Tag: K. Scott Teeters

Vette Videos: Hot Lap Action With the 2012 Indy 500 ZR1 Corvette Pace Car

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 5.25.12

Ryan Briscoe take a blast in the 2012 60th Anniversary ZR1 Indy 500 Pace Car – calls it, “One hell of a race car!”

This weekend is the 96th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Motorsports, the Indy 500. Over the years, some of the cars that pace the race have become stars themselves. And none more that the Corvette Indy Pace Cars. After all, the Indy 500 is America’s race and the Corvette is America’s high performance sports car, so the relationship is a natural. This will be the 11th time (‘78, ‘86. ‘95, ‘98, ‘03, ‘04, ‘05, ‘06, ‘07, and ‘08) a Corvette has served as the official Indy 500 pace car.

The last time a Corvette served as an Indy 500 pace car was in 2008 when not one, but two unique Indy Pace Car Corvettes were on hand. A black and silver version was available as an option for Corvette buyers, with 234 Coupes and 266 convertibles sold that year. But the actual pace car was an experimental, Gold Rush Green Z06 running on E-85 fuel. This unique paint was a brilliant candy gold that changed into candy lime green depending on the light and angle of view. I thought for sure this might be a prototype paint for a possible Continue reading “Vette Videos: Hot Lap Action With the 2012 Indy 500 ZR1 Corvette Pace Car” →

NEW Corvette Prints! The Corvette Box of Candies

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 5.23.12

A colorful new addition to Scott Teeters’ collection of Corvette art prints!

To test drive our new site and design your Corvette print, CLICK THE ABOVE PICTURE. The vertical layout version is below.

Work continues on our new prints enterprise. In April 2012 we partnered with Fine Art America so that our Corvette art print customers could enjoy the many options afforded by FAA. Our latest offering, “Corvette Box of Candies” came as a happy result of working on our horizontal and vertical layouts of the Corvette Special Editions and Corvette Indy 500 Pace Cars layouts.

After I completed the graphics for the Special Editions and Pace Cars, it occurred to me that if I put them all on one layout, they’d look like a box of brightly colored, pretty, hard candies. You know those bright-colored, sweet, hard candies you often see in the display cases at Hallmark Card shops. Corvettes in the layout include all of the Special Edition Corvettes from the 1978 25 Anniversary Corvette to the 2011 Carbon Edition Z06, and Corvette Indy 500 Pace Cars from 1978 to 2008. So I ran the idea by the boss and she said, “Make it so, Dude!” So, the Dude, got’r done! Continue reading “NEW Corvette Prints! The Corvette Box of Candies” →

Vette Videos: Mrs Knudsen’s Ride – Arguably the World’s ONLY Hot Pink 1964 396 Corvette!

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 10.11.11
Chevrolet’s general manager Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen had some very cool perks. So did Mrs. Knudsen!

Special thanks to Jeffy Heasley for the photos. You can visit Jerry site at www.JerryHeasey.com/, or just click the above image.

Yesterday we told you about Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen’s factory custom ‘64 Blue Fire Mist Corvette Coupe. Well, what a NICE husband Semon must have been! Here’s the ‘64 Corvette Bunkie got for his misses. (I know, what’a guy!) What’s not known is if Mrs. Knudsen said, “Semon, so where’s MY Corvette?” or if he just surprised her one day. I’ll vote that he surprised her one day.

This is another example of what the GM Design Center was capable of creating. In retrospect GM “could” have spun off a little boutique business offering customized luxury V.I.P. versions of their top cars, but that’s just a bench racing fantasy of mine. Florence Knudsen’s Corvette Sting Ray was just dripping with special features and some interesting preproduction features.
This car was once part of former Chevrolet dealer, Bob McDorman’s very large Corvette collection. In November 2010, 150 of McDorman’s collection of Corvettes were auctioned off by Mecum Auctions for a total of $4,599,000. Bunkie Knudsen’s Blue Fire Mist ‘64 Corvette Convertible went for $400,000 and Mrs. Knudsen’s ‘64 Corvette Coupe went for 280,000. A slide show of Jerry Heasley photos and a video are below. Here’s a list of the production options that were on the car, custom features, and hand-made fabricated parts.

Special thanks to Jeffy Heasley for the photos. You can visit Jerry site at www.JerryHeasey.com/, or just click the above image.

Too often, cars such as this are bought and sold over and over to the point of becoming a derelict. This is what happened to the beautiful Bob Wingate FS&O 427 ‘67 Corvette. When the current owner bought the car, it was an abused hulk of what was once an awesome automobile. We’ll be covering the Wingate car tomorrow.

