Category: Corvette Shows

Corvettes Unlimited of Vineland New Jersey’s Glass & Steel Show

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 10.26.11 (This is our 200th post!)

Corvette & Classic Car Autumn Fun in New Jersey

(Check out to six slide shows at the bottom of this post!)

Autumn in New Jersey makes up for Summer in New Jersey. If you can live in Jersey, you can live almost anywhere, as we get it all – LOTS of snow in the winter, below freezing temps in the winter, 100-degree temps with 95% humidity in the Summer and an occasional huricane. But when October rolls around, it’s PERFECT! And a fantastic time for a car show.

Corvettes Unlimited of Vineland, New Jersey changed their venue for their annual car show from Wheaton Village, in Millville to the Michael Debbie Park in Buena Vista. To draw more attendees, the club opened up the show to classic and muscle cars, hence the new name for the show, “The Glass & Steel Show.” While it turned out there there was more steel than glass, it was a delightful show just the same. I for one enjoyed the steel side as much as the glass side.

I took LOTS of pictures, so we have several slide shows to share with you below. Enjoy! – Scott

The People's Choice Award went to: Michael T. Cafarelli, of Minotola, N.J. - 2006 white coupe. The Best of Show Award went to: Gary & Patty Rickets of Salem, N.J. - 1965 silver & red Sting Ray coupe.

Here are the winners. All of the Corvettes in the show can be seen in the below slide shows.

Stock: 1963-1967 – 1st. place: Ole Olson, Northfield, N.J. – 1966 Red Convertible
Stock: 1968-1973 – 1st. place: Joe Biaselli, Vineland, N.J. – 1973 blue convertible
Stock: 1968-1973 – 2nd place: Louis Rodolico, Aston, Pa. – 1976 red coupe
Stock: 1968-1973 – 3rd. place: John O’Brien, Egg Harbor Township, N.J. – 1973 orange coupe
Stock 1974-1982 – 1st. place: Oscar Pierce, Bridgeton, N.J. – 1978 red coupe
Stock 1974-1982 – 2nd. place: Richard Thomas, Pittsgrove, N.J. – 1982 silver coupe
Stock 1983-1996 – 1st. place: Joseph Burrell, Williamstown, N.J. – 1984 red sport
Stock 1983-1996 – 2nd. place: Wayne Wright, Little Egg Harbor, N.J. – 1996 silver convertible
Stock 1983-1996 – 3rd. place: Jon E. Bowen, Pennsville, N.J. – 1994 dk. red coupe
Stock 1997-2004 – 1st. place: Carmen Petrongio, Vineland, N.J. – 2002 blue coupe
Stock 1997-2004 – 2nd place: Linda & Lou Deman, Nesco, N.J. – 2003 red convertible
Stock 2005-2012 – 1st. place: Dennis Enoch, Cherry Hill, N.J. – 2008 black convertible
Stock 2005-2012 – 2nd. place: John Ormsby, Glassboro, N.J. – 2008 red convertible
Stock 2005-2012 – 3rd. place: Buster Petonglo, Newfield, N.J. – 2009 blue Z06
Modified 1953-1967 – 1st. place: Paul Rickets, Pennsville, N.J. – 1966 blue convertible
Modified 1968-1975 – 1st. place: Bill& Dawn Merola, Egg Harbor Twp., NJ 1973 red convertible
Modified 1976-1982 – 1st. place: Bill & Sandy Ward, Mullica Hill, N.J. – 1982 grey coupe
Custom 1953-2012 – 1st.place: Gary & Patty Rickets, Salem, N.J. – 1965 silver coupe
Custom 1953-2012 – 2nd. place:  Jonathan Settrella       Bridgeton, N.J. – 1976 red coupe
People’s Choice: Michael T. Cafarelli, Minotola, N.J. – 2006 white coupe
Best of Show: Gary & Patty Rickets, Salem, N.J. – 1965  silver coupe

To access the slide shows and Continue reading “Corvettes Unlimited of Vineland New Jersey’s Glass & Steel Show” →

Vette Shows: 2010 Vettes at Glasstown Engines

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 9.10.11
Show us your engines!

