Bill Tower’s 40th Anniversary of Grand Sport #005 Ownership Celebration – VIDEOS

Stingray Chevrolet, in Plant City, Florida, hosts the celebration of 40 years of Bill Tower’s ownership of Grand Sport #005

Dateline: 12.4.18 – Photos by K. Scott Teeters – Milestone dates only happen once. In September 2018 I was talking with former Corvette development engineers Bill Tower and said to him, “Bill, do you realize that this December it will be 40 years since you bought your Grand Sport?” Bill sputtered a little and said, “Oh man, now you’re really making me feel old!” I said, “Ain’t we all, Bill!” and we both had a good laugh. Then I said, “You should have a party, or something, Bill.”

Bill thought about it and contacted his friend, Steve Hurley, owner of Stingray Chevrolet (a GREAT name for a Chevy dealership!), and Steve said, “Let’s do it here at the dealership. The 25-foot Christmas tree will be up and we’ll make it great!”

On December 2, 2018 Stingray Chevrolet was all Corvettes to commemorate Bill Tower’s 40th anniversary of ownership of Grand Sport #005, the winning-est of all five 1963 Grand Sport (aka, “The Lightweights”) Corvettes. When word got out, Corvette fans from far and wide said, “We’ll be there!”

The notable guests included retired Sr. VP of Global Design, Ed Welburn, curator from the National Corvette Museum Derek Moore, Grand Sport Registry owners John and Patty Hutchinson, CorvetteBlogger.com editor and owner Keith Cornett, Hendrick Performance infrastructure Manager and lead photographer Larrie Matthews, and nearly 150 Corvette fans.

Ed Welburn talked about his love affair with grand Sport #005 and how a pen & ink illustration of the car helped get him into GMI (General Motors Institute) to become a car designer. Then Stingray Chevrolet owner Steve Hurley interviewed Bill Tower about why the Grand Sport was such an important part of the long tern success of the Corvette. A Q&A session from the audience rounded out the celebration.

I will be authoring an in-depth article about the even for the 2019 February issue of Vette Vues that will be out in early January 2019.

Bill Tower is all-in when it comes to the history of the Corvette and how racing made the car what it is today; a world-class all-American sports car. In the last 20 years the Corvette Racing Team has had 13 championships, including the last three years in a row! (2016, 2017 & 2018) This would not have been possible were it not for the early efforts of Zora Arkus-Duntov and many others, that made sure that Corvette racers had the hardware to be successful against anything the international community of sports racing car had.

Stingray Chevrolet looked stunning! Steve Hurley and his team did a delightful job of decorating the showroom with a spectacular 25-foot tall Christmas tree, decked out with red and gold trim. The showroom was wall-to-wall Corvettes, including production Grand Sports, a 2013 60th Anniversary Corvette, classic Corvettes from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, plus two late model COPY drag racing Camaros. In front of the dealership C7 ZR1s, Z06’s, and Grand Sports stood guard. And by the time the event started at 2pm, the parking area in front of Stingray Chevrolet was filled with Corvettes from the Registry of Grand Sport contingent, as well as friends and fans.

Rain had been forecast but never happened; it was a beautiful Florida day for a Corvette event. And the Corvette eye candy was extraordinary. Special thanks to Steve and Susan Hurley, owners of Stingray Chevrolet for hosting the event, the Stingray Chevrolet team for their assistance with setup on a Sunday, Doug White for his support and setting up the continuous video presentation, and Derrick Moore from the National Corvette Museum for video recording the event. And lastly, Bill and Betty Tower for having the foresight 40 years ago to go out on a limb and buy Grand Sport #005 when they could.

On behalf of the Corvette community, thank you to everyone that made this event happen! – Scott

PS – Bill Tower actually purchased Grand Sport #005 on December 24, 1978 from Dave Erwin in Painted Post, New York.





Vintage Grand Sport Corvette Films from 1962 and 1963 – 2 VIDEOS

See the original Grand Sports in action at Sebring 1962 and Nassau 1963!

Dateline: 8.13.18 – Photo: GM Archives Last week while finishing up a story about Bill Tower’s Grand Sport #005 Corvette for Vette Magazine, I came across two YouTube videos posted by GM Heritage Center. The videos are silent and were probably shot with an 8mm camera that someone brought along to the events. The film looks like hand-held and amateurish, not at all the same quality of the Jam Handy films from that era. But, you do get to see the Grand Sports in action.

