Dateline: 5.4.22 (Corvette Quarterly interview below) – Jay Leno is arguably more popular today within the car community than he ever was when he was the host of The Tonight Show for nineteen years. Jay appears to be having more fun doing his Jay Leno’s Garage programs than he ever was when hosting The Tonight Show. Not that The Tonight Show was a drag, but you can clearly see that cars, motorcycles, and machines are his first passion.Continue reading “Corvette Quarterly’s 1999 Jay Leno Interview”→
A major health challenge and a Corvette project car pulls father and son car guys even closer together.
Dateline: 10.11.20 – For car guys, it doesn’t get much better than sharing our passion with family, be it husband and wife, father and child, or father and grandchildren. Anthony Saris is a lucky guy because his dad, Michael Saris is just as much of a car guy as he is. As a kid growing up, Anthony helped his Dad on a series of VWs, and when it was time for Anthony to get into his own cars, Michael was right there with him.
In June 2015 Michael was given very bad news from his doctor; he was diagnosed with Stage 4A Salivary Duct Cancer, and Stage 1 prostate cancer, and was not given much time. To remove the tumor from his jaw and several lymph nodes; Michael had a neck dissection; followed up with chemotherapy; and HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) gene therapy. After Michael’s therapy was completed, new tests showed that the cancer had metastasized to his shoulder that required radiation therapy that burned a hole in his shoulder blade and weakened his jaw. Consequently, if Michael ever needs any major dental work, it will require follow-up hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatments. That’s all quite a blow! The good news is that three years into his remission, Michael is free of both cancers.
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.
The 1997-to-2000 346-cubic-inch LS1 engine had 345-horsepower from the factory. These engines can be taken up the 500-horsepower with just bolt-on parts. The car’s previous owner made several inner enhancements to the LS1 engine that included; a Z06 LS6 intake manifold and injectors; ported heads; a Z06 cam; Scorpion 1:7 rockers; and a tune. Also, the four-speed automatic transmission had an RPM Transmissions Stage II setup with a high-stall torque converter and a shift kit.
Anthony and Michael wanted a really strong driver, so they treated the modified LS1 to a SLP Black Wing Cold Air Intake. Anthony and Michael then rerouted the car’s front brake ducts into the airbox. The stock ignition coils and wires were replaced with performance MDS Coils and wires. And to take care of the exhaust, 1-7/8-inch OBX long tube stainless steel headers were installed with a 3-inch X-Pipe, and a set of Borla S-Type cat-backs. Borla classifies their S-Type systems as “Aggressive Plus”. Combined with the Z06 cam, the car sounds wonderfully “bad”.
A modern street machine needs some under-the-hood bling. The stock fuel rails were replaced with a set of anodized red billet aluminum fuel railsand the valve covers were painted red. Black carbon fiber dresses up the inner fender covers, battery cover, coolant, brake fluid, and windshield wiper reservoir. All of the fluid caps were hydro dipped with a red carbon fiber weave film. The radiator cover and fuse box cover were painted gloss black. And to finish things off, red LED lights beautifully reflect off the carbon fiber and hydro dipped parts.
The interior is mostly stock, but with a few nice surprises. The factory radio was replaced with an Xtron 10.1-inch Android-based radio with AM/FM Stereo; Bluetooth; 7 USB ports; downloadable apps; Google Chrome; and ports for front/rear cameras. To support the new radio, a Kenwood 5ch amp with kicker components for high and mid-range sound; plus a kicker 10-inch subwoofer mounted inside of an inverted fiberglass box; replaced the factory speaker system. The rear trunk lid has a black rear cargo shade. Red LED interior lights in the black interior fit in with the overall color scheme.
All C5 Corvettes have three storage compartments in the trunk space; small compartments on the right and left side and one larger compartment in the middle. Over the top of the center compartment lid is a red LED-lighted, frosted 12” x 12”laxan panel with a black Jake logo. Then on the right side is a red fire extinguisher. The left side compartment lid has the 10-inch subwoofer.
Obviously, the color-theme for Anthony and Michael’s 1997 Corvette is red and black. Black carbon fiber ground effects parts include a C7 front splitter, side skirts, and rear deck spoiler. The B-pillar and lift-out roof panel have been black wrapped and completely pulls together the greenhouse with a solid-black look.(Some of the photos here are from before the black wrap work)
Upfront the stock factory pop-up headlights have been replaced with Radioflyer C5-R Corvette racing-style exposed LED headlights with black headlight buckets. The front day running lights/turn signal lens, rear side marker lens, and taillight lens have been black-tinted out. The C5 Z06 17 x 9-1/2 front and 18 x 10-1/2 rear wheels are shod with Toyo Proxes P1 tires; P265/40ZR-17 front and P295/35ZR-18 on the rear. And lastly, the lower valance part of the rear bumper cover has been black wrapped along the crease line that surrounds the rear vents and exhaust pipe opening.
Project cars are never really “done”, as owners typically keep finding things to add on and change. But eventually, the day arrives when it’s time to take the car to a show. In December 2018 Anthony and Michael took their Torch Red 1997 to its first car show and won their first trophy. Of course, it’s not about the trophies and ribbons, it’s about the togetherness, caring, and sharing.
Many years ago, former Corvette chief engineer Dave Hill said concerning Corvettes, “… We’re not talking about transportation here; we’re talking about a product that changes someone’s lifestyle…” Since starting their project car, Anthony and Michael have joined a Corvette owners group in the Tampa Bay area that has opened them up to a whole new social group. This is how new friendships are formed. Today, Michael is three years in remission. Anthony says, “Building this car has meant the world to us. Not for all the attention and trophies that it gets, but because of the memories made, and the ones we will continue to make together.”
Vette Vues wishes Anthony, Michael, and their family many more years of good health and pleasure with their beautiful Corvette.– Scott
PS – The story was originally published in the September 2019 issue of Vette Vues Magazine.
Dateline: 8-11-20– This story was originally published in the now-defunct Vette magazine, August 2019 issue. Story, Illustrations & Graphics by K. Scott Teeters) On November 18, 1992 when it was announced that Cadillac Engineering Program Manager David C. “Dave” Hill would become the new Corvette Chief of Engineering, the Corvette community asked, “Why is a Cadillac man taking over the Corvette and what can he bring to the brand?” Hill was the right man for the job, at the right time, and he brought a lot!
