Category: Corvette Shows

Vette Shows: The Sights of C3 Corvettes at the 2011 30th Corvettes at Carlisle Show

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 9.2.11
2011 Corvettes at Carlisle Week continues with coverage of 1968 to 1982 C3 Shark Corvettes!

Bill Mitchell’s Mako Shark II Corvette show car is arguably THE most important Corvette concept car ever! This car literally changed everything the Corvette had ever been in terms of styling. The design was so fresh, new, original, dynamic, and dripping with sex, it just HAD TO BE the next Corvette. Oh, how I wish I could have been in the GM styling review yard in March 1965 when Mitchell and his team rolled the nonfunctioning Make Shark II out for review to GM’s upper management. Too bad it wasn’t filmed. Management was so blown away they wanted it as the next production Corvette in ‘67!

After some name swapping, the ‘61 Shark show car was renamed Mako Shark I and the new design was named Mako Shark II. new die-cast badges were quickly made, and the new Mako Shark II was shipped off to the 9th International Automobile Show in New York City for its public debut. Believe it or not, the non-running, full-size show model cost GM nearly $3 Million! The crowd also got to see Chevrolet’s all-new 386 big-block engine under the tilt-forward nose of the Mako Shark. Next stop was the New York World’s Fair to the GM pavilion. What a heady time for Corvette lovers.

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Meanwhile, back at Chevrolet, the hard work had already begun. It was a case of exuberance vs reality. Management wanted the new Shark as the ‘67 Corvette, after all, it was just a new body and interior, so how hard could that be, right? it turned out to be more challenging than the suits realized and soon the release date was pushed back to 1968. Even with an extra year, it was still a rushed design, as it was soon discovered Continue reading “Vette Shows: The Sights of C3 Corvettes at the 2011 30th Corvettes at Carlisle Show” →

Vette Shows: The Sights of C4 Corvettes at the 2011 30th Corvettes at Carlisle Show

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 9.1.11
2011 Corvettes at Carlisle Week continues with coverage of 1984 to 1996 C5 Corvettes!

This is Michael Beal's custom 1991 ZR-1 Roadster. The LT-5 engine in the car was built by Corvete racing legend Kim Baker.

From 1984 to 1996 the C4 Corvettes arguably made more progress in terms of performance than any other generation Corvette. The ‘84 model arrived with the 205-horsepower “Cross-Fire Injection” engine and was quickly replaced with a real “fuelie,” the 230-horsepower L98 Bosch Tuned Port Injection engine. By ‘90 the 375-horsepower LT-5 engine arrived in the new ZR-1 and was bumped up to 405-horsepower by ‘93. The L98 received incremental improvements and hit 250-horsepower by ‘91 and was replaced with the 300-horsepower LT1 in ‘92. So, we saw some impressive power gains during the rein of the C4s.

And there were several interesting special edition C4s as well. There was the ‘86 Pace Car Special, the ‘88 35th Anniversary Edition, the ‘90 to ‘95 ZR-1 option (the single most expensive optional package in Corvette history!), the ‘93 40th Anniversary Edition, the ‘95 Pace Car, the ‘96 Collector Edition, and the ‘96 Grand Sport. That’s tremendous progress and consistent special editions that kept the C4s fresh and interesting.

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Corvettes so heavily dominated the SCCA Showroom Stock racing series they were kicked out! So, the Corvette Challenge “Corvettes only” race series was created. Morrison Motorsports blasted a 50-year speed record with a mildly-modified ZR-1 and Callaway build their 898-horsepower, 254.76-MPH Sledgehammer. Tuners such as Callaway, Greenwood, and Guldstrand offered Continue reading “Vette Shows: The Sights of C4 Corvettes at the 2011 30th Corvettes at Carlisle Show” →

Vette Shows: The Sights of C5 Corvettes at the 2011 30th Corvettes at Carlisle Show

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 8.30.11
2011 Corvettes at Carlisle Week continues with coverage of 1997 to 2004 C5 Corvettes!

Chevrolet sold just under 250,000 C5 Corvettes during its eight-year production run.  While under the leadership of Corvette chief of engineering Dave Hill, the Corvette moved more into the realm of a finished GT car than ever before. The new LS1 engine was stronger, the chassis was more rigid, the ride was more forgiving and precise, and the interior had more room for passenters and storage. And thanks to the C5-R Corvette Racing program and plenty of tuners, the new GT Corvette was more of a brute than it had ever been – but now it had refined manners to go along with its grunt.

