Tag: corvette history

Duntov Was There Before Harley Earl Conceived the Corvette Photo Essay E-Book

Published on by Scott

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

The Duntov Files E-Book, Pt. 3: Corvette News June/July 1975 “The Marque of Zora”

Published on by Scott

An insightful interview with Zora Arkus-Duntov interview just before he retired.

Dateline: 2.2.21 – To download this PDF E-Book, CLICK HERE –A few months ago at one of our Highlands Corvette Club (Lake Placid FL) monthly Corvette car shows a fellow came up to the sign-in table where I was working and he had a box with several dozen issues of Corvette News from the 1970s.

The June/July 1975 issue had what might have been one of Duntov’s last interviews before retiring as Corvette Chief Engineer. The article starts out, “As we entered his office at Chevrolet Engineering, Zora greeting us warmly…”

What followed is an insightful, warm, eight-page interview with the Godfather of Corvettes.

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

Corvette Timeline Tales: Sept 2, 1994 – The National Corvette Museum Officially Opens

Published on by Scott

Dan Gale & Zora Arkus-Duntov’s Dream Comes True, After a TON of Work

1-NCM-A-TN

Dateline: 9.2.15 – There are many car museums in the world but nothing like the National Corvette Museum. Located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, just a quarter-mile from where Corvettes are built, customers can not only tour the assembly plant, they can take in Corvette history at the museum. Starting in 2001, Corvette customers could take delivery of their new car at the museum (option RPO R8C) and get the full royal treatment. The museum was the dream of the late Dan Gale and Zora Arkus-Duntov. In 1986 the Library, Archives, and Museum Committee was formed and Gale was one of the charter members. Duntov wanted a place to store the artifacts of Corvette history.

Duntov-Gale Obviously, a lot of money needed to be raised and in 1991 Gale was elected as president of the NCM’s board of directors and headed up the “Capital Campaign” Continue reading “

Corvette Timeline Tales: Sept 2, 1994 – The National Corvette Museum Officially Opens” →

Ken Lingenfelter Remembers Father of Corvette, Zora Arkus Duntov

Published on by Scott

lingenfelter-05

Corvette collector Ken Lingenfelter sits in his 1954
EX-87 “Duntov Mule” Corvette in Brighton, Michigan.
Lingenfelter said the car is now worth $2 million.
John M. Galloway, Detroit News

by Lauren Abdel-Razzaq as republished from The Detroit News

Through seven generations, the Corvette has created a legacy of success on the race track, a performance parts program that rivals any in the auto industry and legions of devoted fans.

“General Motors is riding high on the Corvette now,” said car guy Ken Lingenfelter, owner of the Lingenfelter Collection and Lingenfelter Performance Engineering. “The car is so desirable.”

He would know. He’s got 75 Corvettes himself, including some of the most famous and rarest models built.

But none of them would exist without Zora Arkus-Duntov. He’s the man that put the Z in Z06. Continue reading “

Ken Lingenfelter Remembers Father of Corvette, Zora Arkus Duntov” →

Dispatches from Detroit – Corvette Display Ads History by Richard Lentinello

Published on by Scott

Feature Article from Hemmings Classic Car as originally published on July, 2013 – Richard Lentinello

republished from Hemmings Blog

1-lentinello corvette story

Dateline: 7.29.15 It’s been over 60 years since Chevrolet unveiled the Corvette, a car which has become the longest-running production model in General Motors’ history. Backed by a fanatical fan-base spanning the globe, the Corvette has earned the right to be called an American institution. And judging by the recent introduction of the new C7 model, interest in Corvettes is bound to remain strong for generations to come. Just try to name another car that comes close to what the Corvette has achieved. Continue reading “

Dispatches from Detroit – Corvette Display Ads History by Richard Lentinello” →

Car Club USA: Corvette Homecoming – Video

Published on by Scott

Here’s What Corvettes Mean To People

CorvetteHomecoming-600

The other day Joe Pruitt, the Event Coordinator/Owner of the National Corvette Homecoming event contacted me to tell me about their new event video by Efran Films that covered the National Corvette Homecoming 2014 event. This is a very touching video that captures what Corvettes mean to people. As we know, they’re not just “car” they’re something else. Actually, the people in the video say it perfectly. This video has heart! Enjoy! – Scott

www.corvettehomecoming.com
www.twitter.com/bgcorvette
www.facebook.com/bgcorvette

