The XP-819 REAR ENGINE Corvette Will Get Its Day

Published on by Scott

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 “The XP-819 REAR ENGINE Corvette Will Get Its Day” →

A Salute to the Amazing ZR-1 and ZR1 Corvette

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 12.6.11

A Salute to Chevy’s “King of the Hill” the ZR-1 and ZR1

(Check out the BIG versions of the ZR1 Tribute print on the right, at the bottom of this post.)

When the ZR-1 Corvette first arrived in 1970 almost the only people that noticed were the Corvette racers and a few magazine gearheads. That’s because RPO ZR1 was the latest of Zora Arkus-Duntov’s “racer kits.” The ZR-1 was an LT-1 version of the ‘67-’69 L-88 racer kit package that Duntov deliberately designed to be a “track-only” car. There were no creature comforts – no radio and even no heater. The suspension was completely heavy duty and could jar your molars out on normal streets. Plus, the lack of a proper radiator shroud made driving the car in stop-and-go traffic an engine killer.

Consequently, from ‘70 to ‘72, only 53 official ZR-1 Corvettes were built. After the end of ‘72, the Corvette market began to move away from performance to a boulevard car. It took 18 years for the ZR-1 to surface again, but this time as a world-class Grand Touring road machine. Packed to the gills with creature comforts and powered by the all-aluminum, double-overhead-cam, Lotus-designed, Mercury marine-built LT-5 engine, this was no “off raod use only” machine. When the clamshell hood of the press preview ‘89 ZR-1 was opened, jaws dropped and grizzled automotive journalists gasped at the sight of the LT-5.

The Corvette team was a very different group from the late ‘60s. One thing Dave McLellan and his team were determined to do was make sure their new world-class Vette was NOT launched prematurely. The team intended to release the ZR-1 as an ‘89 Corvette, but smartly chose to postpone production a year to make sure the car was right. The only downside to the entire enterprise was a small matter of the BIG price. At $27,016 on top of the $31,979 base price, this wasn’t just an engine option. No, no. everything from the flywheel back to the tires was bigger, more stout, and heavy duty. And rather than just add flares to the fenders to cover the oversized tires (ala the C3 L-88 fender flares), the entire back end of the car was widened. Unfortunately, the change was only noticeable to those with a keen Corvette eye or if the ZR-1 was next to a regular C4 Corvette. But, we won’t pick, as it was a magnificent car. Continue reading “A Salute to the Amazing ZR-1 and ZR1 Corvette” →

2004 Commemorative Edition Z06 Corvette – The “Best” C5 Vette?

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 12.4.11

A Look Back at the Last of the C5 Corvettes. Was this the “Best” C5?

For the last six months in my VETTE Magazine monthly column, I have been looking back at the end of each generation Corvette with the question, “Was this the best C_ Corvette?” (with the exception of last month where I covered the Greenwood No. 49 Corvette race car that sold at the RM Monterey Auction in August ‘11). The tern “best” is subjective because it depends on what an owner’s purpose for the car happens to be. It’s easy to make a case that the “Big Brake” ‘62 Corvette Fuelie racer kit and the ‘67 aluminum head 427/437 L89 Corvettes were the “best” of their respective generation cars based on stout performance. potential. Same with the LT5 optioned ‘96 Collector Edition Corvette with its fat ZR-1 wheels and tires. The ‘82 Collector Edition Corvette was a completely different animal. “Stout” it was not, but it was arguably the most refined of the C3 Corvettes with the liftback rear hatch adding functionality that should have been with the car from the beginning in ‘68.