In the early ‘90s GM was in financial trouble. The company had lost its way in the ‘80s and in 1989 when Jim Perkins came back from Toyota to become the general manager for Chevrolet, he said he didn’t recognize the place. Moral was low and infighting was rampant. To stop the financial hemorrhaging, every car line was being looked at, and once again, Corvette was on the chopping block.
Thanks to Dave McLellan, the C5 was in the planning stage but only “on paper”. Perkins was Corvette’s “corporate angel”. He argued with GM brass that “Corvette” was one of the best-known automotive names in the world. He told them, “… if you don’t have enough confidence to trust my judgment that we can make money on this car, then I shouldn’t be here.” Perkins won the argument, but with McLellan ready to take early retirement, he needed a new Corvette chief with the know-how for profitability, performance, and quality.
Hill graduated in 1965 from Michigan Technology University with a degree in engineering and went right to work for Cadillac in their engine power development lab. From there, Hill worked his way through many departments. In 1970 he earned his Masters Degree in Engineering from the University of Michigan. Through the ‘70s and ‘80s at Cadillac, Hill was a Senior Project Engineer; Staff Project Engineer; Body and Chassis General Supervisor; Development, Emissions, and Transmission Staff Engineer; and Chief Engineer for the Allante, DeVille, and Concours models. In May 1992 Hill was promoted to Engineering Program Manager for Cadillac. Hill was deeply versed in GM’s premiere car line.
During Hill’s tenure, Cadillacs weren’t the performance cars they are today, but don’t conclude that Hill was into cushy Caddys; he was into sports cars and racing. Hill owned a 1948 MGTB, a 1970 350/350 Corvette Coupe, and from 1968 to 1972 he raced a Lotus Super 7 in SCCA competition.
Like McLellan, Hill had two objectives; first, keep the C4 fresh, and second, design and develop a totally new Corvette. Sales for 1991-to-1996 Corvettes averaged around 20,000 units; a big drop from 1984 when 51,547 Corvettes were sold. Everyone knew the C4 needed to be replaced. From ’93 to ’96 Hill and his team made small improvements and special editions to keep things interesting. In 1993 the 40th Anniversary Package was offered. The ’93 ZR-1 got a power boost from 375-to-405-horsepower. In 1995 the Indy 500 Pace Car Replica, was limited to 527 units. The 1996 lineup had two special editions; the Collector Edition (5,412 units built) and the Grand Sport (1,000 units built; 810 coupes and 190 convertibles).
The transition from the C4 to the C5 Corvette was the most radical of all generational transitions. Typically, when we think “radical,” we think “mid-engine”, “double-overhead-cam” or “turbocharging”. The C5 wasn’t any of that; it was better. In one fell swoop, the basic Corvette had the following; a hydro-formed perimeter frame with a wishbone backbone center spine, an all-new all-aluminum fuel-injected engine (the LS1), connecting the engine and new transaxle was a torque tube; the suspension and brakes were mostly aluminum, slim and lightweight; and an all-new slippery body and lush interior. The entire structure of the car was locked in together with each component designed as a stress-member and was designed to be a convertible. The design was so efficient it had over 1200 fewer parts. This was a Corvette like no previous model had ever been. It was the most radical Corvette to date and the basic structure concept is still used in the C7. The mid-engine C8 will be here soon and if Chevrolet decides to offer front and rear-engine configurations, a C9 will likely use the C5/C6/C7 concept, possibly in carbon fiber.
Sales of the 1997 Corvette didn’t look good, coming in at 9,752. It wasn’t that buyers didn’t like the new car, Corvette plant manager Wil Cooksey made sure that as cars were being built, all problems and process issues were solved and implemented. In 1998 the convertible was released and sales hit 31,084; the best since 1987. C5 sales never went below 30,000 and the best year was 2002 with 35,767; the best year since 1986. Customers were very happy with their C5s with its vastly improved structure that allowed the suspension to be calibrated like never before.
When the C5 was still on the drawing board, a “Billy Bob” strippo model was considered but not explored. Not long after the C5 was released, that concept was flushed out and the result was the ’99 Hardtop model. There wasn’t much of a savings as the Hardtop was only $394 less than the coupe. Sales only hit 4,031 in ’99 and 2,090 in ’00. But engineers learned something interesting. By bolting on and bonding the hardtop, the overall structure was 12-percent stiffer. This was that “something extra” that a performance model could use. The C5 Z06 was genius. With the more powerful 385-horsepower LS6, upgraded brakes, suspension, wheels and tires, a new Corvette legend was forged.
Hill had another ace up his sleeve that brought racing glory to Corvette and impacted the C6. In the fall of 1998, a factory-backed racing team was approved and the cars were christened, “C5-R”. Racecar builders Pratt & Miller were contracted to build the race cars. Hill used Pratt & Miller as his defacto racing engineering team. The Corvette Racing Team became world-class champions, won 1st and 2nd at Le Mans in 2001, 2002, and 2004, as well as every race in 2004!
By 1999 Hill’s engineers informed him that they had done everything they could with the C5 platform. To take the car to the next level, they would have to start the C6. While the C5 and C6 structure is similar, the C6 is all-new; with no important carryover parts. But what no one was expecting was that the Z06 would get a 100-horsepower bump, plus have an aluminum frame. No one was asking for this, but that’s what they got. The C6 Z06 was the most brutish Corvette ever offered.