The above film was shot in December 1962 when Zora Arkus-Duntov took Grand Sport #001 to Sebring for testing. Note how “stock” the original batch of Grand Sports, originally called the “Lightweights” looked. Grand Sport Corvettes always suffered from front end lift which was mostly attributed to the shape of the Sting Ray. While the front end design of the Sting Ray indeed let way too much air flow UNDER the car, another big factor in the lift was how the new Corvette’s rear suspension would “squat” down. Continue reading


Vintage Grand Sport Corvette Films from 1962 and 1963 – 2 VIDEOS”


One-of-a-Kind 1965 Cut-Away, Animated Corvette Fuel Injected Coupe Sells for $1,000,000!!! – 2 VIDEOS

Barrett-Jackson buyers were in a BUYER’S MOOD and ran the bid up to $1,000,000 for the 1965 Cut-Away Corvette Coupe!!!

Dateline: 1.20.18 Image Barrett-JacksonAnytime a car auction hits the million dollar mark, it’s a thrill. Thirteen years ago this unique cut-away 1965 Corvette Coupe sold for $640,000 – a BIG number in 2005. But we sure do love round numbers that are BIG.

Be sure to check out not only that hot auction video above, but the demonstration video below Continue reading


One-of-a-Kind 1965 Cut-Away, Animated Corvette Fuel Injected Coupe Sells for $1,000,000!!! – 2 VIDEOS”


Corvette Odd-Ball – 1958 Fiberfab “Centurion” Sells at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction for $91,000! – 2 VIDEOS

One-of-six Fiberfab Centurion (1959 Stingray Racer), fully-functional, period-correct kit cars – sells for $91,000!

Dateline: 1.19.18, Images Barrett-Jackson – The “build your own car” trend was HOT in the 1960s. Most were never finished and many were badly completed. What is arguably one of the nicest-finished kit cars ever, SOLD today for an impressive $91,000! Bidding was brisk and the auctioneer really worked the car. Check out the above video.

What is surprising to me is that according to the auctioneer, the car is eligible for the Monterrey Historic Races events! How about that?

Below is a video about the real 1959 Stingray Racer.
Continue reading


Corvette Odd-Ball – 1958 Fiberfab “Centurion” Sells at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction for $91,000! – 2 VIDEOS”


1963 Grand Sport Corvette #005 Bench Racing With Corvette Engineer Bill Tower – VIDEO

Retired Corvette R&D engineer Bill Tower shares some of his insights into the background of the 1963 Grand Sport Program


 Keith Cornett, owner and editor of www.CorvetteBlogger.com has posted a real treat for Corvette race car fans on his YouTube channel. Keith and a group of Corvette friends spent some time at the Plant City, Florida home and personal car museum of retired Corvette engineer, Bill Tower. The star of the day was Bill’s 1963 Grand Sport #005 Corvette Coupe.

Bill is a living encyclopedia of Chevrolet and Corvette R&D experience and can keep an audience enthralled with insider stories about the early days of secret performance Corvette design and development. After attending General Motors Institute (GMI) in the early 1960s, Bill was hired by Chevrolet and landed a peach of a job (abet a LOT of work!) as a Development Engineer in the Corvette Design Group.
Tower worked with, and, or knew all of the key people within the world of Corvette R&D. Needless to say, Bill has stacks of stories, insights, and understandings Continue reading


1963 Grand Sport Corvette #005 Bench Racing With Corvette Engineer Bill Tower – VIDEO”


1966 Corvette vs 2015 Toyota Camry! SAY WHAT???

It’s not about numbers,
it’s about PASSION!

1966-Corvette-vs-CamryDateline: 8.27.15 – Carlos Lago at Motor Trend arguably has one of the coolest jobs of our time – driving and hot-lapping modern and classic cars, and getting paid to do it and HAVE FUN! Carlos says it all up front. The Camry is an appliance, the 1966 Corvette Sting Ray Coupe with a 4-speed, knock-off aluminum wheels, and factory side pipes is what you WANT to drive, it’s what you LUST to drive! (Make those side pipes BARK and GROWL!)

Not much is known about the Corvette other than the obvious – it’s a small-block with a four-speed and everything is stock, right down to the car’s weakest point, the painfully skinny bias-ply tires. The tires just killed the Corvette’s lap time. The Camry turned in 1:37 @97-mph compared to the Corvette’s 1:44 @ 83-mph. Continue reading


1966 Corvette vs 2015 Toyota Camry! SAY WHAT???”

Car Club USA: Corvette Homecoming – Video

Here’s What Corvettes Mean To People

CorvetteHomecoming-600

The other day Joe Pruitt, the Event Coordinator/Owner of the National Corvette Homecoming event contacted me to tell me about their new event video by Efran Films that covered the National Corvette Homecoming 2014 event. This is a very touching video that captures what Corvettes mean to people. As we know, they’re not just “car” they’re something else. Actually, the people in the video say it perfectly. This video has heart! Enjoy!Scott

www.corvettehomecoming.com
www.twitter.com/bgcorvette
www.facebook.com/bgcorvette


Motor Trend’s Head 2 Head: 1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427 vs 1968 Porsche 911L!

