The Mystery of the MacDonald/Simpson 1961 Corvette Special
Whatever became of the first, independent, purpose-built, 1,750-pound Corvette racer? Unless you are familiar with the early days of Corvette racing, the name Dave...
Tagged: shelby cobra
Z06 Corvette Review, Pt. 5 – The Grady Davis 1963 Z06 Race Car
Grady Davis’ Successful 1963 Z06 Corvette Becomes a Million Dollar Collectible Dateline: 7-20-22 Graphics and illustrations by K. Scott Teeters, this story first appeared in...
1963 Aluminum 377 Small-Block Chevy Engine
Discover the story of the rare 1963 aluminum 377 small-block Chevy engine — a lightweight racing powerplant that pushed Corvette performance boundaries. Built for competition and innovation, this experimental small-block highlighted Chevrolet’s engineering ambition and helped shape the future of high-performance Corvette engines.
Duntov Files, Pt. 6 – Zora Looks Back at the 1963 Grand Sport Adventure
This story, “Zora Looks Back” offers some interesting insights into Duntov’s tenure at GM, as well as the “Lightweight Grand Sport Corvette” experience. For instance, Duntov said, “It was a quick and dirty sledgehammer project that we put together in a couple of months. There were so many compromises and constraints that we made something of which I am not particularly proud.” Interesting. Well, we sure love them!
Corvette Timeline Tails: Happy 99th Birthday Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen
Within the machinations of a big corporation, to get things done, it’s good to have an angel. Zora Arkus-Duntov had several angels. We’ve talked about Duntov’s relationship with Chevrolet honcho Ed Cole. But one angle that doesn’t get much attention was Simon “Bunkie” Knudsen.
Simon’s father was former GM president, William S. Knudsen. While this was helpful for the younger Kneudsen’s career, things weren’t handed to Bunkie – he had to work for what he accomplished. Like many teenage boys of his generation, Simon was interested in mechanical things. When he asked for a car, his Dad gave him one… in pieces for the young man to out back together. During his college years, Summer break meant a stint working at Gm… on the assembly line. Upon graduation, Knudsen got a job at Pontiac in 1939 and quickly rose up through the management ranks. By 1956 he was the general manager at Pontiac.
