Grady Davis’ Successful 1963 Z06 Corvette Becomes a Million Dollar Collectible
Dateline: 7-20-22 Graphics and illustrations by K. Scott Teeters, this story first appeared in the February 2010 issue of Vette magazine.
Intro: Details keep rolling out as orders pour in for the new C8 Z06 Corvette. The official pricing just came out and the car starts at $106,395 and it doesn’t take much to get past $125,000. Back in 2009, the then-new C6 ZR1 had a starting price of $103,300! I guess it’s the accounting magic of amortization. Let’s continue our look back at the origin and development of the Z06 Corvette.Continue reading “Z06 Corvette Review, Pt. 5 – The Grady Davis 1963 Z06 Race Car”→
Duntov’s New 1963 Z06 Corvette Sting Ray Battles Shelby’s New 289 Cobra and WINS!
Dateline: 6-3-22 This story originally appeared in the February 2008 issue of Vette Magazine
Introduction: The C8 Z06 has just about taken all the air out of the room when it comes to talking about Corvettes. The April 28, 2022, Michelin Corvette Bash at the National Corvette Museum was astonishing. Engineers from Michelin and the Corvette team were on hand presenting seminars loaded with technical information about the new C8 Z06. A week or so later, Team Corvette teased fans with a 30-second teaser of the 2023 Hybrid All-Wheel-Drive Corvette that will supposedly be released in 2023. Continue reading “Z06 Corvette Review, Pt 2 – The ORIGINAL Z06 – the 1963 Z06 Corvette”→
Dateline: 5.2.22 Graphics & Illustrations by K. Scott Teeters, Photos GM Archives, this story was first published in the April 2017 issue of Vette Vues Magazine – Update – The C8 Z06 has been all over the Corvette community, as it should be. Clearly, the car is a vast improvement over the C7 Z06. At the April 29, 2022 Corvette Bash event at the National Corvette Museum, Corvette Product Planner, Harlan Charles made it perfectly clear when he said, “The C8 Z06 is a race car that you can drive on the street.”Continue reading “Z06 Corvette Story, Pt 4 – The C7 Z06 and Z06/Z07”→
When it Comes to Grand Sport Replicas, Attention to Details Pays Off!
Dateline: 2-1-22 This story was first published in the February 2019 issue of Vette Vues Magazine –Larry Taylor’s passion for Corvettes might be genetic. The Clinton, Utah resident’s grandfather was into Corvettes in the 1950s. Grand Pop passed down his Corvette passion to Larry’s Dad who owned a 1966 Sting Ray that he drag raced a little and also used to trailer his boat. When it came time for Larry to enter the world of automobiles, his first Corvette was a 1959 model that he bought in 1984.
Larry has an affinity for details. Anyone who has ever gone after an NCRS Top Flight award knows it’s all about “details, details, details”. It wasn’t long before Larry’s 1959 Corvettescored a Top Flight award. Classic Corvettes are wonderful, but as the 1990s went on the C4 Corvettes were looking better and better. So in 1995 Larry decided to get a “modern” Corvette and bought a 1990 Corvette. The C4 was really nice, but he found himself pulled back to the classics. Larry sold his 1990 Corvette, but not before acquiring another NCRS Top Flight award. If your passion is classic Corvettes, you can’t get much more “classic” than a 1963 Split-Window Coupe, which, you guessed it, Larry got another NCRS Top Flight award.
While all this was going on, Larry did some open-wheel racing and always liked Corvettes with racer-style. So if you are into “racer-style” and you own a 1963 Split-Window Coupe, it is no stretch that you would be drawn to the 1963 Grand Sport Corvette; the greatest “could have been…” Corvette of all time. If you are new to the Corvette hobby you might be wondering, “What’s so special about a Grand Sport Corvette? It’s a nice model Vette, but what’s the big deal?” Well, we’re not talking about the 1996 Grand Sport, or the C6 and C7 Grand Sports. No, we’re referring to the 1963 Grand Sport Corvette all-out racecar; arguably THE most storied car in Corvette history. Here’s the short version of why the Grand Sport is still being talked about, longed for, and honored with the production and replica Grand Sports.
In early 1962, after the major engineering work was completed on the new, upcoming 1963 Sting Ray, Zora Arkus-Duntov and his team got to work on RPO Z06. Duntov’s C1 racer kit program was hugely successful, such that by the end of the 1950s and into 1962, Corvettes were a force to be dealt with in SCCA racing. The Z06 was to carry on with Duntov’s program. That is until Carroll Shelby’s 2,000-pound Cobra arrived.
Duntov was an experienced racer and he knew that his 3,000-pound Z06 Sting Ray would be no match against the 2,000 Cobra. To Duntov, it was obvious; he needed to build a lightweight Corvette and to do this if would have to have a tube frame, an exotic engine, and a lightweight replica body. But what he really needed was official permission. Fortunately for Duntov, he had a friend at the top of Chevrolet; Semon “Bunky” Knudsen.
Knudsen was a serious “car guy” corporate officer who worked his way up through the ranks at GM. As general manager at Pontiac, he turned the brand’s stodgy image around with his Wide Track, Tri-Power performance cars, and factory support in NASCAR racing. His reward for doing a great job at Pontiac was the general manager position at GM’s flagship division, Chevrolet in 1961.
Knowing he had Knudsen’s ear, Duntov outlined his plan to get around GM’s adherence to the 1957 AMA Racing Ban. Duntov’s idea was to build limited production lightweight Corvettes that would sell for around $16,000-to-$20,000 and let the customers do the racing. Knudsen green-lighted Duntov plan and five, special cars, called, “The Lightweights” were built.
By November 1962 cars were completed and were renamed “Grand Sport”. They looked almost exactly like the production Corvette, but with minor differences and no split rear window. Initial testing at Sebring in December 1962 was very promising. But when word of Duntov and Knudsen’s covert activities reached GM President Frederick Donner, the Grand Sport came to a screeching halt! Documents at The GM Heritage Center indicate that the five Grand Sports and the spare parts were ordered to be warehoused, but that didn’t last long.
Duntov gradually loaned out Grand Sports #003, #004, and #005 to privateer racers. But without a proper development program, the cars were not successful and their performance was inconsistent. By the end of the racing season, Duntov called in the three Grand Sports for a few “improvements”. Duntov wanted to give his Grand Sports a fighting chance against Shelby’s Cobras at the upcoming 1963 Nassau Speed Weeks race at the end of November and the beginning of December.
When Grand Sports #003, #004, and #005 arrived in Nassau under the banner of the “Mecom Racing Team”, they were loaded for bear. This is the now-classic Grand Sport look; fat racing tires on wide knockoff wheels, aggressive vented hood, and big wheel flares. And under the hoods were Duntov’s latest engine jewels, the all-aluminum 377 small-block Chevy with 58mm side-draft Weber carbs. It was a romp for the grand Sports, as the Cobras were thrashed.