Chevy Debuts the New 1978 Corvette

Published on by Scott

1978-Corvette-Ad-1

The 1978 Corvette Gets a Well-Deserved Major Refresh


Thirty-six years ago today Chevrolet released the new 1978 Corvette. Chevy’s sports car was selling well considering the times. Muscle cars were all but dead, gas prices were up to around 75-cents-a-gallon (GOSH!), and the economy was in a slump. However, the Corvette was getting a little stale-looking, so when the ’78 model was released, it was a “WOW!”

The new bubble fastback roof was sweet indeed. One of the shortcomings of the ’68 to ’77 Corvette coupes was a serious lack of rear stowage area. Unlike the ’63-to-’67 Sting Ray Coupe that had a fairly good size space behind the seats (for a sports car), the C3 coupes up to ’77 had a narrow slot tall enough for a suit case and not much more.The new roof design not only yielded more room in the back, it helped brighten up the refreshed interior and eliminate a serious rear-view blind spot. Continue reading “Chevy Debuts the New 1978 Corvette” →

Corvette History: 10-3-85 – The Return of the Roadster! The Convertible is Back!

Published on by Scott

1986 Corvette Convertible Is Back!!!

1986-Corvette-AdThe Corvette was born as a roadster, so it was a sad day in 1975 when Chevrolet announced that the 1976 Corvette would only be available as a Coupe. Yes, the convertible was history! “Safety concerns” were the stated reasoning. Yea, it was “A Bummer, Man!”

Fast forward to October 3, 1985 Chevrolet announced that the Corvette convertible was back! Yes, the Roadster Corvette had returned!

A large X-brace was added to the bottom of the frame to stiffen the chassis and the ride height was increased slightly, and no one cared. The drop-top, open-air motoring Corvette was back.

Later it was announced that the ’86 Corvette convertible would pace the Indy 500 and that ALL 1986 Corvette Convertible would be designated as Pace Car replicas, regardless of the color. Of the 35,109 Corvettes sold in 1986, 7,315 (20.8%) were convertibles. Continue reading “Corvette History: 10-3-85 – The Return of the Roadster! The Convertible is Back!” →

Book Review: Corvette Sixty Years – by Randy Leffingwell

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 7.5.12

A Most Excellent Addition To Your Corvette Library

I’ve been collecting car magazines and car books since the mid-’60s. My library has gotten larger than I ever imagined. There’s one book that I accidentally bought three times. I have four different versions of essentially the same book authored by Randy Leffingwell and published by Motorbooks. All four versions are very nice books, loaded with excellent images and well written prose by Leffingwell. But each time I bought the book online, I thought I was getting a different book because the covers and sizes are all different.

So, when I saw that Motorbooks was publishing “Corvette Sixty Years,” I was holding out in hopes of a totally new book and not a shuffled around version of the previous “Corvette Fifty Years” with some updated C5 and C6 material. I was NOT disappointed! Leffingwell and MBI have delivered the goods! The book is, for me, a visual delight. You see, when you have as many books and magazines as I have, you’ve probably seem nearly all of the old vintage photos showing the design and development work on the Corvette. At least, that’s what I thought!

Continue reading “Book Review: Corvette Sixty Years – by Randy Leffingwell” →

Vette Videos: Visit Bowling Green Corvette Assembly Plant… On Your Computer!

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 10.13.11
Check out the state-of-the-art Bowling Green Corvette factory on “Ultimate Factories.”

Back in the olden days, you know, pre-Bowling Green, if you wanted to buy a Corvette, you simply went to your friendly local Chevrolet dealer and bought your car. While some Corvette buyers may have been aware that their Corvette was built in St. Louis, most couldn’t have cared less, and were more focused on the experience of owning and driving their Corvette, rather than where it was assembled.

All Corvettes from 1953 to 1980 were built in the old St. Louis assembly plant. If you go back and read early road tests from the ‘60s and ‘70s you’ll see a consistent complaint – spotty to poor build quality. Some cars were built very well, most okay, and too many not good at all. It was a time when you didn’t want a “Monday car” for obvious reasons. Owners and magazine writers complained and GM listened. By ‘77 GM started looking for a new Corvette facility. Four location candidates were identified: Waco, Texas, Wichita, Kansas, Montgomery, Alabama, and Bowling Green, Kentucky. The little town of Bowling Green, Kentucky  won the contest after granting GM some serious tax breaks.

