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Register Early!Friday Night party fills up fast.Full info & form
in April Legends Newsletter
June 10-17 Hot Rod Power Tour Kansas City, KS-Bowling Green, KY Via Newton, IA, Davenport, IA, Champaign, IL, Madison, IL, Indianapolis, IN,
*June 10 Legends Club Meeting Café Del Rio 11 AM 401 Central Expwy South, Allen, TX (214) 383-6768 (exit Bethany Rd.)
*June 16 Friends Place Memories Car Show Richardson, TX Set up 9:30 am, client tour 10 am. Bring your vehicle to show off and visit with our members. Please join us for lunch at 12:30.We truly appreciate your participation and the joy it brings our members. It’s a lovely walk down memory lane. Please let me know if you will be able to join us, Malissa Cestari, Friends Place Adult Day services, 1960 Nantucket Dr, Richardson, TX 75080, (972) 437-2940
*June 17 Dinner Cruise The Shed Restaurant Edom, TX Meet at 2pm at T/A Truck Stop, 2105 S Goliad St, Rockwall, TX, (I-30 exit 69 @ Hwy 205) We will cruise the back roads to The Shed Cafe in Edom, TX to eat at 4pm. Contact Mary Jean Entrekin for info 214-663-1468 See page 7 for map & details.
June 17 Best Little Brewfest in Texas Old Town Lewisville, TX Entry gets you 12 – 2 oz samplings, a tasting cup and entry into the festival to enjoy live music, food trucks, vendors and much more! General entry at Church & Mill. Car Show at City Hall East Parking Lot enter at Church & Charles
*June 18 Legends Brunch Fathers’ Day 9:30 AM Jake’s Uptown, 6195 W. Main St., Frisco, TX 75034 (214) 705-1770
June 22-24 Bloomington Gold Indianapolis Motor Speedway Indianapolis, IN*July 8 Legends Club Meeting Corvette World of Dallas 11:00 AM 1810 N I-35E, Carrollton, TX (972) 446-8388. Lunch provided by Corvette World. Program: Patriot Paws Service Dogs representative will demonstrate and members are asked to make personal donations in lieu of the Auction fundraisers we have had in past years.
July 9-13 NCRS Nat’l Convention Gonzalez Convention Center San AntonioJuly 15-16 Corvette Invasion Circuit of the Americas Race Track Austin, TX Friday Night, explore downtown Austin. Saturday morning at the Circuit of the Americas Corvette Car Show, Super Go-Kart Racing and Track Tours. (More details coming soon regarding Satur-day night) Sunday morning drive your Corvette on the only F1 track in America. (PLEASE NOTE: These laps will be at a controlled speed. Helmets not required but are recommended) Prices will vary on which package you choose from. More details coming soon. Click on www.CorvetteInvasion.com for more details*** Tickets for Go-Karts and Tours must be purchased separate from your Corvette Invasion Registration.
*Aug 11-12 Route 66 Festival www.route66festivalsgf.com Springfield, MO Legends is planning a trip to this event. Car Show, Parade, 6.6K/3.3K Run/Walk, Con-certs, Craft Vendors, Poker Run, Door Prizes & more. Contact Larry Dyer for more info: (972) 922-5175
Sept.15-17 Great Southwest Swap Meet Wise Co.Fairgrounds Decatur, TXSept. 16 Wheels for Wellness Car Show Downtown Ft. Worth 10am-3pm, Downtown Fort Worth, TX at Main St., Pre-Registration: $35
Sept 29-Oct 1 Good-Guys Lone Star Nat’ls TMS Ft. Worth , TX Legends members will be manning the Patriot Paws Service Dog booth to collect dona-tions in the vendor area on Friday, Saturday & Sunday.
Sept. 30 Western Days Car Show Old Downtown Lewisville, TX 10am-3pm, Downtown Lewisville, TX at Main St., Pre-Registration: $35
*Oct. 1 Legends Display at State Fair of Texas Dallas Take your Corvette to the fair to exhibit in the Car Corral with Corvette Legends. Free Fair passes, fenced off parking. Your car must enter with the group at 8:30 am and stay until 6 pm. Sign up at the meeting or contact Jerry Echols, [email protected] or (214) 843-5454 to get on the list. Caravans leaving Lewisville and Plano at 7:15 am: Details to come.