I would venture to say that the most common question Corvette owners get is, “What year is your Vette?” Everyone wants to know how new or how old your Corvette happens to be. The second or third most common question owners hear is “What’s under the hood?” Now, we’re getting down to business. Were it not for stout, high-performance engines, Corvettes would have been just another Detroit pretty face. Two aspects of Corvettes that simply CAN NOT be disconnected on are “looks” and “power.”

In October 2010 when I attended the Vettes at Glasstown Corvette Show I took LOTS of pictures of Vette engines. Since most everyone had their hoods up and were saying in Corvette body language, “Hey! Look at my engine!” why not take pictures? When looked at over the span of nearly 60 years, you can clearly see visual phases in under-the-hood appearance.

From ‘53 to ‘66 engines were amazingly simple and 95% of everything was easily accessible. As emissions controls crept in, things got a little busy and by the end of the C3 generation, all kinds of things seemed to be growing under the hood. The first of the C4 engines had a big, honk’n cover over the cross-fire injectors and by ‘85 Vettes were again full-blown, fuel injected machines. The L98 and the LT1 and LT5 engines all had unique-looking fuelie designs. The LT-5 engine that powered the C4 ZR1 was as visually stunning as the old 427/435 big-blocks.

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With the arrival of the new LS-series in ‘97, the all-aluminum engines started wearing engine covers. Open the hood of a C5 or C6 Corvette and the biggest and first thing you see is the engine cover. The covers aren’t really needed, but they sure look cool and are now Continue reading “Vette Shows: 2010 Vettes at Glasstown Engines” →

The Briggs “Swift” Cunningham 1960 Fuel Injected Corvette is Now a Movie Star! “The Quest” DVD – Available Now

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 9.7.11
After years in the making, “The Quest” DVD can be yours for just $20 Bucks!
The 1960 Fuel Injected Corvette famously known as the “Cunningham Le Mans Assault” car is now a movie star! It seems that for most of us, there’s a Time/Date stamp on our affection for Corvettes that coincides with that first moment we laid eyes upon the machine. For me, it was ‘66 to ‘69 big block Corvettes. For Chip Miller, it may well have been this car, the 1960 Briggs “Swift” Cunningham 1960 Fuel Injected Corvette. it’s not hard to “get” the passion. When you look at the machine, it screams “RACE CAR!” And while that is definitely correct, a closer examination of the car reveals how astonishingly close the car is to a stock ‘60 Fuelie Corvette.

For an excellent look under the pretty fiberglass, check out THIS PAGE from the Corvette restoration masters at Corvette Repair. Kevin MacKay and his team are arguably the masters at vintage Corvette racer resto work. Thanks to Corvette Repair’s work, this car has won the NCRS American Heritage Award.

Here was the deal for this Le Mans-winning Corvette. The car started life as a new Fuel Injection optioned 1960 Corvette. Cunningham’s team was well seasoned at preparing a car for endurance racing and took maximum advantage of Duntov’s “racer kit” options. RPO-579D got you the then top-of-the-line 283/290-HP Fuelie engine. RPO-685 mated the 4-speed manual transmission to the Fuelie. RPO-687 added the heavy duty brakes and special steering. And RPO 1625A added the oversized 24-gallon fuel tank. That’s essentially all that was needed from the factory to build a race car upon. This configuration was the 1960 equal to a 2012 Z06. From there, the Cunningham team removed items that race cars don’t need, such as front bumpers, and fancy interior door panels, and added safety and go-fast parts, including racing lights, louvers on the hood for additional cooling, headlight covers, side-mounted exhausts, Halibrand lightweight racing wheels, a quick-fill gas cap, and miscellaneous other touches. The car was AMAZINGLY stock. This will be obvious when you check out Corvette Repair’s Portfolio Page.

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The rest is history. With John Fitch and Bob Grossman doing the driving, the Cunningham Corvette took first place in the GT 5000 class and finished in 8th place overall. Pretty damn impressive for a machine so close to a production car from St. Louis! Continue reading “The Briggs “Swift” Cunningham 1960 Fuel Injected Corvette is Now a Movie Star! “The Quest” DVD – Available Now” →

Vette Shows: The Sights of C3 Corvettes at the 2011 30th Corvettes at Carlisle Show

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 9.2.11
2011 Corvettes at Carlisle Week continues with coverage of 1968 to 1982 C3 Shark Corvettes!

