. 158, back in Winter of 2010. Enjoy! – Scott
Here’s the story…
Illustrated Corvette Series No. 158 – 1967 FS&O 427 Corvette: “Bob Wingate’s V.I.P. Special”
Special thanks to VETTE Magazine and Wayne Ellwood. To read the feature story on VetteWeb, click the above image.
In the ‘50s and ’60s, GM had a system for taking care of its top people. Presidents, VPs, high-level managers, and other VIP types often got new cars that were specially made vehicles. These were generically called “SO” – for “Special Order” or “Shop Order” – cars. Another term was “F&SO,” for “Fleet & Special Order.” About 25 to 50 or so of these cars were made each year. However, it was unusual for a car salesman to get one. But Bob Wingate of Clippinger Chevrolet, in Covina, California wasn’t just a good car salesman. He was “Mr. Corvette.”
Wingate started at Clippinger Chevrolet in 1955 as a prep guy – the fellow who cleans the cars prior to delivery. His favorite cars to prep were Corvettes. After a few years, he worked his way into sales, and before long, he was selling more Corvettes than anyone else in California. What got Chevrolet sales managers’ attention was when Wingate ordered 100 ‘62 Corvettes for the dealership. Chevrolet had only sold 10,939 Corvettes in ’61, so they wondered, “Who is this guy?” Upper management was reluctant to send that many cars, but Chevy’s Joe Pike believed in Wingate and was not disappointed. Wingate became the highest volume Corvette salesman in ‘62 and by ’66 had sold more Corvettes than any other salesman. Chevrolet thanked Wingate by giving him the Legion of Leaders award. His reputation even got the attention of Ford’s Lee Iacocca, who offered him a job doing the same kind of work for Mustang and Cobra sales. He declined, and when Joe Pike found out, Wingate got a raise and an F&SO Corvette. He was told, “Pick what you want.” Continue reading
Corvette Pace Car Files: 1986 Indy 500 Pace Car Corvette
Dateline: 10.7.11
A Look Back at the Most Common and Overlooked Corvette Pace Car
1986 was a banner year for Corvette fans with the return of the roadster. The ‘70s was an awful time for performance cars and “fun” cars in general. Between new strict emission controls, sky rocketing gasoline prices (all the way up to 50¢ a gallon! in ‘73), reduced performance, and increased safety concerns, it was not a good time. Convertibles also went down the drain too. Beginning in the Fall of ‘75 with the ‘76 model, there were no more Corvette roadsters. After 22 years, the Corvette Roadster was dead.
So in ‘85 when it was announced that the roadster would be returning, Corvette fans couldn’t be happier. But unlike the olden days when a convertible Corvette cost LESS than a coupe (the ‘75 convertible cost $6,550 and the coupe cost $260 more than the roadster!), the ‘86 Corvette convertible cost an additional $5,005! Unlike the C2 and C3 chassis and body structure, the C4 was not originally designed to be a topless car. Coupe to convertible conversions usually have the characteristic cowl shake and sometimes ride more like wiggle wagons where the driver can actually see the dash shake on bumpy twisty roads. The solution for the C4 was to add a large X-brace to stiffen the chassis.
The second piece of big news for ‘86 was that a Corvette would pace the Indy 500 for the second time. Retired General Chuck Yeager was enjoying celebrity status as a result of the book and movie, “The Right Stuff.” But Chevrolet was still smarting from the heavy criticism over the ‘78 Corvette Pace Car debacle and seemed to go in the opposite direction. Rather than producing a set number of pace car relicas, ALL ‘86 Corvette convertibles were designated as a “Pace Car Replica” and came with dealer or customer applied decals for the doors. Many said, “Why bother.”
By the end of the year, 7,315 of the 35,109 Corvettes were convertibles (20%), all considers “pace cars” regardless of the color of the car. The actual Indy 500 Pace Cars were all yellow and 732 yellow convertibles were sold for the year. No special embroidery, wheel centers, stripes, spoilers… just a set of decals. Consequently, of the six Corvette pace car replicas offered from ‘78 to ‘08, the ‘86 model is the least valuable. Most of the ‘86 Corvette convertible “Pace Cars” never had their decals applied. Continue reading
Vette Videos – Vette Polls: C6 ZR1 Corvette vs All-Wheel-Drive Lamborghini LP670-4 SV
Dateline: 10.6.11
Another look at AWD, does it really matter?
To visit the official ZR1 website, click the above image.
(Cast your vote at the bottom of this post.)