Hill once said, “My favorite Corvette is the next one.” Mr. Cadillac insisted on three key things; state of the art performance and technology; passionate design; and tremendous value. In an interview with c6registry.com, Hill said, “Being involved with Corvette brings out the best in all of us who have the privilege of working on it. It represents the best that GM has to offer; along with the best America has to offer. The Corvette is very personal. We’re not talking about transportation here; we’re talking about a product that changes someone’s lifestyle, and that causes us to be enthusiastic about our duty.” Hill retired on January 1, 2006, and was inducted into the National Corvette Museum’s Hall of Fame in 2006. – Scott
PS – Be sure to catch all 5 parts of my Corvette Chiefs Series
Dave McLellan, Heir to Duntov’s Engineering Throne
(Dateline: 7-3-20 – This story was originally published in the now-defunct Vette magazine, July 2019 issue. Story, Illustrations & Graphics by K. Scott Teeters) – When Dave McLellan took over as Corvette’s new chief engineer on January 1, 1975, it was a whole new world. The prevailing trends went from performance cars to safer cars with reduced emissions. Not even Duntov could have made a difference in the ‘70s. But as performance went down, Corvette sales went way up! The sales department was happy, but the Corvette was really getting old. Dave McLellan was an unknown to the Corvette community and many wondered what he would bring to the brand. It turned out; he brought a lot!
McLellan was a car guy. He rebuilt his family’s Frazer and entered the Fisher Body Craftsmen’s Guild Model Contest. Upon graduation from Wayne State University in Detroit with a degree in mechanical engineering, GM hired Hill on July 1, 1959. Thought the ‘60s Hill worked at the Milford Proving Ground on noise and acoustics issues with GM tank treads, Buick brakes, and tuned resonators for mufflers. Hill was also going to night school to get his Master’s Degree in engineering mechanics. In 1967 Hill was part of the group that planned and operated the 67-acre Black Lake where ride, handling, and crashworthiness tests are performed.
Chevrolet engineering brought in Hill to work on the 1970-1/2 Camaro and Z28. Hill wanted to move into management so he took a yearlong sabbatical and attended MIT Alfred. P. Sloan School of Management. The school emphasizes innovation in practice and research. In July 1974 Hill was Zora Arkus-Duntov’s part-time assistant, training for taking over the position in 1975.
While Hill didn’t have Duntov’s racing experience, he owned several Porsches and understood racing sports cars. As Duntov was leaving, he told Hill, “Dave, you must do mid-engine Corvette.” Little did they know that it would finally happen forty-five years later.
When Duntov took control of Corvette engineering in 1956, he had to boost sales and make the Corvette a performance car and a capable racecar. When Hill took control, Corvettes were never selling better, but the platform design was nearly fifteen-years-old. Hill had to keep the car fresh, hit the new requirements, and maintain performance; all with a limited budget.
Management figured that the Corvette had a captive audience, so they didn’t have to spend money to change anything. Fortunately, that lame notion was overruled. The 1978 glass fastback and the 1980 front and rear bumper covers were excellent updates. Another major issue was quality control. The St. Louis assembly plant made three other cars and often workers were unfamiliar with the specialties of the Corvette. This issue didn’t get fixed until the plant was moved to the Corvette-only Bowling Green facility.
McLellan knew that the C3 needed to be replaced, as the chassis was designed around 1960! For a brief period, it looked like the mid-engine Aerovette would become the C4, but Chevrolet decided to abandon all mid-engine programs. The all-new C4 began to take shape in Jerry Palmer’s Chevrolet Studio Three in 1978. When the C4 debuted in December 1982, it received rave reviews, despite the fact that suspension engineers later admitted that they over-did-it with the stiff suspension. By 1985 the suspension was softened and the 150-mph Corvette won Car and Driver’s “Fastest Car in America” award and began the total domination of Corvettes in the SCCA Escort Showroom Stock racing series from 1985-to-1987. Porsche bought a Corvette to take apart to find why the car was unbeatable. By the end of 1987, SCCA kicked out all of the Corvettes for being too fast! McLellan followed up with the Corvette Challenge factory-build racecars.
McLellan’s personal style was more suited to the intricacies of modern electronic computer-controlled performance cars than Duntov’s. Where Duntov’s enthusiasm was effervescent, McLellan was laid-back, approachable, but not shy with the automotive press. After the successful rollout of the C4, McLellan took on four very serious performance projects for the Corvette; The Callaway Twin Turbo option, the ZR-1 performance model, the LT-5 Lotus/Mercury Marine performance engine, and the mid-engine CERV-III. Let’s look at all four projects.
“Supercars” were the rage and by 1985 Porsche had their 959 and Ferrari was about to unleash their F40. To have something to offer while McLellan was starting his ZR-1 project, a deal was made with Reeves Callaway to build brand-new Corvettes with a Callaway Twin Turbo package. The cars had 345-horsepower (stock Corvettes had 240) and from 1987-to-1991 RPO B2K was the only non-installed official RPO Corvette option ever offered.
The ZR-1 super-Vette had two components. The first was its Lotus-engineered, all-aluminum, double-overhead-cam engine built by Mercury Marine. McLellan’s engineers set down the size parameters and horsepower objective; Lotus did the rest. McLellan turned to the best manufacturer of all-aluminum, performance marine engines in the country, Mercury marine. The end result was the beautiful jewel-like LT-5, an engine that is still respected today. The second component was the widening of the ZR-1’s body to cover the enormous P315/35ZR17 rear tires and beef up the car’s drivetrain and suspension.
The 1990 CERV-III Corvette was McLellan’s vision of Duntov’s mid-engine Corvette, with electronic steroids. The car had a carbon fiber Lotus-style backbone chassis, four-wheel steering, active suspension, a transverse, 650-horsepower twin-turbocharged LT-5 ZR-1 engine and a dry-sump oil system, and a four-speed transaxle. This was the final design that started out as the Indy Corvette in 1986 and had a top speed of 225-mph. And lastly, the CERV-III was designed to be manufactured.
Photo: GM Archives
When McLellan was part of the 1992 “Decision Makers” three-man internal Chevrolet design group, gathered to evaluate the direction of the C5, McLellan chose the CERV-III concept over the front-engine “Momentum Architecture” and the stiffer/lighter restyled C4. But the CERV-III was deemed too expensive for the market. The “Momentum Architecture” with its backbone structure, a transaxle, and an all-aluminum engine with design elements from the LT-5, lives on today in the C7.
McLellan oversaw the three-year, 1990-to-1992 mid-cycle refresh. The process started in 1990 with an all-new dash; 1991 saw new front and rear bumper covers; and in 1992 the 245-horsepower L98 was replaced with the 300-horsepower LT1.