Three months later, the 1964 class win at the 12 Hours of Sebring with Roger Penske at the wheel of Grand Sport #005 would be the high-water park for the Grand Sports. This time period saw extraordinary advancement in racecar technology, such that by the end of 1965, the three-year-old cars were outdated.
When the Grand Sports received their upgrades in preparation for the 1963 Nassau race, Grand Sports #001 and #002 were made into roadsters and held back, but were eventually sold and raced, as were the coupes. Fortunately, all of the cars survived, are in excellent condition and are each worth millions of dollars. Over the years, Grand Sport Corvettes have thrilled thousands of fans, many have lusted to own one of the five cars, and around two dozen have actually owned Grand Sports.
Enter the world of kit cars. In early 1990 a company called D&D started making Grand Sport kit cars, but the quality was not good. Mongoose Motorsports offers high-quality 1963 Grand Sport and 1980s era GTP Corvette kits and turnkey cars. Then there are the Duntov Motors Grand Sport Continuance Racecars and the Superformance custom built-to-order Grand Sport cars.
When Larry decided to merge his interest in classic Corvettes, racing, and his attention to detail skills, he decided to go for a Grand Sport replicar. The Superformance Grand Sports are fantastic but on the expensive side, so Larry decided to get a Mongoose Grand Sportroller and finish it himself.
When you buy a Grand Sport roller from Mongoose you get the bare fiberglass body and interior, and a 4-inch tube chassis and basic suspension from a 1988 Corvette. The rest is up to you and your skill level. Larry bought the rolling chassis in April 2016. Many Grand Sport replica cars are finished as street machines with modern paint, wheels, tires, and amenities. A few are street versions of the real Grand Sport replicars. If you are going the racecar replicar route, you have to research which livery you want to replicate. Since the three Grand Sport coupes were raced by numerous owners; in different configurations; and liveries; one has to do their homework; and pay attention to details. Fortunately for Larry, he’s very good at that. After careful research, Larry chose the Sebring ’64, Delmo Johnson, and Dave Morgan livery. Today the actual car is part ofThe Reve Institute in Naples, Florida.
An all-aluminum 377-cubic-inch Donovan small-block Chevy engine with four Weber 48-mm side-draft carbs powers Larry’s Grand Sport. The real small-block Grand Sports used 58-mm Webers, but they are insanely expensive. The side exhausts are hand fabricated. The radiator, oil cooler, and power brake booster are 1963-style. The transmission is an M22 4-speed “Rock Crusher” and the shifter is an original 1963 shifter.
The front suspension is from a 1988 Corvette and has rack & pinion steering. The rear suspension is somewhat unusual. It is a modern coil-over suspension that uses the C4 differential and “batwing” rear cover and carrier. For an authentic look, Larry added a set of C2/C3 leaf springs and painted the batwing differential carrier black.
The wheels are 15×8 Halibrand aluminum replicas that have been powder-coated gold. The real Halibrand cast magnesium wheels had gold Dow 7 Magnesium Coating. When the real Grand Sports were racing they used then state-of-the-art Firestone racing tires. Larry’s Grand Sport replica uses 15×8 period-size correct Goodyear racing tires. As mandated back in the day when the Grand Sports were racing, there’s a spare tire in the “trunk” area.
“font-size: large;”>As delivered, Larry’s Grand Sport interior was bare fiberglass. Larry added some extra bolsters to the fiberglass seats, period-correct seat belts, a fire extinguisher, and a period-correct CB radio and antenna. The speedometer has been fitted with a 200-mph speedometer face and the factory fuel gauge has been replaced with an oil temp gauge. The toggle switches control the main fuel pump, differential cooler, and reserve fuel.
With a ton of photographic references for the Grand Sport #004 that currently resides at the Collier Museum, Larry applied his attention to detail skills to his Grand Sport replicar. As seen in these photos, the car was just completed in November 2018. Larry’s plans for 2019 are to show the car at Corvette shows and maybe at the National Corvette Museum. Then, he will bring the car back into his shop, remove the body, add all of the required modern safety equipment, and then take the car to the track.
The Donavan 377 small-block Chevy engine pulls around 550-horsepower, so weighing in around 2,250-pounds, that’s a power-to-weight ratio that will be a lot of fun on the track. Larry says, “I just want to have the experience of being on a race track with my Grand Sport and other vintage cars, just to be there; not to race and win anything, but just to get a sense of what it must have been like back in 1964.”
That’s something I believe we have all fanaticized about Larry. Go for it! – Scott
Against all odds, a 1996 Grand Sport Coupe and Convertible live two blocks from one another in rural Florida!
Dateline: 1-23-22, this story was originally published in Vette Vues Magazine –When we moved to the tiny town of Lake Placid, Florida in 2014, I wasn’t expecting such a robust car culture. It’s not huge, but it is considerable. Once a year in July, Lake Placid hosts their annual Caladium Festival, with a Car & Bike Show at the DeVane Park that is well attended.
Lake Placid is located 15 miles south of Sebring in Highlands County, in south-central Florida. The town was chartered by Melvil Dewey, the inventor of the Dewey Decimal System, and is the sister city of Lake Placid, New York. The town is best known for several things: it is the “Town of Murals” (there are 46 murals painted on downtown businesses), the “Toby The Clown Foundation” Clown College, the “Caladium Capital of the World,” 27 freshwater lakes, and in 2012 Reader’s Digest Magazine voted Lake Placid as “The Most Interesting Town in America.”
With only 2.84 square miles and a population of around 2,000, the best way to describe the town is; think “Mayberry” as in “The Andy Griffith Show.” Between Sebring and Lake Placid there are orange groves, farms, and cow pastures. To the south, east, and west of the town, there are more farms, pine trees, cows, and let’s not forget the gators and bears!
Lake Placid is also home to two of the rarest special edition Corvettes, a 1996 Grand Sport Coupe and Convertible. And here’s the kicker – they both reside within two blocks of one another! Ron Ellermanis the original owner of the 1996 Grand Sport Corvette Coupe and John Meyerhoff is the owner of the 1996 Grand Sport Convertible.
I met John Meyerhoff in 2015 after a man tipped me off about “… a guy in Lake Placid that has one of EVERY generation Corvette!” Before the C7 came out, Meyerhoff had one of each generation. John sold his C1 to make room for his future C7, but it gets even better. John’s lady, Mary Carol Plottalso has four Corvettes! Now THAT’S a “Corvette Power Couple”! John and Mary Carol appropriately met at a car show in Lake Placid. How’s that for Fate?
John got the Corvette bug back in the mid-1960s thanks to a fellow Navy officer and bought his first Vette, a 1966 427/425, 4-speed Mosport Green Roadster, around Christmas 1965. After John settled down and started a family, the Corvette was exchanged for a down payment on a house.