Oct 26-28 Lone Star NCRS Regional Embassy Suites Frisco, TX*Oct 27-28 Sulphur Springs Corvette Classic Sulphur Springs, TX A GREAT CHANCE TO GET OUT OF TOWN WITH CORvETTE LEGENDS! Fri.: 10am-5pm-Elliott Hangar open for car cleaning, 6pm-Bodacious BBQ Dinner and Fabulous 50’s Event/Elvis Tribute (limited to 200 pre-registered) Sat: 8am-2:30pm-Car Show on the down-town square. For info: www.ssvetteclub.com or Roger Elliott 214-801-3696 or [email protected]. Host Hotel: Hampton Inn. also Holiday Inn, La Quinta Inn. Ask for Corvette Rate. Shuttle service from the square to hotels every 30 minutes all day Saturday. (Great for letting the wife sleep in.)
Oct 28-29 DFW Classic Car Swap Meet Lone Star Park Grand Prairie, TX
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*CLoT Club Participation Event
2017Upcoming
Events
Lost Your Legends Name
Badge???Tom Lainson can order
you a new one!$10
See Tom at a meeting, [email protected]
or (214) 862-3555If you never got your first
one, he’s got it! Please pick it up!
Membership Information:Coordinated by Tom Lainson (see above)
$35 for annual membershipDues are paid annually at a meeting or mailed to:
Club Mailing Address:Corvette Legends of Texas
P.O. Box 260316Plano, TX 75026-0316
3
OFFICERSPresident:............................................ Sam Deneault .................... [email protected] .............................................(972) 530-8017VP of Operations: ............................... Joel Joseph ....................... [email protected] .................................................(972) 727-6833VP of Special Events: ......................... Jerry Echols ....................... [email protected] .............................................. (214) 843-5454Secretary: ............................................ Pat Cople ........................... [email protected] .....................................................(469) 535-3104Treasurer: ............................................ Susan Joseph .................... [email protected] .................................................(972) 727-6833
DIRECTORSDirector of Communications: ............... John Zachary ..................... [email protected] ............................................... (214) 707-2265Weekend Wrench Coordinator: ........... Ken Dobbs [email protected] ..........H-(972) 423-3732 C-(972) 896-4611Membership Coordinator:.................... Tom Lainson ...................... [email protected] .......................................... (214) 862-3555Newsletter Coordinator: ...................... Diane Preston .................... [email protected] ................................ (405) 615-3856
Legends Ledger Newsletter: Published monthly. Send submissions to [email protected] Submission deadline is the 20th of the month.
Club Web Site:Coordinated by John Zachary (see above)
http://www.vettelegends.comSend submissions to John at: [email protected]
Meeting Speakers:If you have a recommendation for a guest speaker to address the club
at one of our meetings, please contact Joel Joseph (972) 727-6833 or Tom Atchison (214) 215-1948.
Legends Brunch-9:30 amFathers’ Day
Sunday, June 18, atJake’s Uptown
6195 W. Main St., Frisco, TX 75034 (214) 705-1770
(Across from FC Dallas Soccer Stadium. Exit Dallas North Tollway @ East on Main St.)
