Tag: 1969 corvette

Duntov Files, Part 5 E-Book: Car Life July 1969 Wildest Corvette Test Yet, Big-Blocks

Published on by Scott

 

 

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

You can download the PDF E-Booklet HERE.

Check out the entire E-Booklet Collection, HERE.

The Duntov Files, Part 2 E-Book: Car Life Magazine July 1969 Wildest Corvette Test Yet, FREE E-Book

Published on by Scott

Next installment of FREE Corvette E-Books from K. Scott Teeters’ collection of Corvette Reference Material

Dateline: 10.24.18 – To download this free E-Book, CLICK HERE –  – I do not recall when “Car Life Magazine” stopped publishing, (old issues are available on eBay) but in the 1960s it was one of my favorite car magazines.

Back in the day, car magazines typically came out the same month, or the month before the specific month printed on the cover and on the footer of every page. I got my July 1969 issue of ”Car Life” as my summer vacation was beginning. I had just graduated from junior high school and was about to turn 15-years-of-age; almost two years away from when I could get my driver’s license!

Perhaps to smooth over the not so great roll out of the 1968 Corvette the year before, Zora Arkus-Duntov arranged for the ultimate Corvette road test of EIGHT different 1969 Corvettes! Three small-blocks and five big-blocks, plus Zora brought along his development ZL1 toy. I read that long article over, and over, and over that summer. By the time I went back to school in September, I was “Mr. Corvette”!

Enjoy and feel free to share with your Corvette friends. –Scott

Here are the PDF download links to all 4 of the Duntov Files, as of 2.16.21.

Duntov Files, Pt. 1

Duntov Files, Pt. 2

Duntov Files, Pt. 3

Duntov Files. Pt. 4

 

PS – You can download a low-resolution and high-resolution PDF version of the 1969 Corvette sales brochure from the GM Archives collection, HERE!

 

C3 Corvette Wednesday, Check Out 1968 to 1982 Corvettes – Reasonably Priced!

Published on by Scott

K. Scott Teeters Corvette art prints are available in our Amazon store!

Metal-1978-Corvette

Wednesday, the third day of the week is our day to honor the third generation Corvettes. Vettes from 1968 to 1982 are also referred to as “Shark” Corvettes because they were styled after the awesome 1965-1966 Mako Shark II show car.

If you are looking for an entry level Corvette, the newer C3 Corvettes can be purchased at very reasonable prices for several reasons. First, Chevrolet sold STACKS of them. Sales of the 1976 to 1981 Corvettes were astonishing with each year selling OVER 40,000 cars per year! The only ever year to experience similar sales was the first year of the C4 Corvette, 1984. Continue reading “

C3 Corvette Wednesday, Check Out 1968 to 1982 Corvettes – Reasonably Priced!” →

Vette Videos: Driving The Night – A Corvette Celebration of Light & Shape

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 3.21.12

Feast your eyes on the lines and shapes of this classic Bill Mitchell Shark Corvette

For shark Corvette fans, this is a MUST-SEE Corvette video. The video looks to have been shot inside a long, lighted roadway tunnel because the light reflections is what creates this artistic, dreamy video.

As you are watching, keep in mind that the shape of the car was worked out almost 50 years ago! And it still is dripping with sexitude. Continue reading “Vette Videos: Driving The Night – A Corvette Celebration of Light & Shape” →

Vette Polls: What’s Your Favorite 1968-1982 Shark Corvette?

Published on by Scott2 Comments

Dateline: 10.5.11
The Mako Shark II show car styling forever defined the “Corvette look.” What’s your favorite? Take our poll at the end of this post!

The Mako Shark-II show car was about 7/8s the size of the production '68 Corvette. Or at least, it looked that way.

The 1965-1966 Mako Shark-II show car was so over the top, it just had to be the next Corvette! Chevrolet management was so jazzed they wanted it a year! The first Mako Shark-II was a non-running car and was shown to Chevrolet management in Spring of 1965. I guess because the chassis and running gear would be a carry over from the then current Sting Ray, management thought a totally new body and interior could be designed and developed in time for Fall ‘66 delivery to showrooms as a ‘67 model – 18 months? No way!

So the schedule was pushed back a year to Fall ‘67 as a ‘68 model – and even that was pushing it! The end result was that ‘68 models were, shall we say, challenging. Even through everyone’s socks were going up and down over the look of the car, customers were shocked at how rough their premium car was. The new Shark Corvette should have been introduced as a ‘69 model, but hindsight is 20/20. The ‘69 model was a big improvement and things went from there.

Special thanks to Tom Henry Racing for photo. To visit their site, click the above image.

Of course, we all tend to think that things will always improve, right? So when the ‘70 Corvettes came out with their LT-1 small-blocks, and  enlarged, 454 big-blocks, we all assumed things were going to get even better. But a one-two punch landed squarely on the jaw of performance cars with a right jab from the insurance companies and a left hook from the oil companies and new environmental concerns. While getting the lead out of gasoline was a good thing, it took a long time for performance to recover. 1970 turned out to be the high watermark for performance and it was downhill for almost 15 years.

While the performance party was definitely over in the ‘70s and car makers were dropping their muscle cars like hot potatoes, it turned out to be a good thing for Corvettes. Continue reading “Vette Polls: What’s Your Favorite 1968-1982 Shark Corvette?” →