By the late 1970s, John got into a 1973 350/250 L82 roadster that fell casualty to a divorce and there were no Corvettes in John’s life for 15 years. John eventually remarried and by 2001, bought a new Magnetic Red convertible. John found the 2001 convertible to be a very comfortable road car and started racking up lots of miles. He was also getting close to retirement time.
Most of us have a soft spot for our “first Vette,” so John began searching for another 1966 427/425 roadster. Finding another Mosport Green 1966 big-block roadster, but he finally found one that was close enough, a super sano Sunfire yellow 427/425 Roadster. With no power steering or brakes and a very heavy clutch, this is NOT a daily driver, but it makes for a great show car.
After full retirement, John’s wife passed and he decided that “Corvettes” would be his retirement.
“I came up with a new goal. I wanted one Corvette of each generation and I happened to find the 1996 Grand Sport Convertible. It was really dumb luck because although I had owned many Corvettes, I didn’t follow the special editions, so I really didn’t know what I had, I just liked the color scheme and the fact that it’s a convertible. It turns out that it’s one of four other Grand Sports with the exact same combo of options. Then to fill up the collection, I got the 1969 427 Convertible, then got a red-on-red 1960 Corvette. Before the C7 came out, I had one of every generation!”
Except for the Grand Sport Convertible, John’s five Corvettes are mildly modified. He doesn’t race them, but he does enjoy them with an occasional blast. John’s attitude when it comes to his Corvettes is that if a modification will improve the car’s performance or durability and drivability, he doesn’t mind making changes.
Ron Ellerman’s story is quite different. Ron was a boilermaker by trade and eventually owned a very successful, full-service car wash in Ohio. Over the years Ron had numerous interesting cars and motorcycles, but in his heart, he always wanted a Vette. He got his first Corvette bite when his older brother let him borrow his 1966 427 Roadster while Ron was in high school.
“I was always good at working on cars. As long as I could get something apart, I could reassemble it. In 1996 my local Chevrolet dealer had one Grand Sport Coupe on the showroom floor that he was using as an attraction. I kept looking at the car and thinking how much I wanted it, but the dealer wouldn’t sell! He was hoping to be able to keep it for himself, but I kept working on him. Eventually, he called me and we made the deal.”
Ron was having some health issues and recounts;
“I decided that I couldn’t put it off any longer. I let my business buy the car as a “company car,” paid it off, took the depreciation, and eventually sold the car to myself. The car is totally-stock and has run perfectly for the most part for 20 years. I took the car to a Mecum auction to sell, but couldn’t get what I know the car is worth (1996 Grand Sports are currently very undervalued), so I decided to keep it, probably for good. The car now has just over 10,000 miles on it. I recently noticed a small oil leak at the rear main seal – not bad for a 20-year-old car, I suppose. Since getting the Grand Sport I’ve had lots of “fix-up” cars that I worked on and sold. I had VW Bugs, old Cadillacs, a hot rod Nova, street rods, a few boats, and three Harleys. I like working on and fixing cars, and I love driving my Grand Sport Corvette.”
Let’s talk a little about what makes the 1996 Grand Sport Corvettes so unique. The 1996 Grand Sport option listed for $3,250 for the coupe and $2,880 for the convertible. Here’s what was included: dedicated Admiral Blue paint with white center stripes, special details, 17-inch ZR-1-style 5-spoke wheels with painted black spokes shod with P275/40ZR17 tires on the front and P315/35ZR17 rear tires, rear-wheel flares, all-black interior or black/red interior, iconic red fender hash marks, and sequential serial numbers.
The convertible Grand Sports had slightly smaller tires – P255/45ZR17 on the front and P285/40ZR17 on the rear and no rear fender flares. The reason the convertible had slightly less wide tires was that engineering felt that the convertible owners would not be happy with a more grip with a less rigid chassis structure.
Except for the red accents on the throttle body and the “Grand Sport” lettering, the LT4 looked identical to the LT1. Inside the LT4 it was hot rod heaven and included increased compression (10.8:1 vs 10.4:1) improved aluminum heads, Crane roller rocker arms, a revised camshaft, stronger crank, and revised pistons. All LT4-equipped 1996 Corvettes had 8,000-rpm tachometers. The Grand Sport option was a beautiful way to celebrate the end of the C4 Corvette line.
When it comes to collectability and desirability, low production numbers are key. Chevrolet offered six special edition C4 Corvettes:
1986 Pace Car Replica (all 1986 Convertibles): 7,315 units
1988 35th Special Edition Package: 2,050 units
1993 40th Anniversary: 6,749 units
1995 Pace Car Replica: 527 units
1996 Collector Edition: 5,412 units
1996 Grand Sport: 1,000 units – 810 Coupes, and190 Convertibles
No one pays ANY attention to the 1986 Pace Car Replicas; the production numbers were too high and it was just a Corvette convertible with stickers. And while the 1995 Pace Car Replica has the lowest production numbers of all of the C4 special editions, the Grand Sports have the patina of one of the coolest Corvette monikers ever, as an honor to the original five 1963 Grand Sport Corvette racers.
Also, while the 1995 Pace Car Replica has just over half the production numbers than that of the Grand Sport, the Grand Sport has the better LT4 engine, performance suspension, fender flares for the coupe version, and ZR1 wheels and tires. Where the 1995 Pace Car replica is a pretty car, the Grand Sport is a tough guy!
John Meyerhoff and Ron Ellerman are perfect examples of people that got the “Corvette Fever” that’s permanent. Duntov always wanted his customer to “enjoy their Corvette.” So with only 1,000, Grand Sports built, what are the odds of these two unique Corvettes residing in the tiny town of Lake Placid, Florida just two blocks from one another? Pretty amazing! – Scott
Car magazines were my friends when I was a young teenager in the late ’60s. While I was crazy about Corvettes, there were no road racing tracks, only a drag strip close to where I lived in Collingswood, New Jersey. So, if I wanted some racing action, the drags was it; which was fine by me because tire-burning muscle cars regularly roamed the streets of our town, and were SO COOL.
Zora and his brother, Yura were making and selling their Ardun hemi-head conversion kits for flat-head Fords in the early 1950s.
Hi-Performance CARS, Popular Hot Rodding, Car Craft, Car and Driver, Car Life, and Hot Rod Magazine were my favorite flavors for fun reading. But somehow, the December 1967 issue of Hot Rod got past me, as I did not see that issue until way after eBay sellers started selling them 20 years ago. Recently I picked up a copy to add to my Corvette library.