In 1990 McLellan won the Society of Automotive Engineers’ Edward N. Cole Award for Automotive Engineering Innovation. In 1991 GM was offering early retirement packages, allowing 53-year old employees to receive the same benefits as those retiring at 62. McLellan took the offer and stayed on as a consultant while GM looked for a suitable replacement. McLellan was fortunate enough to be in his consulting position on July 2, 1992, when he was on hand to see the one-millionth Corvette roll off the Bowling Green assembly line. What a thrill for a car that McLellan had given so much to and a car that was so often on the line for its survival.
Finally, on November 18, 1992, the new chief of Corvette engineering was Dave Hill. Since then, McLellan has been a much sought after automotive consultant, he wrote and illustrated “Corvette From the Inside” and he’s a frequent and revered guest of honor at all of the top Corvette events. In 1999 McLellan was inducted into the National Corvette Museum’s Hall of Fame. McLellan goes down in the Corvette history books as the second of the five great Corvette chief engineers. – Scott
PS – Be sure to catch all 5 parts of my Corvette Chiefs Series
Jim Perkins: The Man That Saved the Modern Corvette
(Note: this story was originally published in the March 2019 issue of Vette Vues Magazine) – The Corvette is the most unlikely of all cars for a company such as General Motors to produce. GM is all about producing huge volumes of cars and trucks. When the Corvette came out as a late offering in June 1953, only 300 cars were hand-assembled. Engineers and builders were literally designing as they were building the cars. Sales jumped to 3,640 for 1954 and tanked to just 700 in 1955. Harley Earl restyled the Corvette for 1956 and sales went up to 3,467 units and then 6,339 for 1957. Meanwhile Ford sold 16,155 T-Birds in 1955, 15,631 in 1956, and 21,380 in 1957! They were killing the Corvette then went to a four-seater configuration, leaving Chevrolet the two-seater sports car market all to themselves. Corvette sales didn’t hit 10,000 units until 1960; not much in the big picture of GM!
Photo Credit: Motor Trend Magazine
The long knives were out for the Corvette inside GM. There were many that didn’t understand the Corvette, didn’t like it, and wanted it dead! What saved the Corvette were its corporate angels; Art and Color Section VP, Harley Earl; Chevrolet general manager, Ed Cole; Senior VP of Design, Bill Mitchell; Zora Arkus-Duntov; and Mauri Rose. The common denominator with all of these men is that they are “car guys”. Bill Mitchell was famous for boasting, “I’ve got gasoline in my veins!” Aside from Duntov and Rose, these men had corporate clout; they could lean on and make things happen.
Photo Credit: Motor Trend Magazine While general manager of Chevrolet, Jim Perkins was famous for handing out pins with the Chevy bow-tie and the work “Pride” beneath it.
In 1960, after some college attendance at Baylor University and three years in the Navy, Jim Perkins took a job at a Chevrolet warehouse, sorting parts while he finished his degree. Little did Perkins know that thirty years later, he too would become a corporate angel for the Corvette.
Perkins was a Depression Era kid from Waco, Texas. When World War II broke out Perkins’ dad tried to enlist in the military but was told he was “too old”. This was a time when men did whatever they had to do to put food on the table. Being mechanically inclined, Perkins’ dad started fixing cars, then buying, and selling cars. Perkins spent a lot of time with his dad and at the age of 14, he got an after school job at a local Texaco service station. Perkins quickly developed a reputation as a very good Chevy mechanic. Perkins fixed and sold a series of cars and finally got a hot ’52 Oldsmobile. But when the ’55 Chevy came out, he sold his Olds and made enough for a new Chevy. From here forward, Perkins was a Chevy car guy!
Photo Credit: Motor Trend Magazine
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.
Photo Credit: Motor Trend Magazine
After a few years working for Estes, Perkins was transferred to Buick. Detroit was struggling to come out of the 1970s recession and how to deal with the success of Japanese cars. Perkins was working under Lloyd Reuss and it was a good relationship. “Just In Time” production was a new concept and Perkins was doing many of the management tasks that Lloyd normally would have done, and he loved it! The first two years they set records; then management changed.
The new top guy at Buick was Don Hackworth and it wasn’t a good mix for Perkins. The two men almost immediately started butting heads. On a plane coming back from a business meeting, Perkins asked Hackworth what they could do to have a better working relationship. Hackworth suggested a “foreign assignment” for Perkins. That was IT for Perkins. What Hackworth didn’t know was that Toyota was wooing Perkins for an executive position. The timing was perfect
Photo Credit: Motor Trend Magazine Right to Left: Jim Perkins, General Chuck Yeager and AJ Foyt
When Perkins came into Toyota with his “GM top-down” management style, he was nearly stopped in his tracks. The Japanese car companies were all using the “Consensus Process”; which starts from the bottom (assembly workers) and goes up from there. Perkins quickly learned that while the process takes longer, the execution is like a rocket ship; everyone is onboard and you get better solutions.
A year later, Toyota made Perkins Group V.P. for Sales, Marketing, Distribution, Product Planning, and New Ventures. Around this time Japanese car companies announced that they were taking on the luxury car segment of Mercedes and BMW. Mr. Toyoda wanted to prove to the world that they could build world-class luxury automobiles. Toyota formed Lexus and Perkins was a key player.
Then, an extraordinary thing happened; GM wanted Perkins back! Typically at GM, once you leave, that’s it. Perkins learned from his former boss, Lloyd Reuss, that then-GM president Bob Stemple (another car guy!) wanted to talk to Perkins about coming back. When the two men talked, Perkins told Stemple, “There are two jobs I would come back for; president of GM, or general manager of Chevrolet.” Stemple’s reply was, “Well, that’s a little lofty.” Stemple and Perkins continued their conversation for a time before Stemple called Perkins. “OK, big boy, it’s time to put up of shut up. We’ll make you general manager of Chevrolet.”
It had been twenty-nine years since car guy mechanic Jim Perkins started sorting parts in a Chevrolet warehouse. In May 1989 Perkins was made general manager of Chevrolet. He’s always been a Chevy-guy, and now he was running the division. But when Perkins got back, he was in for a shock. Perkins said in a 2014 interview with Motor Trend, “I didn’t recognize Chevrolet when I got back. It had lost its pride. There was so much infighting among sales, marketing, product planning, distribution, you name it. Everywhere you looked was a silo with its own management, and that’s the kiss of death.”