The C5 2004 Commemorative Edition Z06 had what was arguably the most delicious collection of creature comforts, plus what was then the pinnacle of factory performance parts all included in a beautiful, distinctive package. Briefly, the ‘04 Commemorative Edition Z06 had the following unique features that, from a performance point of view, made it “the best C5: unique paint, stripes and graphics, special interior trim, the 1SB option package, the Z06 suspension, the ultra-stiff Z06 structure, the LS6 405-horsepower engine, AND the carbon fiber hood. When the customer took delivery of their 2004 Commemorative Edition Z06, they were driving home in a totally maxed out C5 Corvette. Continue reading “2004 Commemorative Edition Z06 Corvette – The “Best” C5 Vette?” →

Corvette Race Car Files: C4 1989 GTP Corvette Racer

Published on by Scott

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 “Corvette Race Car Files: C4 1989 GTP Corvette Racer” →

WEAR THE POWER! 1953 to 2012 Corvette Engine Tees & Sweats

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 11.29.11

Proud of your Corvette’s engine? WEAR IT, with one of our Corvette Engine Tees or Sweats!

To visit our Corvette Engine Tees & Sweats Store, click the above image!

Our designs include the following:

Blue Flame Six, 265 V-8, 283 Fuelie, 327 Fuelie, 1965 L78 396, L71 427,
427 ZL-1, 350 LT-1, 454 LS5, 350 L98, ZR-1 350 LT5, C4 LT1,
C5 LS1, C5 LS6, C6 LS2, C6 LS7, C5 LS3, C6 ZR1 LS9

There are many aspects to what makes Corvettes unique. Right from the beginning, Corvettes have been lookers. When Zora Arkus-Duntov saw the Corvette for the first time at the 1953 GM Motorama at the Waldorf Astoria, he was quoted as saying, “It was the most beautiful car I had ever seen!” But good looks will only get you so far. After a challenging start, thanks to Duntov and his team, by ‘57 with the introduction of the 283 Fuel Injection option, Chevy’s little fiberglass sports car finally was getting some respect. Continue reading “WEAR THE POWER! 1953 to 2012 Corvette Engine Tees & Sweats” →

So, You Want To Get Into The Car Magazine Biz?

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 11.29.11

An inside look into the wonderful world of automotive journalism.

"VETTE Quarterly" was the original incarnation of VETTE Magazine and only came out four times a year.

I’m sure that many of you are familiar with or are members of LinkedIn. If you are not a LinkedIn member, DO IT!  You never know what kind of connections you make. Thanks to LinkedIn I connected with a man that was familiar with my art work, and happened to be the “New Acquisitions Editor” at CarTech Books. Thanks to my LinkedIn connection with Scott Parkhurst, I was able to get a publisher for my “Illustrated Corvette Series” book. That made me a LinkedIn Believer!

As a LinkedIn member, you can join all kinds of special interest groups. One group I’m part of is the “Automotive Journalists” group. A young fellow named David posted the following question to the group. “Any advice for someone who wants to pursue automotive journalism some day?” I wrote an answer based on my experience, but it turned out that my answer was WAY over the character count limit. So, I decided to just turn it into a post here at CorvetteReport.com. If you’ve ever wondered what the magazine biz is like, below is my advice to a young car dude with the itch to be in the car mags. – Scott

Fall 1974, the car mags were splashing Chevy's new '75 Monza. Bill Jenkins' Pro Stock Vega had turned Pro Stock on its head, so it wasn't a stretch to imagine that Jenkins would build a Monza Grumpy's Toy. Drag Racing USA magazine jumped on my illustration and ran it as a cover story scoop, "Grumpy's NEW Monza!" The illustration was created with Rapid-O-Graph technical illustration pens.

I drifted into automotive journalism through the art department. I was one of those kids that was always drawing cars in school and in my free time. I was always pouring over art in Hot Rod, Motor Trend, Road & Track, and other magazines, hoping that some day, if I practiced enough, my drawings would be good enough for publication. My first published illustration was a 2-page spread in a drag racing magazine in 1975 of what I speculated Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins’ Pro Stock Chevy Monza “might” look like. I think I was paid $150, which was enough to cover my rent for a month! That was IT, I was hooked! Continue reading “So, You Want To Get Into The Car Magazine Biz?” →

Mike Yeager’s “The Last C4 Corvette”

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 11.28.11

Mid America Motorworks’ Mike Yeager, scoops up the LAST C4 1996 to roll off the Bowling Green assembly line!