The BIG SPLASH is the cover! There was Zora on the cover of Hot Rod, in a corporate gray suit, white shirt, a narrow black tie, and all smiles; but then again, Zora never knew a camera he didn’t like. And why wouldn’t he have been a happy guy, sitting there with four exotic experimental Chevrolet engines; single-overhead cam heads, and double-overhead cam heads with fuel injection systems of different configurations. Duntov even pushed to offer a SOHC kit for small-block Chevy engines via the Chevrolet Parts Catalog! Imagine that under the hood of your Vette!
Hot Rod’s editor, Jim McFarland got the plum assignment to go to Detroit with a recorder and interview Duntov about “some” of the experimental engines Chevrolet engineers were playing with. After the sixth paragraph, McFarland turns over the mic to Zora to take it from there. Duntov was very exacting and articulate in explaining everything he was allowed to talk about. Zora may have been the ultimate corporate misfit in his time, but he knew when to stop talking.
Here’s Zora and Jim McFarland many years after the famous Hot Rod Magazine “Inside Chevy’s Secret Engines!” December 1967 cover story.
The article is a fascinating peek inside the thinking of Chevrolet performance engineers, circa 1967. Enjoy! – Scott
Before the 1969 427 ZL1, there was the All-Aluminum 377 Small-block Chevy!
Dateline: 5-7-21, This story by K. Scott Teeters was first published in the October 2019 issue of VETTE magazine – In the early 1960s, an aluminum performance engine was as exotic as fuel injection, independent suspension, and four-wheel disc brakes. The first mention of an all-aluminum engine for a Corvette was in Zora Arkus-Duntov’s proposal outline for the Q-Corvette in 1957. Ed Cole was Chevrolet chief engineer from 1952 to 1956 and was the lead engineer in the design and development of the small-block Chevy.
The Wintersteen L88 Grand Sport #002 resides at the Simeone Museum in Philadelphia, PA. Part of the collection includes the hand-made #002 Roadster replica body and one of the all-aluminum 377 SBC engines that Dr. Simeone purchased from Jim Jeager. The replica body is mounted to a chassis buck with an interior.
Cole was a mechanical engineering visionary. After he became Chevrolet’s general manager in 1956, Cole announced his 1960 Q-Chevrolet concept that would put a transaxle into every car to improve traction and handling and eliminate the transmission hump that would open up the interior. Cole’s plan included the Corvette.
Even before going to work for Chevrolet, all Duntov wanted to do was to build racecars. Based on his racing knowledge, Duntov’s Q-Corvette was spectacular and included; a four-speed transaxle, four-wheel independent suspension, four-wheel disc brakes, and an all-aluminum fuel injected 283 engine. Duntov is usually credited with the all-aluminum small-block Chevy, a deeper look tells a slightly different beginning.
The design parameters of Cole’s SBC were that the engine should be; small, lightweight, simple, and inexpensive. Cole reasoned that an aluminum version of the SBC using a new aluminum-silicone alloy would be obviously lighter and probably less expensive to make. To keep costs down, there would be no valve seat inserts, no pressed-in valve guide inserts, or cylinder liners. But sometimes a simple idea turns out to not be so simple.
Problems started right from the beginning. The complex molds used sand cores and the completed castings required extensive machining. Sand-cast aluminum is high in porosity and low in density. During machining, cavities would open up in the castings, causing a high rejection rate, which drove up the cost.
Another indication that this is likely to be one of the Nassau Invasion 377s is the chrome stamped steel valve covers. Photos in the “Corvette Grand Sport” book by Paddock and Friedman from the race show the same valve covers.
Aluminum pistons on aluminum bores were hard to lubricate and would scuff the bores. Between the strength of materials and the casting challenges, pouring aluminum into molds designed for cast iron wasn’t going to work for mass production.
Weber carbs were THE hot setup in the 1960s before fuel injection became more efficient. The 377 used four massive 58mm side-draft carburetors. The “EW” on the float chamber cover stands for Edoardo Weber, the founder, and inventor of the Weber carburetor.
A few aluminum engines were completed. Duntov installed one in his CERV-I car in 1959, but the valves would freeze to the guides when the temperature went low. Mickey Thompson got an aluminum engine for an Indy car project and bored the cylinders to installed steel sleeves to reduce the C.I.D. to the Indy limit of 255-C.I.D.
Note the non-stock location of the alternator. This was to slightly lower the car’s center of gravity.
Roger Penske had TRACO modestly build an aluminum SBC to just 300-horsepower for his Cooper Monaco. When TRACO was done, the engine weighed just 350-pounds; the lightest of all the aluminum SBCs.
Forensic evidence gleaned from the book, “Corvette Grand Sport” by Paddock and Friedman indicates that based on the shape of the collector on the headers, this was most likely one of the engines used during the Nassau assault in 1963.
The original SBC was never designed to be cast in aluminum. So when exact copies were cast in aluminum, the basic weaknesses of the original design were obvious. In 1960 some Corvette brochures offered 275 and 315-horsepower fuel injection engines with aluminum heads but were canceled early in production due to breakage. Briggs Cunningham was to be given several sets of aluminum heads for his Corvette Le Mans assault, but none were installed.
When Duntov started planning his Lightweight Sting Rays in early 1962 to battle Shelby’s Cobras, the SBC had 327-cubic-inches. Duntov insisted on an all-aluminum 327, reasoning that the heavy-duty parts from the L84 Fuelie would be more than enough for his racing engine. Unlike the previous aluminum engines, steel cylinder liners were pressed into the block. After each block was machined, it was water-tested for leaks. If leaks couldn’t be fixed with welding they were scrapped.
The most significant change to the basic block was that the main bearing webs were thicker and four-bolt main bearing caps were used. The earlier aluminum SBCs were not delivering any significant power increases, so it was decided that more cubic inches were needed. A 4.00-inch stroke yielded 402-cubic-inches. However, experimentation showed that the engine was happier with a 3.75-inch stroke that yielded 377-cubic-inches. Notches had to be made into the insides of the block for connecting rod clearance.
Numerous cylinder head designs were considered. The wildest was a hemi head design with two spark plugs per cylinder. The hemispherical combustion chamber allowed for larger 2.20-inch intake and 1.72 exhaust valves. The intake system was a Rochester constant-flow fuel-injection unit. This was Duntov’s preferred engine for his Lightweight but never was developed or tested. Engineers expected 600-horsepower from the 402-cubic-inch configuration.
The Mark II big-block with its unique “porcupine” semi-hemi heads was in development, so engineers designed and cast similar sets of aluminum heads for the SBC. Initial tests showed that they did not flow as well as the standard wedge combustion chamber heads, so the concept was dropped. If the heads had been developed they could have been a game-changer and made it into production cars.
Twelve aluminum 377 blocks were successfully machined and designated “A” to “L”. WhenJohn Mecum took delivery of three Grand Sport Corvettes as part of his Nassau invasion, the cars had aluminum 377s with four 58-mm Webers. After the Grand Sports stomped the Cobras at Nassau, the cars were bought and sold at a brisk pace.