Photo Credit: DigitalCorvettes.com The CERV IV was really a C5 in drag. Under the stretched body was a full C5 frame and suspension. This is the car that convinced GM management to go ahead with the C5.
“TCE” Total Customer Enthusiasm had to start at the top, meaning that managers with bad attitudes had to go. Using Toyota’s “Consensus Process” concept, Perkins invited his people to write to him about the problems they faced and possible solutions. Perkins got 1900 letters, read them all, distilled them into to-do lists, and formed employee councils to come up with working plans. A lot got fixed, workers felt their experience mattered and the organization was much happier. The same concept was also applied to the dealer networks.
By 1990 the nation’s economy was moving into another recession and things were not good inside GM. All car lines were being closely reviewed and Corvette sales were in a downward direction. Once again, the car was on the chopping block. According to Corvette designer, John Cafaro, by 1992 the Corvette almost died. People in the company didn’t understand the car and no one wanted to champion the car. Former GM executive Ralph Kramer said, “Many GM insiders considered the Corvette to be a non-essential product in the GM/Chevrolet stable. The thought that the Corvette would NOT just be in the Chevy stable of cars, but instead the main character; the stud-horse; the Secretariat; was totally remote to the Corvette-haters; but how could it not be otherwise?” (Today, the Corvette is THE flagship of GM)
GM’s Mid-size Car Division managed Joe Spielman (also a car guy and Corvette fan) created a task group called, “The Decision Makers”. The group consisted of himself, Carlisle Davis, John Cafaro, and Dave McLellan. The team’s objective was to create a path for the future of the Corvette. They came up with three directions; First: A production version of the 1990 mid-engine CERV-III; Second: The Momentum Architecture, featuring an evolutionary body style, a stiff backbone-type chassis, and a transaxle; and Third: the “Stiffer and Lighter” design which was a lighter and improved C4. The team chose the “Momentum Architecture”. The problem was funding.
In November 1992 Dave Hill took over as Corvette’s chief engineer and had a big problem on his hands; how to prove the concept of the Momentum Architecture when he had no budget. Corvette manager Russ McLean went the Perkins and explained that the Corvette team needed funding for another CERV Corvette (Corporate Engineering Research Vehicle) to prove the viability of the Momentum Architecture concept. Perkins managed to pull $1.2 Million from another budget to allow Hill’s team to build what is arguably the stealthiest R&D Corvette ever, the CERV IV.
Photo Credit: Mecum Auctions This is the 1995 Indy 500 Corvette Pace Car that Jim Perkins drove to start the 1995 Indy 500.
The CERV IV was essentially a C5 structure wearing a C4 body. A keen eye would have noticed that it looked like a “l-o-n-g” C4 Corvette, but when the car was on public roads, no one noticed. When Hill took executives for a ride, they all said, “This is like no Corvette we ever felt!” Hill proved to GM’s president, Jack Smith, that his team could reinvent the Corvette, as well as the building process. The $1.2 Million that corporate angel Perkins was able to secure for the CERV IV saved the Corvette! It was something that ONLY Jim Perkins could have done.
In 1996, at age 61, Perkins retired from Chevrolet. In his seven years as Chevrolet’s general manager he rekindled Chevy’s 1960’s-style pride; improved Chevy’s truck production; strengthened Chevy’s role in product development and design; helped his people come to grips with downsizing and reorganization, supervised the Chevrolet Racing Team that won five NASCAR Championships and had six Indy Car victories; and got to drive the pace car at the Indy 500 three times in 1990, 1993, and 1995 (in a Corvette).
Photo Credit: GM Archives While it doesn’t look like it, the C5 is the most radical new production Corvette ever offered, thanks to its new hydro-formed perimeter frame, center spine structure, all-aluminum LS1 engine, and transaxle.
In the 2014 Motor Trend interview, Perkins said this about driving the Indy pace car, “You come out of turn four when you’re going to turn them loose, you know you have to make the left turn into the pits, you look down the track, and it looks like everything is closing in on you with all the people and color and movement. You swear you’re going through the eye of a needle. My God, it is such a tremendous, tremendous experience.”
Retirement from Chevrolet only lasted three months when Perkins accepted an offer from Rick Hendricks to take over his company after he came down with leukemia. Perkins stayed on as the CEO and later COO. Perkins said of his time at Hendricks Motorsports, “If ever anything has been rewarding, it has been seeing this company do what it has done. I have no regrets. It’s been a blast, a great, great, great ride.” In 1999 Jim Perkins was inducted into the National Corvette Museum’s Hall of Fame in the GM-Chevrolet Category.
Photo Credit: National Corvette Museum Jim Perkins was inducted into the National Corvette Museum’s Hall of Fame in 1999.
Jim Perkins was a poor kid from depression-era Waco, Texas that liked to work on Chevys. He was described as a “wily, free-speaking, cowboy boot-wearing Texan.” Perkins died on December 28, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Jim Perkins was 83 years-of-age. Perkins had an exemplary career and most importantly to the Corvette community, saved the Corvette. – Scott
The C5 Corvette’s Momemtim Chassis took the Corvette to a whole new level and paved the way for the C5-R Corvette
Dateline: 1-16-20 – Graphics by K. Scott Teeters, Images from GM archives:Structure is everything. Lessons learned from the C5, C6, and C7 Corvettes is that the stiffer the chassis, the better the suspension can be tuned for improved handling. The C1 to C4 chassis’ were fine for their day, but compared to the modern Corvettes, they leave a lot to be desired, especially if bigger tires and more horsepower is applied. The issue of structure is not new; look at what the Greenwood brothers were doing with the chassis of their widebody IMSA Corvettes in the 1970s. The NASCAR cars of the 1970s had fortress-like cages welded to their frames; but you can’t live with structures like that for streetcars. The arrival of the C5 was a quantum leap in terms of structure.