Corvette people are brilliant. Mike Yeager 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. Here’s food for thought – imagine how valuable the last production line C1, C2, and C3 Corvettes would be today. Mike must have been thinking along that line when he approached Chevrolet with his unique proposal.

As the ’90s progressed, the rumors of a replacement for the aging Corvette began to build. When GM announced in mid-’95 that the ’96 model would be the last of the C4 Corvettes, Yeager launched his plan. Mike leveraged his relationship with Chevrolet with a unique proposal. Yeager’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 Yeager Garage). Mike has an impressive collection Corvettes and other cars. GM liked the proposal, had nothing to lose, and a lot of publicity to gain. So a deal was struck and Mike began his plans to make the “Last C4” a very special car.

Yeager 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 standard LT1 engine and an automatic transmission. The overall look was clean and unique. Continue reading “Mike Yeager’s “The Last C4 Corvette”” →

Annual Fleming’s Pumpkin Run Car Show in the Pines!

Published on by Scott2 Comments

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 “Annual Fleming’s Pumpkin Run Car Show in the Pines!” →

Chevrolet Timeline Tales: 1920 Indy 500 Winner, Gaston Chevrolet, Killed In Beverly Hills Race

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 11.25.11

All three Chevrolet brothers raced at the Indy 500, but only Gaston Chevrolet won the big race!

Auto racing has come a very long way in the last 100 years, but it always has been, and probably always will be, a very brutal sport. How could it not be? Part of every race involves tremendous forces at high speeds, so within that context, it’s understandable how sometimes, things can go terribly wrong.

Louis Chevrolet arrived in America in 1901. After working a few years and earning enough money, Louis sent for his younger brothers, Arthur and Gaston. All three Chevrolet brothers were mechanics and has a passion for automobile racing. Middle brother, Arthur, was not only the first of the Chevrolet brothers to race at the Indy 500, but he raced at the very first Indy 500 race in 1911. Although he only completed 30 laps and did not finish the race, Arthur was “there” for the first Indy 500, and would compete in one more Indy 500 race in 1916.

Louis was the next Chevrolet brother to race at the brickyard in 1915 and would compete again in 1916, 1919, and 1920. His best finish was 7th place in 1919 and was the only of his four Indy 500 races that he finished. But it was kid brother Gaston that would ultimately add the name “Chevrolet” to the list of Indy 500 winners. Gaston’s first Indy 500 race was in 1919, finishing the race in 10th place. But it was 1920 when Gaston qualified in 6th place with a speed of 91.550-MPH, held the lead for 14 laps, and won the race.

The Chevrolet brothers were serious racers. The story of Louis’ Chevrolet Motor Company and William Crappo Durant’s buyout is now legendary. Louis started his car company in 1911 and sold out to Durant by 1915. The following year, Louis, Arthur, and Gaston started the Frontenac Motor Corporation, specifically to design, build, and develop race cars. When Gaston entered his first Indy 500 race in 1919, he was behind the wheel of one of the family business race cars. The following year, the Chevrolet kid brother brought home the Indy 500 gold, driving the latest of the Chevrolet brothers designed race cars.

1920 must have seemed like the Chevrolet brother’s year. Much like modern race car builders, such as Greenwood, Pratt & Miller, and others, the Frontenac built customer cars. After his Indy 500 win, Gaston won a 100-mile match race against top racers Tommy Milton, who just happened to be driving a Chevrolet car, and Ralph Mulford. (Milton competed in 8 Indy 500 races and won the event in 1921 and 1923. Mulford competed in the first Indy 500, coming in 2nd place and raced in a total of 10 Indy 500 races)

But it was six months later, on November 25, 1920 in Beverly Hills, California, at a notoriously dangerous board track, that tragedy struck a fatal blow at the Chevrolet family. On the 146th lap of a 200 lap race, Gaston’s car crashed and he was killed. Continue reading “Chevrolet Timeline Tales: 1920 Indy 500 Winner, Gaston Chevrolet, Killed In Beverly Hills Race” →

Vette Videos: The Life & Times of The Father of the Corvette, Harley Earl

Published on by Scott

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: The Life & Times of The Father of the Corvette, Harley Earl” →

Corvette Timeline Tales: Happy 113th Birthday to GM’s First VP of Design, Harley Earl

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 11.22.11

It was Harley Earl that decided that General Motors needed to make a sports car.