 

 

 

Here are the features of Florence Knudsen’s customized 1964 Corvette.

Factory Production Options:

* AM/FM radio with power antenna.
* Air conditioning.
* Telescope steering column and teak wood steering wheel. Continue reading “Vette Videos: Mrs Knudsen’s Ride – Arguably the World’s ONLY Hot Pink 1964 396 Corvette!” →

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” →

R.I.P. Betty Skelton – Champion Aviatrix, Speed Record Holder, Advertising Executive, & Corvette Racer

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 9.8.11
A Genuine American Hero and Roll Model For Women

“I just like to go fast. I enjoy it, I really do.” - Betty Skelton

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of another Corvette legend, Betty Skelton. The Corvette community first met Betty in January 1956 when she was part of the three-driver team of Duntov-modified ‘56 Corvettes that were on a hunt for speed records on the sands of Daytona Beach as part of Speed Week.

But Betty was already a champion – a champion of the air. She was the U.S. Feminine Aerobatic Champion in 1948, 1949, and 1950. Betty started flying when she was just 16-years old and in 1948 bought a Pitts Special experimental, single-seater biplane that she named, “Little Stinker.” She tried to join the military’s Women Air Service Pilots (WASP) but it was disbanded before Betty reached the minimum age of 18-1/2. Undaunted, Betty got her commercial rating when she was 18, instructor rating at 19, and became an instructor with the Civil Air Patrol. As if that wasn’t enough, she started aerobatic flying in a Fairchild PT-19. This gal definitely had “The Right Stuff.”

While all this high-profile flying got Betty a lot of attention, it didn’t pay well. She landed a job with Campbell-Ewald as a liaison between Chevrolet and racers that were given R&D parts for “field testing.” She was petite, cute, charming, and formed bonds with everyone she worked with. With her background in flying, and her champion credentials, plus her good-looks and charm, she was a shoe-in for the ‘56 Daytona Corvette team.

For the three-car team, Duntov drove his ‘55 mule Corvette dressed with ‘56 body panels, while Betty and John Fitch drove the specially prepared ‘56 Corvette. For the top speed part of the event, Fitch came in 1st place in the production-sports car class with a speed of 145.543-MPH and Betty came in 2nd place with a speed of 137.773-mph. It should be noted that there were very strong head winds that kept the Corvettes from running over 150-mph.

Four years later, Betty shocked the world by being the only woman to undergo and pass all of the physical and psychological tests given to the Mercury astronauts. There were 7 Mercury astronauts and LOOK Magazine put Betty on the cover in her silver space suit and helmet, with the headline, “Should A Girl Be First In Space?” (pardon the sexist “girl” reference, that just how people spoke then)

[nggallery id=30] Continue reading “R.I.P. Betty Skelton – Champion Aviatrix, Speed Record Holder, Advertising Executive, & Corvette Racer” →

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” →

1982 Collector Edition Corvette – The Polished Shark

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 9.5.11
Illustrated Corvette Series looks back at the Last of the C3 Corvettes

For the last three months I’ve been having fun with my VETTE Magazine monthly column, “The Illustrated Corvette Series” looking back at what I believe are the “best” of every generation Corvette. So far, we have looked at the ‘62 Fuelie Corvettes and the ‘67 427/435 L89 Big-Block. This month we’re looking at the last of the C3 Corvettes, the ‘82 Collector Edition Hatchback. While it wasn’t the stump-puller from the late ‘60s and early ‘70, the ‘82 Collector Edition was a very sweet machine. So, let’s get straight to it! – Scott

The ‘70s had been a challenging and strange time for America’s sports car. Performance had been on a decline since ‘70 but because of little to-no-competition, Corvettes sold like hot cakes, hitting an all-time high of 53,807 units in ‘79. Between increasing federal demands for emissions and safety improvements, there was little time for performance. In fact, what should have been a performance improvement through the use of lighter materials – aluminum differential, tube headers, etc – was offset by reduced horsepower due to more stringent emissions controls.

When Dave McLellan inherited the Corvette from Zora Arkus-Duntov in ‘75, it was not a pretty picture. Poor quality was rooted in the seriously outdated 1920s St. Louis plant. Rumors of a new assembly plant began in ‘73. Another challenge was the Corvette’s very old chassis and drivetrain. Designed in ‘61, most components were not shared with any other GM car. John DeLorean tried to address this issue with his plan to build Corvettes on the Camaro/Firebird chassis pan. While this might have made GM’s bean counters happy, it would have been a bad move. McLellan was charged with the responsibility of tighter government controls, keeping the Corvette fresh, improving existing hardware, transitioning the car’s assembly plant, and designing and implementing the new C4. A real peach of a job, right? Continue reading “1982 Collector Edition Corvette – The Polished Shark” →

Say, what’s the easiest way to keep up with what’s happening at CorvetteReport.com?