Image: GM Archives, 1997 Corvette Brochure
Joe Spielman ran GM’s Midsize Car Division in 1992 and was responsible for forty-percent of the engineering and manufacturing of GM’s auto production. It was a bad time for GM and despite the Corvette’s iconic status; its future was in jeopardy. Spielman created the “Decision Makers” that included himself, Carlisle Davis, John Cafaro, and Dave McLellan. Three possible formats for the C5 Corvette were created. The first format was the “Momentum Architecture” that featured a stiff backbone, front-engine, rear transmission, and an evolutionary body style. The second format was the “Mid-Engine”, favored by McLellan and GM President Jack Smith. The 1990 CERV III wasn’t just a dream car, it was built with manufacturing in mind, but was going to be complex and expensive. The third format was “Stiffer and Lighter”. This would be the least expensive and was a stiffer, lighter version of the C4. Fortunately, the team went with the “Momentum Architecture”.
The problem was money. When Dave Hill took over, as Corvette chief engineer in November 1992, his 1993 development budget was just $12 million. The estimated total cost to design and develop the C5 was originally $250 million and was cut back to $150 million; GM was in financial trouble and was cutting everything. But Chevrolet general manager Jim Perkins saved the Corvette by juggling an extra $1.2 million so that Hill could build a demonstration car. Another consideration Perkins wanted to see was a “Billy Bob” no-frills concept. Hill’s demonstration Corvette would become the CERV IV, with a manual transmission. Later Hill build an automatic version called the CERV IVb. The “Billy Bob” concept wasn’t developed until 1998 and became the 1999 Hardtop, that later became the now-legendary Z06.
The CERV IV was a true stealth development car. The chassis had the backbone structure of the proposed “Momentum Architecture” plan, but was clothed in a C4 body so that Hill and his team could drive the car on public roads, as well as the Proving Grounds in Michigan and Arizona. To the public it was just another C4 Corvette. Hill’s objectives for the CERV IV were to; prove to GM’s president Jack Smith that his team could reinvent the car, as well as the building process. When Hill took people for test-drives, they said, “This is like no Corvette we ever felt!” Hill’s plan worked, he got his C5 development budget up to $241 million, and set his team to work.
Image: https://www.corvettes.nl
Hill wanted the C5 to be able to do everything as well as, or better than the C4. The C4 had a 350-mile range; Hill wanted 370 for the C5. The solution to the fuel range was a blessing because instead of one tank mounted on top of the rear of the frame, the C5 has two tank placed low on each side of the transaxle. This also helped lower the C5’s center of gravity. Hill wanted a coefficient of drag of .29, the lowest of any production car at that time, so he had to lean on designer John Carfaro.
But the piece de resistance of the C5’s new structure was its hydroformed frame. The first mass-produced automotive application of Hydroforming was for the instrument panel support beam in a 1990 Chrysler mini van. The 1997 C5 Corvette was the first mass-produced automobile to use this manufacturing technique on a major structural component. The frames of all pervious Corvettes were made from sheet steel, bent to form a box section. The box sections were then welded together to form the side rails and cross members. Hydroforming creates complex shapes that are stronger, lighter, and more rigid. After engineers designed the shape of the C5’s frame rails, sheet steel was rolled into a tube, laser-welded, and bent into the basic shape of the frame rail. The shaped tube was then placed inside a form and sealed. Water was then pumped into the tube at 7,000 psi that inflated the steel into the shape. The finished side rail was one, 13-foot long piece, instead of many boxed pieces all welded together. The crossmembers and attachment brackets, (36 pieces in total) were welded by robotic and human welders. Convertibles have 33 parts, one extra for the tonneau cover latch.
https://www.corvettes.nl
The second major structural component on the new C5 was the longitudinal center tunnel backbone. This kind of construction had then only been seen on exotic supercars and racecars. The center backbone creates the driveshaft tunnel and locks the front and rear of the frame together. The C4 designers had a long driveline support torque bar that bolted to the end of the transmission and the rear differential, whereas the designers of the C5 created an enclosed torque tube that bolted to the back of the bellhousing and the front of the transaxle, with a lightweight Metal Matrix Composite (MMC) driveshaft. The torque tube that connects the engine with the transaxle, was then bolted to the frame. Combined with the center backbone, the C5’s chassis structure is four times as stiff as the C4. This was an amazing accomplishment for a mass-produced sportscar.
With the strongest structure ever created for a Corvette, Hill’s suspension engineers were better able to design components to fine tune wheel control. Now the suspension didn’t have to compensate for a flexing structure. The selection of springs, dampers, anti-roll bars and bushings can be more accurate. The C4 suspension was very good and is today used often on street rods. The C5 went to the next level with double A-arms on all four corners of the independent suspension. The new aluminum suspension components are made using the then-new process of casting-and-forging to create lighter, stronger parts.
The C5 came with three levels of suspension. The standard FE1 was for basic driving and used specifically selected fiberglass composite leaf springs, shocks, sway bars, and bushings. The $350 optional Z51 suspension had stiffer springs, shocks, and larger-diameter sway bars. Active suspension options had been around since 1989; the new C5 offered the latest version of the F45 Selective Real Time Damping for $1,695. The C5’s basic dimensions tell us a lot. The C5 is 179.4-inches, 1.1-inches longer than the C4; 73.6-inches wide, 2.9-inches wider than the C4; 47.8-inches in height, 1.5-inches taller than the C4; 104.5-inch wheelbase, 8.3-inches longer than the C4; and 3,221-pounds, 77-pounds lighter than the C4. Wider, lighter, stiffer, with an all-aluminum engine, transaxle, and over 1,200 fewer parts, the C5 was the most revolutionary Corvette to date. – Scott
A young man’s life-long obsession with Corvettes is fulfilled with a bargain-priced C5 Corvette, plus a LOT of work!
Dateline: 11.13.18 Except where noted, all photos by Chris Draper – Note: This story originally appeared in the September 2018 issue of Vette Vues. Since the story was written Chris has rebuilt the top end of his LS1 engine. Chris added the following; a LS6 Z06 intake; Z06 fuel injectors; throttle body; heads; and a Vararam Power Duct. His engine also received new valves and valve springs. When Chris bought the car, it had a performance cam; Kooks Long Tube headers; an X-pipe; and a Cat-Back exhaust. After a dyno tune, Chris’ bolt-on-modified LS1 pulled 508-horsepower at the crank! That is C6 427 LS7 Z06 territory, ladies and gentlemen! GOOD JOB, Chris!