Harley Earl is arguably the greatest designer in American automobile history. And not just because of the Corvette. Some of Earl’s classic designs include the Buick Y-Job, the 1928 LaSalle Phantom, the Firebird Series, the Cadillac Cyclone, and others. He was also credited for inventing concepts that are today, simply taken for granted. From the website, www.CarOfTheCentury.com, here’s a list of 13 concepts that Harley Earl invented:

1. Founder of the Automobile Design Profession in America

2. Inventor of the Concept car, also know as the Dream Car

3. The introduction of the Annual Styling Model Change

4. The Father of Modern Design Change in Mass production

5. The Dean of America’s Auto Design Protégés

6. The Motorama Show (where the Corvette had it’s first outing)

7. First to introduce the concept of clad modeling to Detroit

8. The Father of the Corvette

9. Opened “Harley Earl Corporation” outside of General Motors in 1945

10. Father of the Modern Car & Creator of America’s Small Car Trend

11. Harley Earl was a Giant “Advocate of Women’s Rights in the Auto Industry”

12. Invented the “Graphic Engineering” profession

13. First to introduce “Color Revolution” to Detroit’s auto world

I’m sure that the above list of 13 accomplishments should be considered a “starter list.” For fans of the olden days of automobile design, this site is a delight… http://www.carofthecentury.com Without a doubt, Harley Earl cast an enormous shadow upon General Motors.

A close second was Earl’s successor, Bill Mitchell. When Mitchell resigned in 1977, GM’s top management decided that NEVER AGAIN would “Design” have as much power as Mitchell and Earl wielded. When Mitchell left, the “focus group” model took over. Continue reading “Corvette Timeline Tales: Happy 113th Birthday to GM’s First VP of Design, Harley Earl” →

Corvette Timeline Tales: Happy 72nd Birthday to Dick Smothers

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 11.20.11

Dick Smothers – The 200-MPH Comedian

(Check out the fun videos at the bottom of this post!)
How many comedians can claim that they drove a 427 Corvette over 200-MPH at Le Mans? Probably none, except for Dick Smothers. If you are a baby boomer and were watching TV in the ‘60s, hardly a week went by when you didn’t see Tom and Dick Smothers on the tube. In the early ‘60s with the advent of 33-1/3 LP records (long-play vinyl records with five or six tracks on each side) nearly all comedians had comedy records. Some people (myself included) had collections of comedy albums that were fun to play at parties.

But the Smothers Brothers were a little different. While the comedy team format was common (Hope & Crosby, Burns & Allen, Martin & Lewis, Burns & Carlin (George), what made The Smothers Brothers different was that they were also folk singers, aka ‘Folkies.” Tom played guitar, Dick played a full-size bass, and they were dressed in matching suits with skinny ties. And when they weren’t jabbing at one another and just sang, that were quite nice and covered the standard folkie songs of the day. Their 1962 album “The Two Sides of the Smothers brothers” featured sweet songs, such as “Stella’s Got a New Dress Today” (see below video) on one side and comedy bits including as “I Fell In A Vat of Chocolate.” (see below video)

But it was their late ‘60s TV show, “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” that polarized them to mainstream Americans because of their jabs and pokes at President Nixon and the Vietnam War. Their comedy program is available on NetFlix and in retrospect, compared to modern comics, such as Jon Steward and Bill Maher, Tommy and Dicky were VERY tame.

Continue reading “Corvette Timeline Tales: Happy 72nd Birthday to Dick Smothers” →