Engineers learned that the aluminum 377s were good for short races, such as Nassau, but not durable for long races, such as Sebring. When Penske raced Grand Sport #005 at Sebring in 1964, his car was powered by a steel version of the 377 and performed very well.
Several of the engines were sent to Jim Hall and installed into his Chaparrals. Hall was instructed to install the engines and not to change anything except for timing and settings for the Webers. The engines were plugged in, raced, and returned to Chevrolet for evaluation.
The inscription of the transmission is unusual and indicates that it was likely to have been a specially built unit. “W.O.26310” could have meant “Work Order”. “TRANS #7-B” could have meant the second rebuild of transmission #7. Also note that the bolts on the case side plate are aircraft safety wired. A special team at Chevrolet built all of the 377 engines, the safety wiring was likely a deterrent to tampering.
As the engines were raced, eventually nearly everything either failed or upon examination was soon to fail. For instance, when one engine threw a rod, engineers used a new process for making rods called, Vacuum-Induction Melt steel to insure no impurities in the raw forging. When bolts were magnafluxed and showed signs of stress, all bolts were then over-designed. Rocker-arm lube was another issue and there were electrical problems with the early-transistorized regulators and ignition amplifiers.
Note the serial number on the back of the block casting, “0240983” and the casting date, “8-20-63”. This “could” have been one of the engines used in the 1963 Nassau assault in early December 1963 that stomped on the Cobras.
Exhaust headers were showing signs of cracking at the ports due to metallurgical problems. This was fixed by using a different welding process. Camshaft gears were failing when dry-sump oil systems were installed. Excessive stress and wear on the camshaft drive gear caused the distributor to retard the timing; causing a drop-off in power.
Privateers raced all of the Grand Sports and many changes were made to the cars. One of the previous owners of the Simeone 377 built this expanded capacity oil pan. Original versions of the engines used as many stock performance parts as possible
The perceived advantage of the all-aluminum SBC was weight; the complete engine weighed 150-pounds less than a cast iron version, however, the aluminum engines didn’t make quite as much power. Because durability was such a serious issue, in the early years, development work went into durability.
Eventually, the aluminum SBC reached optimum development, priced itself out of racing, and didn’t contribute any parts that went into production engines. Close to the end, there was talk of an overhead-cam kit for the SBC, but no action was taken. The amount of money spent on the program was an accounting nightmare for sure. At best, all the problem-solving saved years of development time for the all-aluminum Can-Am block and the ZL1. In a sense, the all-aluminum SBC was a prehistoric ZL1, domed by the basic “bread and butter” design of the original SBC. – Scott
Reproductions of this post’s lead illustration of the All-Aluminum 377 Small-Block Chevy and the Grand Sport #005 are available as 11″ x 17″ prints, signed and numbered by the artist, CLICK HERE!
And for fans of the 1963 Grand Sport Corvette, we have LOTS of Grand Sport Corvette prints CLICK HERE!
A loving tribute to a brother, a husband, a father, a hero, and the very first production Z06 Corvette Sting Ray racecar
We all have “defining moments” in our life. You know, those rare moments that can happen in an otherwise ordinary day that changes the course and direction of your life. It could be the day the prettiest girl in class “smiles that smile” that makes you forever a softie for blonds. Or, like for me, the day I saw a 1965 Corvette Sting Ray Coupe at a Chevrolet dealership and a salesman gave me a brochure with technical line art that helped set me on my life course.
In late September 1962, 16-year-old Doug MacDonald had such a defining moment. Doug’s big brother was road racing legend and 2014 National Corvette Museum Hall of Fame Inductee, Dave MacDonald. When your brother is eleven years older than you, while you are growing up, your perception is that your sibling is “one of the adults.” In 1960, Dave MacDonald started racing a 1957 Corvette when he was 23 years old and Doug was only 13, so the best Doug could do was hang around on the sidelines, take in as much as he could understand, and do his best to stay out of the way!
Dave MacDonald was one of a group of Southern California guys that were Zora Arkus-Duntov’s favorite people – young men that raced their Corvettes. These were the burgeoning years of the California car culture. What’a time to be a young man with a driver’s license and a knack for mechanics! Dave had a job at Don Steves Chevrolet and formed a friendship with salesman Jim Simpson. Together the young fellows bought a beat-up 1957 Corvette and built a racecar. Simpson helped get a small sponsorship from their employer and the two lads were off to the races.
The Dave MacDonald story is now legendary and I have covered Dave MacDonald’s amazing but short career in the October 2012 issue of Vette Vues. Dave was a natural and taught himself to drive racecars via the school of trial and error. It didn’t take too long before crowds started to notice MacDonald’s “tail out” driving style and quickly nick-named the young man, “The Master of Oversteer.” (Dave would have LOVED modern “Drifting” racing!)
What most of the young fellows that were honing their skills on the SoCal racetracks didn’t know was that important and powerful men in the racing and manufacturing were closely watching the amateur-racing scene, looking for talent. As MacDonald kept racking up an impressive string of wins, two of the most powerful men in manufacturing and racing were following Dave very closely – Zora Arkus-Duntov and Carroll Shelby.
MacDonald’s rookie year was 1960 when he took five 1st place wins out of 18 races – a 27% victory rate! The following year in 1961, Dave drove the Don Steves Corvette to 15, 1st place wins out of 25 races – a 60% victory rate. From January to April 1961 Dave and Jim won the first nine races. For the season, the guys only had three 2nd place finishes and five “DNF” (Did Not Finish), and one “DNS” (Did Not Start) race. One DNF race was with their all-new, Max & Ina Balchowsky purpose-built 1961 Corvette.
The purpose-built Balchowsky Corvette happened because one day at the track, Carroll Shelby told Dave and Jim that to take their racing to the next level, they should get a Balchowsky purpose-built car. “Purpose-built” racecars were hand fabricated, tube chassis cars with hand-made, lightweight fiberglass silhouette replica bodies. Think prehistoric tube frame Trans-Am cars. Balchowsky’s 1959 “Old Yeller II” was already a legend, so Max and his wife Ina were the “go-to” couple for competitive hand-made racecars.
When word got out that MacDonald and Simpson were building a tube frame Corvette, it got the attention of Mr. Duntov because he too was thinking about building a tube frame Corvette, but with the body of the upcoming new 1963 Sting Ray. Yes, we’re talking about the Grand Sport Corvette during its larva stage. One day, when Duntov was in the Los Angeles area, he stopped by MacDonald’s house for a visit and to check out what Dave and Jim were up to!