There’s been a meme floating about in auto enthusiasts circles about Corvettes that I have always found to be kind of irritating. It had to have been sometime in the mid-1990s that I started hearing and reading the notion that, “Corvettes are for old guys.” Well I’ve been into Corvettes since I was 10-years old and I wasn’t an “old guy” in the mid-1990s. But there were a few things happening back then that probably added to that silly idea.First, while Corvettes have always been a premium, Cadillac-priced car, in the 1990s, a $30,000 Corvette seemed like a lot of money. The 1990 ZR1 Corvette cost nearly $60,000! There were still a lot of Corvette fans who remember the days when you could get a loaded for bear 1967 L71 427/435 big-block for less than $6,000. Today many of those old classic Vettes from the 1950s and 1960s are selling for almost as much as a new Corvette. In the 1990s mid-to late 1970s Corvettes were shunned as performance dogs. It just seemed like the desirable Corvettes were out of reach for younger buyers and more and more we saw men with silver hair (or no hair) driving Corvettes.
Photo Credit: Logan Miller, Car Capture Photography
When the C5 came out in 1997, it was a total game-changer. Everything about the car was new and very much improved. Thanks to the all-new LS1 engine, Corvettes had grunt again and were actually quicker and faster than the big-blocks of the loud golden days of performance. As the 2000s rolled on, Corvettes just kept getting better and better, always moving forward, never going backwards. But the prices kept going up. Then an interesting thing began to happen, especially after the arrival of the C7. Prices for early C5 Corvettes were going down, big time! By 2016 and 2017, genuine bargains could be found. And there is nothing inherently wrong with the C5 platform. In many ways, the C6 and C7 aren’t that much different, just more modern and more refined. And there is more “racecar” built into the C6 and C7 Corvettes, thanks to the amazing success of the Corvette Racing Team, which has served as the field-testing and development wing for future Corvettes. Meanwhile, the aftermarket has totally sorted out the LS series of Corvette engines, such that with just some improvement in the intake and exhaust side, any basic C5 Corvette can be turned into a street beast. And you can’t beat the price! Suddenly, it’s 1970 again!Thirty-year old Chris Draper from Arizona has been a car guy since he was a little fellow when his grandmother would take him out shopping every Saturday in her 1978 Z28 Camaro with a 4-speed transmission. (VERY COOL grandma!) Then when Chris was just six-years old, his grandparents got a 1989 Corvette Coupe. Chris recalled how his great grandfather scolded his grandfather for buying such a ridiculous car, that young Chris thought was to-die for! To young Chris, the 1989 Corvette’s flat digital dash just looked like “The Future”. When Chris’ grandma would pick him up at school, all the kids thought he had the coolest grandma in the world! (most of us would agree!) We all have a “Corvette moment” when a Corvette grabbed us and never let go. This was Chris Draper’s Corvette moment when he was just six-years old. By the time Chris was around 8-years-of-age, personal computers were becoming more and more common and Chris’ grandparents had a new-fangled thing called a “dial-up modem” connected to their computer. Chris quickly got up to speed with using the new computer technology and spent hours and hours searching the new World Wide Web, now called, “The Internet” to learn everything he could about Corvettes. Chris wrote letters and emails to General Motors with questions about Corvettes. He hunted down brochures from Chevrolet dealers as soon as they were available and studied them cover-to-cover. Chris wasn’t even a teenager yet when he started to scour the new Corvette forums that were popping up. While in the 6th grade, at the young age of 11, Chris wrote a research paper on the history of the Corvette. Not long after, Chris started his own Corvette website, www.corvette-info-center.com. The site is still up and Chris apologizes for not having updated it for a few years, but he’s been a busy guy the last few years, as you will see. When Facebook came online, Chris Draper was there with his ”Corvette Info Center” FB page. This has recently been changed to “My Corvette Life” to match Chris’ YouTube Channel. In 2005 Chris’ grandparents traded in what was by that time, their “old” 1989 Corvette on a new 2005 Mustang, but fortunately, they got over that “Mustang thing” in less than a year. In 2006 Chris’ grandparents let him (now 17 years old) fill out the order form for their new 2006 Corvette Coupe. Soon after, his grandfather joined a local Corvette club and Chris would attend the club meetings on Sundays. Sometimes, his grandfather would let Chris drive the new Corvette. By this time, Chris had a 1995 Camaro (a very nice first ride for a 17-year-old young man) that earned him his first speeding ticket. (Are we surprised? Been there, done that!) From hanging with the Corvette club folks (I’m sure that Chris was the only person they knew that had his own website!) Chris befriended a couple that let him take their 2006 Corvette Convertible to his Junior Prom. The following year, Chris’ grandfather let him take his 2006 Corvette Coupe to the senior prom with his high school sweetheart and future bride! You can clearly see how all of this is cementing “Corvette” into Chris’ heart and soul. It should be no surprise that Chris is a big Corvette Racing Team fan. Corvettes and Racing, as Forest Gump would say, “go together like peas and carrots!” It was around the year 2000 that Chris first saw the C5-R Corvette Racing Team’s all-out racecar. Finally, Chevrolet was solidly behind racing Corvettes and the car looked like the genuine bad-ass that it was. Now Chris had another facet of the world of Corvettes to assiduously follow. In 2009 when GM was going through bankruptcy, funding for Eddie Jaboure’s BadBoyVettes.com was cut off. (Jaboure was also the creator of the famed “Jake” Corvette Racing mascot). Chris reached out to Jaboure to help keep the website afloat. Since the beginning of the 2012 racing season at the 12 Hours of Sebring, Chris Draper has written every article at www.BadBoyVettes.com. The site is totally dedicated to reporting all news concerning the Corvette Racing Team. There’s also a large collection of Corvette Racing videos, photos, Jake images, and photo albums of really cool street Vettes. Chris has done a super job with the site. Kudos to you, Chris.
