Inside the Mind of John Greenwood
Dateline: 10.8.21 To download the free PDF, CLICK HERE. NOTE: When your PDF Reader opens, change the “View” setting to 100% to more easily read the article pages.
John Greenwood is a legend in the world of Corvettes. Through the ’70s, while production Corvettes struggled to maintain as much performance as possible, John and his brother Burt built a series of stunning C3 Corvette race cars. Arguably, the most famous of the Greenwood Brothers Corvettes was their famous “Batmobile” very wide-body Corvette that was more aerodynamic and produced lots of down-force on the car’s huge racing slicks. Greenwood needed as much traction as he could get to better work his ZL-1 427 engines, rumored to be making upwards of 700-hp, perhaps more.
John Greenwood died July 7, 2015. John and Burt Greenwood were nominated into the Racing Division of the National Corvette Museum’s Hall of Fame. So, the Greenwood Brother’s place in Corvette history is granite-solid. Their race cars and later custom-built street versions of his race cars take nearly all of the attention.
John Greenwood died July 7, 2015. John and Burt Greenwood were nominated into the Racing Division of the National Corvette Museum’s Hall of Fame. So, the Greenwood Brother’s place in Corvette history is granite-solid. Their race cars and later custom-built street versions of his race cars take nearly all of the attention.
In the June/July 1974 issue of Corvette News, starting on page 10, there is a very detailed article and interview. John talked at length about how he approaches building race cars; how he sees his racing parts business; his approach and attitude about each race; and that he’s a self-professed chicken.
Other drivers have differed. I heard of one racer that described John as… “the happiest guy when he was in the pits. He just loved being at a race track. But when he got out on the track, come race time, he turned into Attila the Hun!”
John explained that he drives his cars the way he thinks the spectators want to see a car such as his to be driven. Interesting attitude. What you’ll read is an open door into the Mind of John Greenwood. Enjoy your visit!
I have several article/interviews with John Greenwood from the early days of Vette magazine when it was “VETTE Quarterly”. Vette editor and founder Marty Schorr had a great relationship with John and Burt. Most car magazines gave scant attention to Greenwood, Marty was always happy to promote John’s racing and cars; and the Greenwood Brothers appreciated the ink.
I will be posting those stories as downloadable PDF booklets at no charge. We’re just sharing parts of my Corvette library.
To download the free PDF, CLICK HERE. NOTE: When your PDF Reader opens, change the “View” setting to 100% to more easily read the article pages. – Scott
We have several John Greenwood art prints that are available through our Etsy store, HERE.