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The high-water performance mark for the C4 Corvette came with the ‘’93 to ‘94 405-HP LT-5-powered ZR-1. By 2002, the C5 LS6-powered Z06 packed the same horsepower figures as the later C4 ZR-1s, but at a substantially lower price. A ‘95 ZR-1 cost around $68,000 to start. The C5 2002 Z06 came in at the bargain price if $50,150. Seven years later and nearly $18,000 LESS, now that’s what I call progress! Continue reading “Vette Shows: The Sights of C5 Corvettes at the 2011 30th Corvettes at Carlisle Show” →

Vette Videos: 13 Videos Featuring the Sights and Sounds of the Corvettes at Carlisle Show!

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 8.28.11 (Our 150th post!)
All you’ll need is a knockwurst with mustard on a bun and a tall, frosty root beer!

Special thanks to Jason Harding at CorvetteForum.com.

Perhaps you are simply too far away from southeastern Pennsylvania to attend. Fret not, we’ll bring the show to you. Unless you have been holed up in your Corvette or in your man-cave, you may have missed the news that a hurricane zipped up the East Coast. Hurricane Irene made a mess here and there. While the southeastern part of Pennsylvania only caught the western edges of Irene, Saturday was a yucky day and Sunday was only better in that it was not raining like it was Saturday night. While Irene didn’t deliver a washout, it didn’t help.

I can only describe the Corvettes at Carlisle experience as a “happening.” Pardon the 60s expression, but I AM a baby boomer. There’s so much to see, look at, oggle, take in, sounds, smells, talking, laughing, smiling. Plus, the Corvettes! (12 more videos below) Continue reading “Vette Videos: 13 Videos Featuring the Sights and Sounds of the Corvettes at Carlisle Show!” →

Corvette Timeline Tales: August 26 – 28, 2011 – 30th Anniversary of Corvettes at Carlisle Show!

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 8.27.11
Corvettes here, there, and everywhere. CORVETTES as far as the eye can see!
It all began on September 26, 1974 when friends Bill and Chip Miller rented the Carlisle Fairgrounds for their first old car parts swap meet. Some 600 vendors rented 800 spaces and over 13,000 car enthusiasts paid $1.00 each to attend. Year after year, Chip and Bill kept improving their operation. In 1981 the Millers bought the 82-acre parcel of land and not only created a local landmark, but established an enterprise that brings in $97 Million dollars to the local economy. Carlisle, Pa has never been the same since!

Being Corvette enthusiasts to begin with, Chip and Bill didn’t need much coaxing to launch a Corvette-only show in August 1981. Over 25,000 Corvette lovers attended to see over 2,000 Corvettes, and a new Corvette tradition was born. Since then everyone who’s anyone in the world of Corvettes has been to the Carlisle show: Zora Arkus-Duntov, Dave Mclellan, Dave Hill, Larry Shinoda, Wil Cooksey. race car drivers including, John Fitch, Mario Andretti, Dick Guldstrand, Tony Delorenzo, artists including Dana Forrester, Dan McCrary, and the list goes on and on.

If you have never been to the Carlisle, let me describe the facility. The first thing that you are aware of is that the place is HUGE! Carlisle is located in the rolling hills of south east Pennsylvania in what is known as “Pennsylvania Dutch Country.” The town of Carlisle dates back to 1751, but is most known for the Carlisle War College that dates back to 1904. Carlisle is also known for the Carlisle Indian Industrial School that was started in 1879. After you enter the fairground, if you look around, you’ll see that the facility is situated in a very large bowl-shaped area. For the Corvettes show, Carlisle productions only allows Corvettes to park in the infield. So, when you are inside, all you see are CORVETTES. Aside from a few trucks and support vehicles, everywhere you look, you see CORVETTES. After four or five hours, it’s sensory overload. “Oh look! Ah, just another ZR1!”

Building T is where you’ll find the “Chip’s Choice” feature Corvettes. Every year there’s a different theme. For 2011 the theme was “Corvette Barn Finds.” Everyone loves a good barn find story, so why not a collection a lost and found old Vettes – patina dirt and everything. In previous years Chip’s Choice has featured Corvette race cars, movie cars, retro rod Vettes, and more. Continue reading “Corvette Timeline Tales: August 26 – 28, 2011 – 30th Anniversary of Corvettes at Carlisle Show!” →