Doug MacDonald was just 14 years old then and recalled, “Mr. Duntov’s accent was so thick, I couldn’t understand much of what he said. Somehow, Zora and Dave understood each other enough, but I was completely lost.” A bond of racer’s respect was forged and Duntov would later put Dave to work for some interesting “field testing” opportunities. The 1,750-pound purpose-built car, now called the, “1961 Corvette Special”, was powered by a mildly modified 327 Fuelie, and had tremendous potential. Dave and Jim now had two cars they were campaigning on a small budget, despite the Don Steves Chevrolet sponsorship.
From October 1961 to May 1961 Dave and Jim raced the 1961 Corvette Special in eight races, taking four 1st place wins! But a close examination of the points standings showed that Dave and Jim had a better chance of a championship racing with their stock-based Corvette racer. So, the 1961 Corvette Special was sidelined. Both young men were gunning for a championship!
But Duntov’s meeting with MacDonald made a powerful impression on the Corvette chief engineer. By the summer of 1962 when preproduction Corvettes were ready for some promotional track testing, MacDonald and Dr. Dick Thompson were invited to a sampling. From June 29 to July 2, 1962, Chevrolet produced a promotional film with MacDonald and Thomson driving a ‘63 Coupe and Roadster at the GM test track. After a few laps, Mr. Duntov interviewed the drivers. The promotional film is titled, “Biography of a Sports Car” and fortunately is on YouTube. The television commercial for the then-new 1963 Corvette Sting Ray has footage of Dick Thompson and Dave MacDonald driving a coupe and convertible at the test track. This too is on YouTube.com.
A few weeks later, Duntov flew Dave and Sherry, Jerry Grant, and Bob Bondurant out to St. Louis to pick up three of Duntov’s latest “racer kit” Z06 Corvettes. Chevrolet brass decided to give Dave Z06 #1! That’s right, the Don Steves Chevrolet Z06 Corvette racecar is the first “official” Z06 to roll off the assembly line! Jerry Grant drove his Sting Ray out to Washington state, while Dave and Bob drove their cars to California.
Dave and Sherry loaded their suitcases in the back of the Sting Ray and headed west. Dave actually liked his lady driving a hot car. Sherry recounts, “A lot of times if I was driving one of our Corvettes, Dave was always telling me, “Drive faster, drive faster!” Do you think the MacDonalds opened up the Z06 on the way home from St. Louis? Sherry remembers seeing the speedometer pegged at over 140-mph! But the Z06 wasn’t their personal car; it was scheduled to become a racecar. The MacDonald’s would soon purchase a new Sting Ray as their personal car; a Riverside Red 1963 Fuel Injected Sting Ray Coupe with 4.11:1 gears, 4-speed, and power windows. Yes, it was very quick.
Meanwhile, back at home; Doug MacDonald could not have been more stoked! His big brother/hero was being flown around the country with all expenses paid by Duntov and Chevrolet. Dave was track testing preproduction Corvettes for Zora and now was one of four select racers (Dave, Jerry Grant, Bob Bondurant, and Mickey Thompson), personally invited by Duntov himself, to take delivery of what was supposed to be Zora’s secret weapon for his Corvette racer customers, RPO Z06. The all-new Sting Ray with its much-improved frame, structure, chassis, and Fuel Injected 327 was now available with a special suspension and brakes package that was designed for victory.
The long trip home was designed to break in the Z06 so that by the time the cars arrived in California, they could be prepped for the L.A. Times 5th Annual Grand Prix Race at Riverside 3-Hour Enduro in October. Doug’s big brother Dave and sister-in-law Sherry were driving the new Z06 home from St. Louis where the car had just rolled off the assembly line. This was VERY heady stuff for a 15-year-old kid!
Phone calls along the way kept the MacDonald family apprised of the trip home. When Dave and Sherry got off the freeway and called home, what they didn’t know was that they had company. “New Cars” were hyped back then, but not like they are today. Think for a moment what cars looked like in 1962, and then hold in mind the images of a 1963 Corvette Sting Ray Split-Window Coupe. There was NOTHING like it. The new Sting Ray looked like “the automobile from another planet!” Buck Rogers and George Jetson didn’t even have rides this cool!
Doug was waiting outside of his parent’s home when Dave and Sherry turned the corner of their street. Doug recalls, “I could not believe what I saw. The bright white Sting Ray was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life! But as the car turned the corner of our street, a dozen or more other cars were following Dave and Sherry – and we didn’t live on a busy street. These people followed Dave and Sherry off the freeway and to our house because they wanted to see this stunning new Corvette! I’ll never forget it. We were all stunned!” The scene was forever burned into Doug’s memory and 54-plus years later, Doug MacDonald would be driving his own white Corvette Stingray, with a special purpose in mind.
With less than three weeks before the L.A. Times 5th Annual Grand Prix 3-Hour Enduro race, Dave and Bill Thomas (Mr. Cheetah) got as much done to prep the car as they could. Modifications were limited to rebuilding the engine, installing side exhaust, adding a roll bar, and removal of the bumpers. The Sting Ray’s fender humps and hood bulge were painted blue with red pin striping and “Don Steves Chevrolet” and MacDonald’s “00” lettering was added.
Anything can go wrong in an endurance race, even the simplest things. The biggest challenge to the new Corvettes was Shelby’s new Cobra that weighed 1,100-pounds less than the 3,100-pound Corvettes. In the first hour of the race, hard-charging MacDonald fought Billy Krause, driving the Cobra. Just before the end of the first hour, within minutes of one another, the driver’s side rear wheel of MacDonald’s Z06 came off (likely due to one or more loose lug nuts), then Krauss’ Cobra broke a rear axle. Later in the second hour, the engines in the Bondurant and Grant cars let go, leaving Doug Hooper, driving the Thompson Z06 to win the race.
Thompson, ever the showman, proclaimed, “I don’t think its ever been done before! A new production car winning the first time out.” While a “win is a win,” it was a default win because Corvettes would be chasing after Cobras until Duntov’s L88 arrived in 1967. Ironically this was the last time MacDonald ever professionally raced a Corvette. By the end of 1962, Carroll Shelby offered Dave a golden opportunity as a full-time driver. The Don Steves Corvette was raced a little, but nothing serious. The car has since been beautifully restored and is currently owned by Jim and Nancy Jaeger.
Life often offers up pivotal moments where a single decision can make profound changes. Dave MacDonald’s decision to take Shelby’s offer to professionally drive Cobras took Dave away from the world of Corvettes and into Shelby’s world of beasty Cobras – which Dave loved driving. Not only was MacDonald driving Cobras, he was helping to develop the cars. Dave was also deeply involved in the development of the fastback Cobra Daytona. He was also given the opportunity to race NASCAR stock cars. But back then, just as it is today, the big prize in American racing it to drive and win the Indy 500.