Are you getting club e-mails?If you’re not, please contact
John Zachary at [email protected]
June Meeting11 am-Saturday, June 10
Café Del Rio401 Central Expwy South, Allen, TX
(214) 383-6768 (exit Bethany Rd.) located on the east side of US 75 near McDermott
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by Scott Teeters, Vette Magazine, Nov. 2015Part of a series on Chevrolet’s experiental concept cars
General Motors makes hundreds of kinds of cars and trucks. Some sell hundreds of thousands of units a year, which makes Chevrolet’s Corvette a complete enigma. Given the small number of Corvettes sold every year, it is a modern American manufacturing miracle that the car survived for 61 years. The Corvette was “officially” born on January 17, 1953 at the GM Motorama Show at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, in New York. To understand the impact of Harley Earl’s two-seater sports car concept car, you have to look at typical cars of 1953. The car was low and sleek, and wasn’t over festooned with styling gimmicks. Based on the response from attendees, Chevrolet rushed the car into production, and the rest is history. Today, the Corvette is GM’s flagship car. When Chev-rolet unleashes a new Corvette, the automotive world stops to take notice. But things were not always this way. Up to the C4, there were many inside GM that wanted to see the Corvette go away. For the first 20-some years, the car suffered from an identity crisis. Inside GM there were always those that wanted the Corvette to be some-thing different; a lightweight sports car, a mid-engine car, a rear-engine car, a four-seater personal luxury car, pow-ered by a boxer-type flat-six, Wankel rotary-powered, turbocharged small-displacement hemi-headed double-overhead cam powered, and even an all-aluminum car. Chevrolet kept the loyal faithful stoked with two or three experimental, prototype, show car Corvettes per year. From an enthusiast’s perspective, this was endlessly fascinating. If there is a theme among the three 1968 and 1970 models featured here, it is their extreme nature. The 1969 Manta Ray, successor to the popular Mako Shark II, and the 1969 Aero Coupe both sported Chevrolet’s ultimate Rat engine: the ZL1. Though the 1970 SP-882 was no slouch either, packing a 400-inch small-block, its location--in the middle of the chassis--is what makes it particularly radical. The Corvette team robbed the parts bin for the front-wheel-drive Toronado’s Turbo 400 to cre-ate the tansaxle setup, mating directly to the Corvette’s stock rear from the transverse mounted V-8. GM was eager to stay competitive with the other mid-engine cars of the day, and today we are seeing those very same sentiments echoed.1969 Manta Ray Show Car: “Bill Mitchell’s Extreme Shark” The 1965 Mako Shark II may well have been the most exciting Corvette show car of all time and had more direct impact on future Corvette styling than any other. But by 1968, with the debut of the new C3 Corvette, the
Mako Shark was old news. Some were disappointed that the ’68 Corvette wasn’t a faithful road version of the Mako Shark, but with the L71 427/435 and the L88 it was hotter than a match head. The ’68 Corvette set a new sales record of 28,569 units, up from 22,940 in ’67 and besting the previ-ous high sales mark of 27,720 ’66 Corvettes. And to prove that the new Mako Shark II-inspired design wasn’t just a first year fluke, Chevrolet sold 38,762 Corvettes in 1969. This statistic would stand until 1976 when 46,558 Corvettes were sold. And to prove the power of the Mako Shark II design, 1979 was the all-time best Corvette sales year ever, with 53,807 cars sold. No other Corvette design was able to pull money out of wallets like the Mako Shark II. There’s the math! So, much is owed to the Mako Shark II. Unfortunately, not all great Corvette show cars go to heaven at the GM Heritage Center. Actually, the Mako Shark II doesn’t ex-ist and no, it didn’t go off to the crusher. (Breathe a sigh of relief!) When your pockets are as deep as GM’s, why not make a great thing even greater? Even though GM spent $2.5 million on the Mako Shark II, they spent almost an-other $3 million on the Mako Shark II makeover. Bill Mitchell was almost over his “fish thing” and called the latest ver-sion, Manta Ray. It’s too bad they didn’t keep the running Mako Shark II and just build the Manta Ray as its own car. How cool would it have been to have the Mako Shark Trilogy? Perhaps there were budgetary concerns at work; there was indeed a frenzy of concept, experimental, and show cars during this period. The series you are reading now proves that. But clearly, Bill Mitchell had a few more ideas he wanted to work out in 3D. “Show cars” are often meant to be “over the top” and deliberately extreme. The biggest change was the long, tapered tail, a la the Astro Vette show car. While the production Corvette never went that far, clearly you can see the “tapered” influence that arrived in 1974. “Endura” bumpers gracefully covered functional metal bumpers. The Endura bumper wasn’t the same as the bumper covers used on Corvettes after 1973. Endura was urethane-elastomere foam that was rigid, but had “give” to it when pressed hard. The material was color-matched to the paint to give an integrated look. Endura bumpers were first
A look back at Chevrolet’s experimental, prototype, concept car, and show car Corvettes
5Continued on page 9-PROTOTYPE
