Search Results for: Dave Hill

Bill Tower’s Sebring 2019 Corvette Racing Seminar, Pt 2

Published on by Scott

In the summer of 2018 a camouflaged C8.R was seen after the IMSA race at Wisconsin’s Road America. There was some speculation that this was an indication that the C8 would be debuted soon as a 2019 model and that we would see the C8.R for the 2019 racing season.

Tantalizing indeed, but it never happened. Instead, we are seeing the allegedly aging C7.R holding 2nd place, despite IMSA’s onerous Balance of Power (BoP) restrictions. Is IMSA trying to make sure the Corvette Racing Team doesn’t win another championship? Of course, they would deny that, but it sure looks that way.

This is what Gary and Robin Pratt, and the rest of the Corvette Racing Team are up against. Let’s continue our conversation from Bill Tower’s 2019 Corvette Racing Seminar at Sebring International Raceway on Friday March 15, 2019. Read More

Anthony & Michael Saris’ Torch Red 1997 Corvette Project Car

Published on by Scott

One day while Anthony was at work his Dad call him and said, “I think we need to do one last car together.” (imagine that kind of a call) Before Anthony and Michael could tell their spouses, the guys had been to the bank and bought a wrecked 1997 Corvette coupe. C5 Corvettes have lots of potential and for a project car that’s going to be heavily modified, the wrecked Vette that came with some nice engine mods was perfect.

The 1997 Corvette took a pretty good hit that caused some slight damage to the driver’s side front section of the hydroformed side frame rail and the front transverse radiator cradle. The steel frame parts were repaired and the C5 body panels are fairly easy to replace. Anthony and Michael locally sourced as many body parts as they could; eventually replacing the front fenders, headlights, front bumper cover, and passenger side mirror.

Project cars are always full of surprises. After the collision work was completed, it was time for a new paint job. As Anthony and Michael were unloading the car off the trailer, the LS1 engine began knocking loudly. One of the competition valve springs broke. The LS1 was treated to a new set of valve springs and rockers; and it was off to the paint shop for a new coat of Torch Red. With the crash damage repaired and a new coat of paint, it was time to have some real fun. Read More

Corvette Chiefs, Pt. 1 of 5 – Zora Arkus-Duntov, Corvette’s Nostradamus

Published on by Scott

As a young man, Duntov was into boxing, motorcycles, fast cars, and pretty girls. After his formal engineering training in Berlin, Germany, Duntov started racing cars and applying his engineering skills to racecar construction. In 1935 Duntov built his first racecar with help from his racing partner Asia Orley; they called the car, “Arkus”. Their goal was to debut the car at the Grand Prix de Picardie in June 1935. But after a series of mishaps, the car caught fire and never raced. From this point forward, all Duntov wanted to do was build racecars. Read More

Jim Perkins Tribute: R.I.P. Corvette Corporate Angel

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After graduating from high school, Perkins took courses at Baylor then served three years in the Navy. After his discharge from the Navy, he took a low-level job, sorting parts at a Chevrolet warehouse, while completing his college courses. With his Navy experience and eventual degree, Perkins quickly rose through the ranks at Chevrolet in Sales & Service. In the mid-‘70s, he landed a peach-of-a-job working for then GM president, Pete Estes. That’s where Perkins learned the ropes of GM corporate life. Read More

Corvette Chassis History, Pt. 3: The C4 Chassis That McLellan Built

Published on by Scott

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. Read More

The 2020 Mid-Engine C8 Chevrolet Corvette is HERE!!! – VIDEO

Published on by Scott

The waiting is finally over! The “pie-in-the-sky” dream of Zora Arkus-Duntov of a mid-engine high-performance sports car wearing a Corvette badge has arrived. The journey to the mid-engine C8 was long, very long.

The C7 Corvette debuted on January 13, 2013 and by the end of April 2013, Chevrolet announced pricing and hard details. By the third quarter of 2013 C7 deliveries began. Then on August 14, 2014, less than a year after C7 production began, Motor Trend announced online, “SCOOP! Mid-Engine Chevrolet Corvette is a Go”.

I said, “HUH?!?!? The C7 just came out. Come on, quit it with the mid-engine tease! Read More

Z06 History Pt. 2 – The C5 Z06 Arrives!

Published on by Scott

For its day, the Z06 was a runner, so let’s just right to the performance numbers. With a power-to-weight ratio of 8.09:1, the Z06 could clock 0-to-60 mph in just 4.0-seconds and the quarter-mile in 12.0-seconds at 114-mph. Top speed was just over 170-mph! This was Dreamland in 2001! The best part was that this kind of performance could be ordered from your local Chevy dealer for about the same cost as the Corvette roadster. Gas mileage for this beast was astonishing. So long as you weren’t hot-dogging around, the Z06 could get 18 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway. Read More