Chris graduated from college in 2011with a degree in CAD Design and Construction Management. The economy was not in good shape, but Chris was able to get a job with a construction company in the Phoenix area, close to where he lives. Then in 2013 Chris married his high school sweetheart, yes, the same gal he took to two proms in Corvettes! With the age of 30 closing in, Chris’ goal was to get a Corvette before he turned the big “THREE-OH!” After all, he had only been into Corvettes for nearly 25 years at that point! When it comes to Corvettes, one could not be more studied on “what to buy on a budget” than Chris Draper. He’d been doing his homework for a long time and knew from his studies that in today’s market, C5 Corvettes offer the best “bang for the buck”. There are stacks of C5s that owners don’t want any more because they want the newer Corvettes. All Corvettes seem to suffer this fate. The best example of this is the 1984-1985 Corvettes. In their day they were heralded as “The Best Vette Yet!” Today, you can get a 1984 Corvette for less than $5,000!
Chris’ hunt did not take long. In October 2017 he located a white 1998 Coupe with 110,000 miles for sale in Twentynine Palms, California, which was for Chris and his wife, about a four-hour drive. The car is mechanically sound, was really grubby, but had a nice array of performance parts that Chris would have added anyway. The 1998 Corvette had a Vararam Ram Air Intake, a performance camshaft, Kooks Long Tube Headers, an X-Pipe, and Cat-Backs. The suspension had been upgraded to C6 Z06 shocks, C6 Z51 sway bars, was lowered 1-1/2-inches, and had black Z06 wheels and Z06 size tires. That’s one heck of a good start!
Photo Credit: Logan Miller, Car Capture Photography
The owner was asking $9,000 for the car and Chris countered with an offer of $8,000, based on the Kelly Blue Book estimated value. The seller agreed. But while test driving the car the Check Engine light came on, so they took the car to an Auto Zone store to get a diagnosis. The issue was a clutch sensor. The seller had the receipt showing that that issue had been fixed two weeks before, so the seller took the $250 out of the price and the car was Chris’ first Corvette for just $7,750!
We should back up and mention that in 2008 Chris launched his YouTube Channel, “My Corvette Life” that mostly covered Corvette history and Corvette racing. In October 2017 when Chris started his Corvette hunt, he started a new Playlist on his YouTube Channel called, “C5 Corvette Videos” that chronicle his C5 Corvette adventure. That’s how I discovered Chris’ “My Corvette Life” YouTube Channel when I started my C5 hunt. Chris’ videos are totally engaging and brutally honest. He shares his hunt, when he looked at the car, when he drove the car home and how he called his grandfather on the road during a pit stop, and after he got the car home. The car was a grubby mess, but Chris was able to look past the dirt and grime and start the process of bringing his 1998 Corvette Coupe back to life. The car was a good candidate to become a racecar and would have been stripped, cut up, and modified for racing. That’s not a “bad” thing, but it’s nice to see street Corvette survivors. As of this writing (early July 2018) Chris has 50 YouTube videos that walk his viewers, step-by-step through his build experience. It is a delightful journey! His YouTube Channel also has nearly 200 other videos, including; Ride-Alongs, Vlog videos, Racing videos, and Road Trip videos.
In one of Chris’ videos posted in late June 2018 he said that his 1998 Corvette was pretty much complete. Veterans of performance project cars know that rarely are cars such as this ever 100% done; maybe 99.5% because there’s always some little thing that needs attention. With the mods that came with the car when Chris bought it, plus a lot of enhancing on his part, his 1998 LS1 has plenty of grunt and makes sweet thunder. And for Chris, he doesn’t need an 800-horsepower beast. His 1998 Corvette Coupe is the fulfillment of a life-long dream.
Photo Credit: Logan Miller, Car Capture Photography
The teachable moment with Chris Draper’s “My Corvette Life” journey is this. Attention Millennials! You don’t have to spend $60,000 or more for a Corvette, you can have one for a fraction of the price of a new Corvette. And then, you too will have a Vette! – Scott
Dateline: 7.10-18 (Photos by K. Scott Teeters) –For a good long time I have been asked, “So, when are you going to get another Corvette?” My standard answer was, “I’m working on it.” And I was, really. But, as we all know, life gets in the way sometimes, and sometimes for a long time. But it gave me time to really think about what I wanted.
For the longest time, I was focused on a 1996 Collector Edition Corvette with the optional LT4 330-horsepower engine and a six-speed transmission. I liked the car for several reasons. 1996 was the last year for the C4 generation and was the most refined of all of the C4s. The LT4 was the end of the line for the classic small-block Chevy engine and stands as the most developed of all of the small-block Chevy engines. While my favorite color for Corvettes is white, I also like silver Corvettes, as many experimental and prototype Corvettes have been silver. And I like the Collector Edition’s silver ZR-1 five-spoke mag-style wheels.
But as I trolled around on Craig’s List, CarGurus.com, and eBay, I noticed that 1996 Collector Edition Corvettes were going for as much as mid-year C5 Corvettes. Anyone who has studied Corvettes knows that while the C4 was a vast improvement over the C3, that was riding on a frame/chassis designed in 1960. By 1996, the C4 was riding on a frame/chassis that was designed in 1980.
The Chevrolet-backed Corvette Racing Team starts its 20th racing season this month and has consistently raced longer than any other team in IMSA history. But it all started today in 1999!
Dateline: 1.10.18, Images: AutoWeek & illustration by K. Scott Teeters –Now that the holidays are behind us, it’s time to get focused on important stuff – such as the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship racing season! Yes, The 2018 24 Hours of Daytonaevent is coming up January 26-29, just 2-1/2 weeks from today.
But 19 years ago today, when the new Corvette Racing Team, with their two new Pratt & Miller-built C5-R Corvettes made their debut, no one knew the new enterprise would be so successful. Corvette racing fans were thrilled and let out a collective, “IT’S ABOUT TIME!”
GM’s standoffish attitude towards Corvette racing had been perplexing since the bad old days of the 1957 AMA Racing Ban that stopped the 1957 Corvette SS Racer and the Duntov’s 1963 Grand Sports dead in their tracks. Or as Zora used to say, “Came to a screeching halt!”Yes, the 1980s Showroom Stock and Corvette Challenge cars were cool, but Continue reading “
Corvette Timeline Tales: January 10, 1999 – Two C5-R Corvette race cars start testing for the 1999 24 Hours of Daytona – 2 VIDEOS” →