Bill Mitchell’s Mako Shark II Corvette show car is arguably THE most important Corvette concept car ever! This car literally changed everything the Corvette had ever been in terms of styling. The design was so fresh, new, original, dynamic, and dripping with sex, it just HAD TO BE the next Corvette. Oh, how I wish I could have been in the GM styling review yard in March 1965 when Mitchell and his team rolled the nonfunctioning Make Shark II out for review to GM’s upper management. Too bad it wasn’t filmed. Management was so blown away they wanted it as the next production Corvette in ‘67!

After some name swapping, the ‘61 Shark show car was renamed Mako Shark I and the new design was named Mako Shark II. new die-cast badges were quickly made, and the new Mako Shark II was shipped off to the 9th International Automobile Show in New York City for its public debut. Believe it or not, the non-running, full-size show model cost GM nearly $3 Million! The crowd also got to see Chevrolet’s all-new 386 big-block engine under the tilt-forward nose of the Mako Shark. Next stop was the New York World’s Fair to the GM pavilion. What a heady time for Corvette lovers.

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Meanwhile, back at Chevrolet, the hard work had already begun. It was a case of exuberance vs reality. Management wanted the new Shark as the ‘67 Corvette, after all, it was just a new body and interior, so how hard could that be, right? it turned out to be more challenging than the suits realized and soon the release date was pushed back to 1968. Even with an extra year, it was still a rushed design, as it was soon discovered Continue reading “Vette Shows: The Sights of C3 Corvettes at the 2011 30th Corvettes at Carlisle Show” →

Vette Shows: The Sights of C4 Corvettes at the 2011 30th Corvettes at Carlisle Show

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 9.1.11
2011 Corvettes at Carlisle Week continues with coverage of 1984 to 1996 C5 Corvettes!

This is Michael Beal's custom 1991 ZR-1 Roadster. The LT-5 engine in the car was built by Corvete racing legend Kim Baker.

From 1984 to 1996 the C4 Corvettes arguably made more progress in terms of performance than any other generation Corvette. The ‘84 model arrived with the 205-horsepower “Cross-Fire Injection” engine and was quickly replaced with a real “fuelie,” the 230-horsepower L98 Bosch Tuned Port Injection engine. By ‘90 the 375-horsepower LT-5 engine arrived in the new ZR-1 and was bumped up to 405-horsepower by ‘93. The L98 received incremental improvements and hit 250-horsepower by ‘91 and was replaced with the 300-horsepower LT1 in ‘92. So, we saw some impressive power gains during the rein of the C4s.

And there were several interesting special edition C4s as well. There was the ‘86 Pace Car Special, the ‘88 35th Anniversary Edition, the ‘90 to ‘95 ZR-1 option (the single most expensive optional package in Corvette history!), the ‘93 40th Anniversary Edition, the ‘95 Pace Car, the ‘96 Collector Edition, and the ‘96 Grand Sport. That’s tremendous progress and consistent special editions that kept the C4s fresh and interesting.

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Corvettes so heavily dominated the SCCA Showroom Stock racing series they were kicked out! So, the Corvette Challenge “Corvettes only” race series was created. Morrison Motorsports blasted a 50-year speed record with a mildly-modified ZR-1 and Callaway build their 898-horsepower, 254.76-MPH Sledgehammer. Tuners such as Callaway, Greenwood, and Guldstrand offered Continue reading “Vette Shows: The Sights of C4 Corvettes at the 2011 30th Corvettes at Carlisle Show” →

Vette Shows: The Sights of C5 Corvettes at the 2011 30th Corvettes at Carlisle Show

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 8.30.11
2011 Corvettes at Carlisle Week continues with coverage of 1997 to 2004 C5 Corvettes!

Chevrolet sold just under 250,000 C5 Corvettes during its eight-year production run.  While under the leadership of Corvette chief of engineering Dave Hill, the Corvette moved more into the realm of a finished GT car than ever before. The new LS1 engine was stronger, the chassis was more rigid, the ride was more forgiving and precise, and the interior had more room for passenters and storage. And thanks to the C5-R Corvette Racing program and plenty of tuners, the new GT Corvette was more of a brute than it had ever been – but now it had refined manners to go along with its grunt.