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 8.31.11
We’ve made it “easy as pie” for ya!

Ever since we dropped a ZR1 LS9 engine into our blog site, we’ve been posting at least once a day, sometimes more. At first, I thought, “How in the world am I going to find interesting Corvette material to post every day?” HA! Silly me! With nearly 60 years of Corvettes to talk about, I’ve concluded that I could do this for another 100 years and not run out of material to cover! The topic is so broad and deep, there’s ALWAYS something fun and interesting to talk and write about in the world of Corvettes!

Enter your email address:

So, to make it fall-off-a-log easy for you to keep up with us, we’ve created the above handy-dandy, sign up form. It’s not a “newsletter,” just a brief email announcement letting you know that there’s a new post at CorvetteReport.com. The email you will receive will look like this… Continue reading “Say, what’s the easiest way to keep up with what’s happening at CorvetteReport.com?” →

Vette Shows: The Sights of C6 Corvettes at the 2011 30th Corvettes at Carlisle Show

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 8.29.11
2011 Corvettes at Carlisle Weeks continues with the first of our NEW “VETTE Shows”
Yes, Hurricane Irene put a wet blanket on the 30th Corvettes at Carlisle Show Saturday and Sunday of the 3-day annual event. But Friday was SUPER! Carlisle, Pennsylvania is located in the southern part of Pennsylvania and it tends to get rather hot and humid in the Summer. I’ve attended a few Carlisle events in the Summer that were absolutely STIFLING! Hurricane aside, we lucked out on Friday because the humidity wasn’t too bad, the temps were in the mid-80s, and there was a slight breeze. Over, you’d call it a “nice Summer day.” Between the two of us, Karen and I took about 500 photos of Corvettes.

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We’ll be sharing our photographic coverage of the show over the next week or so and Continue reading “Vette Shows: The Sights of C6 Corvettes at the 2011 30th Corvettes at Carlisle Show” →

From K. Scott Teeters Magazine Archives: Muscle Car Classics – The History of Muscle Cars Series

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 7.14.11
Lost & Found – Some Corvette material from one of my old magazine series.

Click the image for a MUCH larger image.

I have been fortunate enough to have had my automotive art published in various car magazines since 1975. My current series in VETTE Magazine, “The Illustrated Corvette Series” is now into its 15th year. But ICS is not the first “series” I have had. Actually, ICS is my 8th series. My previous series were:

“Imagineering” for VW & Porsche Magazine

“Blueprint Series” for Guide To Muscle Cars Continue reading “From K. Scott Teeters Magazine Archives: Muscle Car Classics – The History of Muscle Cars Series” →

NEW “Special Edition Corvettes” Art Prints Series!!!

Published on by Scott

Color Laser and Giclee Special Edition Corvettes Prints Series

1978 to 2011 Special Edition Corvettes

Special Edition Corvettes 1978 to 2011

I have a very nice relationship with VETTE Magazine. Since 1976 I’ve been a contributing artist and writer with the magazine shortly after founding editor Marty Schorr started the first Corvette-only newsstand magazine. My monthly column, “The Illustrated Corvette Series” started in Spring of ‘97 and continues on. Next week I’ll be starting No. 165 that will cover the awesome Greenwood G572 C4 Corvette.

The November ‘10 issue of VETTE saw a major makeover for the publication. Corvette Fever is no more, as it has been merged with VETTE. The “new” VETTE is 3/8” taller and wider, has 16 more pages, better paper, and a perfect binding. The new VETTE looks EXCELLENT, my compliments to VETTE’s art department. Included was The Illustrated Corvette Series No. 162 – Part 1 of a two-part, two-page color article that covers the Special Edition Corvettes from 1978 to 2003. Continue reading “NEW “Special Edition Corvettes” Art Prints Series!!!” →

Unique Corvette Laser Art Prints

Published on by Scott

Corvette Laser Art

C5 2001 – 2004 Zo6 Corvette Laser-Etched Art Print

How the New Corvette Laser Art Line Came to Be

by Illustrated Corvette Series Vette Magazine  Columnist and Book of Same Name Author, K. Scott Teeters

Apple Computer spokesperson, Guy Kawasaki is famous for saying, “The “idea” for a thing is the easy part. The hard part is the implementation.” That statement is spot on for hot we came to be  offering our new line of Laser-Etched Corvette prints. Continue reading “Unique Corvette Laser Art Prints” →