Mickey Thompson was called, “The King of Speed” because he was into anything fast on four wheels and “Sir Mick” wanted an Indy 500 win for his record. Thompson developed a radical, mid-engine Indy racer that was extra low to the ground thanks to its tiny 12-inch tires. The car debuted at the 1963 Indy 500 with mixed results, but after the race, Thompson hired MacDonald to drive for him the following year. But a month later, USAC officials mandated all cars run on 15-inch wheels for future 500s. This was devastating news to Thompson, as the change raised the car’s center of gravity, negated the unique design advantage, and caused the car to lift at speed.
Many of the top drivers of the day track-tested Thompson’s car but passed on driving for Thompson in the 1964 Indy race. However, MacDonald would stay loyal to his friend and not abandon him. Dave also viewed the Indy 500 as a big opportunity and that if he backed out, he’d never be invited back. (probably not so, but it looked that way to Dave) Many drivers questioned his decision. Racing legend Jimmy Clark was track practicing and following MacDonald on Carb Day when Clark pulled off the track after Dave and told him, “Get out of that carmate! Just walk away!” Later, Dave reiterated to Sherry that if he walked away, he’d be branded a “candy-ass”. Even Carroll Shelby tried to get MacDonald to change his mind with the promise of a ride in a really good car for 1965. But Dave’s “word” was his word”.
When the race started, MacDonald, ever the hard-charger, did what he’d always done on a racetrack – charged hard, passing everywhere he could. Racer Johnny Rutherford later reported that MacDonald’s car seemed to be handling badly and he thought, “He’s either gonna win this thing or crash!” At the beginning of the second lap, the Sears-Allstate Special went out of control and crashed, taking the lives of Dave MacDonald and Eddie Sachs.
Life for the MacDonald family would never be the same. Doug MacDonald was so overcome with grief and anger that he burned all of the memorabilia he’d collected about his brother’s racing career and he didn’t drive a car for several years. Sherry MacDonald raised their children; Rich and Vicki. After a long investigation, the Indy officials concluded that the crash was caused by the car’s design and there was, “No driver error!” In retrospect, one has to wonder why the car was approved to race in the first place.
But time heals most wounds – sort of.
Doug MacDonald eventually did some racing on his own and for a few years was a driving instructor at the Bob Bondurant Racing School. Over the years, Doug had a few stout Camaros and Corvettes. But for Doug, two things never changed; his passion for Corvettes and the memory of Dave and Sherry driving down his street in that brand new, white 1963 Z06 Corvette Sting Ray. Then in 2009, Doug made the leap into what was then, Chevy’s closest thing to an all-out racing Corvette, the C6 Z06. Doug’s Z06 was Atomic Orange and he added the rear spoiler and aftermarket hood.
In 2012 Doug had the opportunity to get a previously owned D&D Grand Sport replica. The car was a blast to drive but has its own unique ownership challenges. Grand Sport and Cobra replica cars show us just how rough and brutish the originals truly were. These are not cars that owners tend to drive a lot. They are loud, harsh, and garish. No one takes long trips in them, as they’re not especially comfortable. You can’t go to the store in one because; A. There’s no storage space, and B. You wouldn’t want to leave the car parked without an armed Blackwater Security guard or a big nasty dog! And C. they are cop-bait! Drivers often get pulled over so that law officers can get a good “look-see”. The limitations and routine can get old after a while.
In 2016 when Chevrolet debuted the C7 Grand Sport, Doug saw the possibility of fulfilling a dream of building a modern tribute to the Corvette he still couldn’t stop thinking about, the Don Steves “00” 1963 Z06 Corvette Sting Ray Split-Window Coupe. When Dave and Bill Thomas prepared the 1963 Z06 for the L.A. Times 5th Annual Grand Prix Race at Riverside, they didn’t have a lot of time or much budget, so the prepped racecar had stock black steel wheels. When Doug MacDonald saw that he could get a white Grand Sport with black wheels with blue center stripes, his tribute Corvette plan clicked into place. Combining his two passions into one, Doug sold his 1963 Grand Sport replica, and his C6 Z06, and bought his 2017 Grand Sport Corvette from Nate Chandler of Van Bortel Chevrolet in Macedon, New York because they advertised, “We can beat any deal!”
Doug ordered his Grand Sport with the following options; 3LT Adrenaline Red interior (top of the line), Competition seats, black wheels (just like Dave’s 1963 Corvette) with red calipers, blue center stripes, Heritage Package with red fender hash marks, the Phase II rear spoiler, and the Corvette Museum Delivery. The optional interior plaque reads, “In Memory of Dave MacDonald”. Doug later added the front aero winglettes and rear spoiler wickerbill. He also changed the car’s red taillight to clear taillights.
Doug’s Museum Delivery was also special. Doug and his lady, Sherry Sablan, dealership salesman Nate Chandler and his wife, all attended the Museum Delivery. All of the proper photos and certifications were fulfilled, the event was documented and posted on Facebook and lastly, Doug and Sherry drove the car home to California, just like Dave and Sherry MacDonald had done in September 1962!
It took Doug months of living with the car and looking at it to come up with a plan to complete his tribute. Doug wanted to replicate the 1963 racecar’s “white with blue stripes and trim” look on a very different body shape. Doug started with the basic Grand Sport center stripe and had the stripe extended forward, past the hood air extractor, and onto the front bumper cover to better match the look on the 1963 car. Doug’s fender stripes hit the mark perfectly by starting at the inside line of the headlights and flowing back, intersecting perfectly with the red fender hash marks, then flowing and thinning back towards the A-pillar. The rear fender strips just kiss the tops of the rear fender creases, splitting the space between the edge of the fender crease and the rear fender scoops, and flowing back. And at the back edge of the rear glass in white lettering, it says, “IN LOVING MEMORY OF 2014 CORVETTE HALL OF FAME LEGEND DAVE MACDONALD WWW.DAVEMACDONALD.NET”.
Doug MacDonald is absolutely delighted with his C7 Grand Sport Corvette tribute car. “I love everything about the car! The car’s looks, stance, the interior is gorgeous, the Competition Seats are excellent and I even like the automatic transmission, it shifts hard and quick. I’m sure Dave would love this car!”
I’m sure that Doug isn’t completely done with his tribute car. There’s a possibility he might have “stick on/peal off” vinyl “DON STEVES CHEVROLET” AND “00” in a round blue meatball made for the doors and hood, for when he displays the car at shows. But mostly, Doug and Sherry’s plans are to get into their 2017 Grand Sport and drive, drive, drive, and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy – just the way Dr. Duntov wanted all of his Corvette customers to do. – Scott
The Spring 1990 issue of “Corvette Quarterly” was a banner issue for 1963 Corvette Grand Sport fans. Late in 1989 arrangements were made for a very special meeting at Sebring International Raceway, in Sebring, Florida. Two Corvette race cars, separated by twenty-five years gathered for some comparison testing between the Grand Sport #002, known as the “Wintersteen 427 L88” Grand Sport #002 Roadster and the 1989-90 Morrison Engineering and Development Trans-Am Corvette.