The other day I was sharing with you the November 2011 Road & track cover story about the 2-second club – three world-class sports cars capable of 0-to-60 in LESS than 3-seconds. Club members include the Nissan GT-R Premium, the Porsche 911 Turbo S, and the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport. All three cars had AWD and except for the nuts-o 1,183-HP Bugatti, the other two members have LESS horsepower that the ZR1. Plus, the ZR1 Corvette weighs 225-pounds LESS than the Porsche. So, the Corvette with a 106-horsepower advantage isn’t in the club, what’s up with that? “All-wheel-drive” boys and girls.
Mamma mia! That's'a SPICY meatball! And she's nice too!
Well don’t despair Corvette fans, not all AWD supercars are in the 2-second club. The Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV could only to the 0-to-60 scoot in 3.0-seconds, so no club membership card for the Lambo either. The June ‘09 Car & Driver Lambo test car was packing 661-HP, 487 LB/FT of torque, weighed 3,850-pounds, and has a top speed of 209 to 213-mph. All that for only $457,500 – enough to buy three ZR1s and a Z06! But we won’t beat them up over a few hundred grand.
Autocar Magazine created the below video comparison between the top gun Corvette and Lamborghini cars. The Lambo has the horsepower edge plus AWD and the ZR1 has the weight advantage. So who wins on a road course? (The video is on the next page –>>) Continue reading
1996 LT4 Small-Block Chevy – The Finished Classic SBC?
Dateline: 9.30.11
Forty One Years of Classic Small-Block Chevy Success and Power!
When the Cadillac-derived Small-block Chevy engine first arrived in 1955, I’m certain that Ed Cole and his team of Chevrolet engineers never imagined that their efforts would have such a profound and long lasting impact on the automobile industry. The little 265-cubic-inch engine had just 162-horsepower. By 1970 the 350-cubic-inch LT-1 engine was packing 370 gross horsepower. Beginning in 1973 Gm started rating their engines in “net” figures making it look as if the legs had been cut out from under all of their motors. While it’s true that there were emissions restrictions and reduced compression, the “net” power ratings were in real-world terms, closer to reality. From ‘73 to ‘96 it was a long slow slog, but the last SBC to use the basic original design was the 330-horsepower LT4. So, what would be the ”gross” horsepower rating of a ‘96 LT4? That would be anyone’s guess, but somewhere close to or over 400-horsepower would be a good guess.
Since Spring ‘11 I have been asking the question in my Illustrated Corvette Series VETTE Magazine column, “What’s the best _____?” for each generation Corvette. ICS No. 174 takes a look at the 1996 LT4 Corvette and asks, is this “The Finished Classic SBC?” let’s get into the details. Talk about going out with a roar! Enjoy – Scott
Illustrated Corvette Series No. 174: 1996 LT4 Small-Block Chevy – “The Finished Classic SBC?”
The ‘97 C5 Corvette was introduced to the press in November ‘96 at Road Atlanta Raceway, in Georgia and went on sale at Chevrolet dealers on March 7, 1997. Not only was the body, interior, chassis, and suspension all-new, there was a totally new engine and transaxle. The splash the new C5 created, followed up with roadsters, Pace Cars, hardtops, race cars, and a Le Mans win in ‘01, was so huge that the highlights and achievements of the C4s quickly faded. While the jewel-like LT-5 that powered the exotic ZR-1 still stands as the high watermark of the C4 generation, there was a quieter high watermark that took place. Had the LT4 engine option arrived a few years before, there would have been another Chevy legend.
The C5 program was an on-and-off-and-on again project due to GM’s financial troubles in the early ‘90s. Initial sorties began in ‘88 with the intention of an all-new C5 a ‘93 model. Corvette chief engineer, Dave McLellan was given a budget of $250 million, but that number turned into a roller coaster ride with the C5 being pushed back year after year. GM’s miracle of the ‘90s was that there even was a C5 Corvette. All of this makes the LT4 even more amazing. Continue reading
New CorvetteReport.com Features: “Vette Polls”
Dateline: 9.29.11
VOTE HERE on some of the most important Corvette questions of our times.
Okay, these aren’t earth shaking questions, it’s just Vette people wanting to have some fun. Last winter while poking through plug-in features that I thought would be neat to have here, I found a “polling” plugin that allows you to as questions with responses to choose from. It’s a neat little feature but the only thing about the polls is that after a few weeks and the post isn’t getting as much attention, the question doesn’t gather any votes.
So, we thought it would be a fun thing to create a dedicated “Polls Page.”The first thing we did was to add all 13 polls to the page with a photo references and a link back to the original post. While we don’t use the Polls feature often, when we do, it will be added to the top of the “Vette Polls” page. Look under the top banner, in the red tab bar for the “VETTE POLLS” tab.
You can participate in all of the polls. After you cast your vote, Continue reading
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