 

Head2Head

Late 60’s Corvette-Porsche Rivalry on Video


Dateline: 2-10-15
– Motor Trend has taken the car magazine experience to a whole new level with their video productions.
And having the videos up on YouTube is just too sweet. This video was published last August and somehow I missed it. What’a matchup: The 1967 427/435 Corvette Sting Ray Roadster vs the 1968 Porsche 911 L.

Both cars are period perfect. What the Corvette has in brute force and beautiful stereo-music booming from the factory side-pipes, the Porsche makes up for in better braking experience thanks to the 911’s low weight and agility due to quicker steering. If you go strictly by the numbers, the Corvette slams the 911L. However, the driving experience isn’t just about 0-60 and ¼-mile times. Continue reading “Motor Trend’s Head 2 Head: 1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427 vs 1968 Porsche 911L!”

Vette Videos: Hail to the 1967 L71 427/435 Big-Block Corvette!!!

Dateline: 9.3.12

A video romp salute to one of the sweetest-sounding bad-boy Corvettes ever!

When you play the video, turn the sound WAY UP!

Okay, lets get this part out of the way first. True, true – a modern C6 Z06 or ZR1 Corvette can easily walk away from anything from the big-block days – HANDS DOWN! But as our pal Mike Beal once told us, the difference between modern Corvettes and the big-block Corvettes from the olden days is that the newer cars deliver “controlled horsepower.” The old big-block Corvettes delivered “EXPLOSIVE horsepower.” Not only that, but there was a guttural rumble that let even the uninitiated know that this was one bad-ass machine.

I intuitively understood this the very first time I ever encountered a 427/435 big-block. It was the summer of 1968, I was just 14 years old and a serious model car builder. In the town next to where I lived in Collingswood, New Jersey, there was (and still is) a small hobby shop called, Sattlers Trains & Hobbies. While their main business was HO gauge electric trains, they had a big selection of model car kits. Continue reading “Vette Videos: Hail to the 1967 L71 427/435 Big-Block Corvette!!!”

Vette Videos: Larry Shinoda and Peter M. De Lorenzo Talk About Corvette Design Legend, Bill Mitchell

Dateline: 4.1.12

Shinoda shares his Mitchell “fish story” and De Lorenzo shares his “”neighborhood kid on a bike” Mitchell story!

Here's Bill Mitchell with his two favorite fish - the 1959 Stingray Racer and the 1961 Mako Shark-I. Snappy coat, Bill!

Here’s one for the Kawinkydink Department. I thought we were all done with our look back and the life and career of Larry Shinoda – wrong! This morning while surfing around the net, I found a video about Bill Mitchell. Before I knew it, there’s Larry Shinoda telling stories about his former boss, Bill Mitchell!

Most of us in the Corvette community are very familiar with the unique “shark” paint style used on the Mako Shark-I, Mako Shark-II, and the Manta Ray concept/show cars. Larry shared a wonderful story about how the guys in the painting department perfected that distinctive paint scheme.

Also interviewed in the video is the late David E. Davis, former Campbell-Ewald Advertising man, former editor of Car and Driver, and founder and former editor of Automobile Magazine. Here’s the video…

The second video is hosted by Peter M. De Lorenzo, editor and chief of AutoExtremist.com and son of former GM VP of Public Relations Anthony De Lorenzo. Continue reading “Vette Videos: Larry Shinoda and Peter M. De Lorenzo Talk About Corvette Design Legend, Bill Mitchell”

Vette Videos: 505-Horsepower LS7-Powered Duntov Motors Grand Sport

Dateline: 3.11.12

The Civilized Grand Sport Corvette Replica – Sort of…

Today you can go to your local Chevrolet dealer today and buy a Grand Sport Corvette to your liking.  Almost 50 years ago, there were only five Grand Sport Corvettes in existence and they were NOT for sale. “Unrealized potential,” “the ultimate could’a been Corvette” and many other expressions tell the original Grand Sport Corvette story. Unlike today’s C6 Grand Sports, the originals were all-out racing Corvettes, designed to give the Cobras a good run for it.

But GM had a completely different attitude about racing back then that can be nicely described as “backward.” Fortunately, all five original Grand Sports are still around. Along the way, there have been numerous companies that offered Grand Sport replicas – some, better than others. But today there is only one “officially licensed” by GM, Grand Sport replica, and that is the Duntov Motors Grand Sports.


Continue reading “Vette Videos: 505-Horsepower LS7-Powered Duntov Motors Grand Sport”