On hand to witness and advise was then-retired, former Corvette Chief of Engineering, Zora Arkus-Duntov. In the 1970s GM’s corporate retirement age of 65 mandate was in place, and Duntov was put out to pasture, way too soon in December 1974 when he turned 65. GM president Ed Cole and Sr. VP of Styling, Bill Mitchell faced similar fates at GM. You can read the amazing track comparison of the Grand Sport and the Trans-Am Corvette in Pt. 4 of The Duntov Files.
This story, “Zora Looks Back” offers some interesting insights into Duntov’s tenure at GM, as well as the “Lightweight Grand Sport Corvette” experience. For instance, Duntov said, “It was a quick and dirty sledgehammer project that we put together in a couple of months. There were so many compromises and constraints that we made something of which I am not particularly proud.” Interesting. Well, we sure love them!
Duntov was there, this was his baby, and he would know the real skinny on the Grand Sport. For Grand Sport race car fans, this article by Bill Oursler is a real treat! – Scott
PS – You can access the entire collection of Corvette E-Booklets and the Duntov Files HERE.
Dateline: 3-19-21 – You can download the PDF E-Booklet HERE –I have a good-sized collection of Corvette books, sales brochures, magazines, and saved Corvette articles. I also have a set of fourteen reprinted Corvette road tests by Road & Track that run from June 1954-to-June 1969. I am scanning these old articles and making e-booklets out of them, free of charge. It is the easiest, simplest way of sharing this timeless Corvette information. You can access the collection by going to… http://www.corvettereport.com/corvette-e-booklettes/
There will be many more to come.
Back in the days of the Old Republic, there were no “Corvette-only” magazines, except for “Corvette News”, but you have to buy a Corvette to get those. The best we could get was occasional road tests and feature stories highlighting the latest custom Corvettes, some Corvette race cars, Corvette Styling Department, and Engineering Department cars. When it came to showing off Chevrolet’s latest, greatest “go-fast” hardware, Zora Arkus-Duntov was always the ring-leader; a genuine PT Barnum, with a thick Russian accent. Zora loved the attention and the magazine and racer guys loved him, too.
“Car Life” magazine went out of publication by the end of the 1960s. The July 1969 issue screamed “CORVETTE!” with the cover story, “Wildest CORVETTE Test Yet – Every Body Style, Every Engine, Every Transmission, Every Rear Ratio, Every Major Accessory”. The cover story was a 16-page; mother-load of 1969 Corvette information covering everything from the ZQ3 350/300 small-block to the mighty ZL-1 all-aluminum 427 that powered Zora’s latest mule Corvette for suspension, drive-train, and brakes “testing”.
I was in the 9th grade then and this was an absolute feast for me! Enjoy a heap’n, help’n! – Scott
Imagine having Zora Arkus-Duntov give you a test drive in a new 1961 Fuelie Corvette! WOW!
Dateline: 3.18.21 – In the summer of 1960, Zora Arkus-Duntov took a lucky guy with a recorder for a test drive in a new 1961 Fuelie Corvette. He was in for an E-Ticket ride! After a brief introduction, Duntov says,…
“I have a ‘61 Corvette ready to go. This one is equipped with our new 315-horsepower, high-lift cam, and fuel-injection. Let’s get in. Is your safety belt fastened? Alright, let’s go…”
And OFF THEY GO with Duntov rowing through the gears! Sounds WONDERFUL! – Scott
Signed & Numbered 11″ x 17″ prints of this 1961 Fuel Injected Corvette –
America’s “Old Glory” Sports Car!
are available in our Etsy Store.
$29.92 + $7.95 S&H
Our Etsy Store has America’s “Old Glory” Sports Car prints of every Corvette from 1953 to 2020. You can find the year you are looking for by looking into the Corvette generation sections on the left side of the home page, HERE.
Harley Earl, the man that “invented” automobile styling, created an American Legend! Zora Arkus-Duntov was ready to make the car an American Racing Legend
To download Mike Waal’s PDF Watkins Glen Corvette Origin e-book,CLICK HERE.
Dateline: 3-4-21, PDF book by Mike Waal – Emigrant Zora Arkus-Duntov wasn’t at the very first racing event in Watkins Glen in rural, bucolic New York. But he was there for the second in 1949. “Sports Car Racing” was totally new in America, or at least in an organized way, thanks to the dedication to the founders of the Sports Car Club of America, the SCCA. The cars that raced there were considered exotic and were “state of the art” for their time.
There’s Zora behind the wheel of his, then “modern” Allard race car. Note the coil springs on top of the cast-iron straight axle.
So the future Corvette Chief Engineer was there almost from the beginning. Zora never saw a race he didn’t want to drive it. By the time he was hired on May 1, 1953, he was effectively the only man for the job to quickly whip the start-up Chevy sports car into shape. By the time the 1956 Daytona Beach Time Trials, and the 1956 12 Hours of Sebring class win over Europe’s finest, people started taking the Corvette seriously. By the end of the 1950s, Corvettes were the dominant force in SCCA racing. And the adventure hasn’t stopped.
But it all began somewhere and Mike Waal from Maryland is the man that has stitched together a written chronology of events and a fascinating pictorial documentation of what quickly became an annual event. And the future Corvette would become a player in sports car racing.
To download Mike Waal’s PDF Watkins Glen Corvette Origin e-book, CLICK HERE.
Mike also makes his case of identifying the most likely spot where Harley Earl, Master of Ceremonies for the 1951 Watkins Glen, “International Sports Car Grand Prix of Watkins Glen, September 14-15, 1951.
It is very likely that this is where “conception” of what would be the Corvette when Earl decided that, “Chevy needs a sports car.” Not long after the event, work on Earl’s “Opel” concept car began. “Opel” was renamed, “Corvette” and made its debut in January 1953 at the GM Motorama event in New York City. Duntov was looking for employment at a large American automobile manufacturer. When he saw the “Corvette” at the Motorama, like legions of car lovers, he fell in love with Earl’s beautiful Chevy sports car, and knew immediately, he wanted to work at Chevrolet, specifically on the Corvette. The rest is history.
To download Mike Waal’s PDF Watkins Glen Corvette Origin e-book,CLICK HERE.
Earl was truly a visionary industrial designer; one of the greats of the 20th century and beyond; and Duntov was there, ready to report for duty.
This is a beautiful, well-done presentation of sports car racing history that will deepen your appreciation for the early history of the Corvette. Enjoy.
Thanks, Mike! Scott
To download Mike Waal’s PDF Watkins Glen Corvette Origin e-book, CLICK HERE