Once the deal was signed, GM had just 15 months to convert the old Chrysler AirTemp plant into a state-of-the-art assembly plant, ONLY for Corvettes. Floor space was enlarged to a million square feet – about 22 football fields. This move on GM’s part put to rest all concerns as to how serious GM was about building Corvettes. On June 1, 1981, Kentucky Governor John Brown drove the very first Bowling Green-built Corvette off the assembly line. (I wonder how much THIS car will go for at auction some day?) This was arguably one of THE most important developments in Corvette history. Continue reading “Vette Videos: Visit Bowling Green Corvette Assembly Plant… On Your Computer!” →

Corvette Pace Cars – The First Indy 500 Corvette Pace Car

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 9.19.11
From the Archives of  The Illustrated Corvette Series

The Corvette’s tough-guy legend is founded on racing and performance. By the mid-to-late ‘70s, Corvette high-performance and racing efforts were in the pits. Power was down, weight was up, and Porsches were eating the Corvette’s lunch at the race track. The announcement that the 25th anniversary Corvette would also be the pace car at the ’78 Indy 500, looked like the highlight of the decade for Corvette fans. But controversy was in the mix right from the beginning.

Initially, it looked like a triple-play for Chevrolet. First, the ’78 Corvette received a sleek new fastback roof that completed the overall redesign started in ’73 with the soft bumper covers. Second, all Corvettes wore the 25th Anniversary badges. And third, three special Corvettes would serve as the pace cars at the ’78 Indy 500, and replicas would be available. Then the details set in.

The initial proposal was that there would be 300 pace car replicas, the same number as the ’53 production run. The car would have a two-tone silver paint (for the silver anniversary), red pin striping, and special Goodyear tires with “CORVETTE” sidewall lettering. Then the plan was to make 2,500 replicas, 100 for each year of production. But there were 6,200 dealers that all wanted at least one replica, so production went up to 6,502 units. Then two key elements were changed. The special “CORVETTE” tires were deemed too expensive, and paint was changed to sliver and black.

Then there was the price issue. The RPO 1YZ8778 package cost $4,302, on top of the $9,351 base price – a 46-percent premium! Here’s what came with the option. The exterior had special two-tone paint and pin striping, unique front and rear spoilers, glass roof panels, sport mirrors, and red pin stripped aluminum wheels on P225/60R15 tires. The interior came with power windows and door locks, tilt-telescopic steering column, convenience group, silver thin-shell seats, AM/FM with a CB radio or an 8-track tape player, dual rear speakers, and a power antenna. The $525 L82 engine rated at 220-hp was not part of the package.

The controversy started right on the showroom floor. For a premium collectible,” quality was not good. On many of the cars, fender seams and slight bubbles were clearly visible. The black upper body paint only made the defects look worse. Then there were the opportunistic dealers who tacked on surcharges that bumped the price up to between $15,000 to $22,000. Continue reading “Corvette Pace Cars – The First Indy 500 Corvette Pace Car” →

Kevin Mackay’s Drivable, See-Thru, ’69 L-88 Corvette

Published on by Scott

Drivable Corvette Art

I consider Kevin Mackay to be a “Corvette artist.” Some of us use paint, markers, pen & ink, etc. You know, “artsey” stuff. Some artists work in other mediums – such as metal and fiberglass. Kevin Mackay’s “Corvette Repair” doesn’t just perform world-class restoration work on classic C1, C2, and C3 Corvette race cars and regular Corvettes, Kevin is also a mechanical, educational artist.

It’s always a pleasure to see Kevin at the shows. Last weekend we were vendors at the Strictly Corvettes and American Muscle Cars Show in Atlantic City. When you love Vettes, what’s there to not like about a Corvette show? We saw lots of smiles and had many interesting conversations. Kevin Mackay was on hand for the third year in a row with a delightful stable of customer cars, as well as several of his beauties. Continue reading “Kevin Mackay’s Drivable, See-Thru, ’69 L-88 Corvette” →