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The high-water performance mark for the C4 Corvette came with the ‘’93 to ‘94 405-HP LT-5-powered ZR-1. By 2002, the C5 LS6-powered Z06 packed the same horsepower figures as the later C4 ZR-1s, but at a substantially lower price. A ‘95 ZR-1 cost around $68,000 to start. The C5 2002 Z06 came in at the bargain price if $50,150. Seven years later and nearly $18,000 LESS, now that’s what I call progress! Continue reading “Vette Shows: The Sights of C5 Corvettes at the 2011 30th Corvettes at Carlisle Show” →

Vette Videos: 13 Videos Featuring the Sights and Sounds of the Corvettes at Carlisle Show!

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 8.28.11 (Our 150th post!)
All you’ll need is a knockwurst with mustard on a bun and a tall, frosty root beer!

Special thanks to Jason Harding at CorvetteForum.com.

Perhaps you are simply too far away from southeastern Pennsylvania to attend. Fret not, we’ll bring the show to you. Unless you have been holed up in your Corvette or in your man-cave, you may have missed the news that a hurricane zipped up the East Coast. Hurricane Irene made a mess here and there. While the southeastern part of Pennsylvania only caught the western edges of Irene, Saturday was a yucky day and Sunday was only better in that it was not raining like it was Saturday night. While Irene didn’t deliver a washout, it didn’t help.

I can only describe the Corvettes at Carlisle experience as a “happening.” Pardon the 60s expression, but I AM a baby boomer. There’s so much to see, look at, oggle, take in, sounds, smells, talking, laughing, smiling. Plus, the Corvettes! (12 more videos below) Continue reading “Vette Videos: 13 Videos Featuring the Sights and Sounds of the Corvettes at Carlisle Show!” →

Corvette Timeline Tales: August 26 – 28, 2011 – 30th Anniversary of Corvettes at Carlisle Show!

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 8.27.11
Corvettes here, there, and everywhere. CORVETTES as far as the eye can see!
It all began on September 26, 1974 when friends Bill and Chip Miller rented the Carlisle Fairgrounds for their first old car parts swap meet. Some 600 vendors rented 800 spaces and over 13,000 car enthusiasts paid $1.00 each to attend. Year after year, Chip and Bill kept improving their operation. In 1981 the Millers bought the 82-acre parcel of land and not only created a local landmark, but established an enterprise that brings in $97 Million dollars to the local economy. Carlisle, Pa has never been the same since!

Being Corvette enthusiasts to begin with, Chip and Bill didn’t need much coaxing to launch a Corvette-only show in August 1981. Over 25,000 Corvette lovers attended to see over 2,000 Corvettes, and a new Corvette tradition was born. Since then everyone who’s anyone in the world of Corvettes has been to the Carlisle show: Zora Arkus-Duntov, Dave Mclellan, Dave Hill, Larry Shinoda, Wil Cooksey. race car drivers including, John Fitch, Mario Andretti, Dick Guldstrand, Tony Delorenzo, artists including Dana Forrester, Dan McCrary, and the list goes on and on.

If you have never been to the Carlisle, let me describe the facility. The first thing that you are aware of is that the place is HUGE! Carlisle is located in the rolling hills of south east Pennsylvania in what is known as “Pennsylvania Dutch Country.” The town of Carlisle dates back to 1751, but is most known for the Carlisle War College that dates back to 1904. Carlisle is also known for the Carlisle Indian Industrial School that was started in 1879. After you enter the fairground, if you look around, you’ll see that the facility is situated in a very large bowl-shaped area. For the Corvettes show, Carlisle productions only allows Corvettes to park in the infield. So, when you are inside, all you see are CORVETTES. Aside from a few trucks and support vehicles, everywhere you look, you see CORVETTES. After four or five hours, it’s sensory overload. “Oh look! Ah, just another ZR1!”

Building T is where you’ll find the “Chip’s Choice” feature Corvettes. Every year there’s a different theme. For 2011 the theme was “Corvette Barn Finds.” Everyone loves a good barn find story, so why not a collection a lost and found old Vettes – patina dirt and everything. In previous years Chip’s Choice has featured Corvette race cars, movie cars, retro rod Vettes, and more. Continue reading “Corvette Timeline Tales: August 26 – 28, 2011 – 30th Anniversary of Corvettes at Carlisle Show!” →