made optional on ’68 GTOs. While an interesting idea, they didn’t weather well. So fortunately, an Endura front bumper never made it on to the Corvette. The roof line of the Manta Ray featured a beautiful, sweeping, tapered, stinger-style roof, but scooped out with a small slot for a rear window. Like the running Mako Shark II, for hard braking and turn signaling, flip-up lights popped out of the rear deck; gimmicky, but kind’a cool. The now “classic Corvette” four tail light arrangement was fared in under the rear bumper line with a center-located license-plate holder. An awesome show car should have an awesome engine. The Manta Ray used the new, all-aluminum ZL1 engine with a special air cleaner. The ZL1 was an L88 with an aluminum block, so the Manta Ray was “loaded for bear!” Whereas the running Mako Shark II had con-ventional under-the-car dual exhausts, the Manta Ray had functional side pipes that were beautifully crafted into the side rocker panels and sounded great. This was part of the Bill Mitchell trademark. The nose of the Manta Ray was basically unchanged from the Mako Shark II, except for an extended bumper ring around the air inlets and a small chin spoiler. It’s actually a little too busy, but hey, it’s a show car! Normal sideview mirrors were deleted in favor of small, bullet-shaped mirrors that were attached to the top of the A-pillars. And like the previous Mako Shark cars, the Manta Ray was painted dark blue with pearl white fogging along the lower edges. Special badges and Corvette crossed-flags insignias completed the car. This may have been the last “pure” show car Corvette. Later show cars were mostly dressed-up production Cor-vettes and serious engineering studies. All of the Mako Shark Corvettes sure got a lot of us juiced up for the “next Vette.” Mitchell knew how to keep it fun!1969 Aero Coupe Show Car: “Bill Mitchell’s Show Car/Play Toy” It would be a mistake to think that being the VP of Design at GM was a cushy job, but it sure has its perks, and Bill Mitchell took maxi-mum advantage of them. Probably not “all” but most of the Corvette show cars of the 1960s and 1970s saw duty as Mitchell’s daily driver cars at some time. He must have been VERY popular with the kids in his neighborhood! Mitchell’s Aero Coupe Corvette show car was another brilliant example of the high level of “style” Bill Mitchell had. For Mitchell, it must have been like being a kid in your parent’s candy store. Bill had access to the entire Cor-vette parts bin, as well as a design staff to flesh out his ideas, and a shop to perform world-class custom fabrica-tion, paint, and decoration. The Aero Coupe was born from an off-the-assembly-line small-block 1968 Corvette. Over the next seven years the car lived through three
incarnations: the Aero Coupe, the Scirocco, and the Mul-sanne. The Aero Coupe was the first version; we’ll cover the other two versions next month. The first thing that Mitchell’s design staff did was to re-move the 327 small-block and drop in one of the new 427 ZL1 all-aluminum Can-Am engines. Imagine how exotic this was in 1970; big-block horsepower and torque, with small-block weight! For several years the ZL1 used an experimental Rochester fuel-injection unit and an experi-mental four-speed Hydra-Matic transmission (imagine a fuelie ZL1). The ZL1 was awesome, but the four-speed automatic was eventually replaced with a stock, but beefy Turbo 400 unit. And, what Bill Mitchell show car wouldn’t be complete without side-mounted exhausts? Mitchell described the Aero Coupe as a “bear!” With plenty of power under Bill’s right foot, the design staff started work on the body. It may have been slightly overdone, but that’s what show cars like the Aero Coupe were supposed to be. The Aero Coupe had many interest-ing styling cues. The egg-crate front grille and side vents design elements made it into production for the 1970-1/2 model. However, the flared extensions at the back of the wheel openings that were part of the ’70-1/2 to ’82 cars were not there. Also, the rear fenders appeared to be slightly flared – more like tame versions of the L88 flares. Up front there was a deep, Z28-style front spoiler that wrapped around its chin to the front of the wheel opening. At the rear, there was a matching, wraparound spoiler sim-ilar to the ’70-1/2 Z28 Camaro, but raked back more and not as tall as the ’70 Z28. Extended front and rear spoilers wouldn’t arrive until 1978 on the Indy Pace Car and then the following year as an option on the ’79 Corvette. The side pipe covers were similar to the optional pro-duction side pipes, except for the section under the doors that had six groups of vertical scribe lines. “Interesting,”
but a little fussy. The A-pillars, windshield, and roof were a nice departure from the production Corvette and would have made for a nice mid-cycle refresh in ’74 to complement the new look
of the soft front and rear bumper covers. The top corners abandoned the sharp corners and instead were curved at the top, allowing the glass and roof to have a smooth, con-tinuous line. The removable roof panel was a single piece and hinged at the back. Since the car was using Chevro-let’s ZL1, the domed L88 hood was used. Chaparral-style alloy-lace wheels were shod with wide Goodyear tires. The interior was typical show car Corvette plush; completely trimmed in tan leather and deep-cut carpet. Years later, a crude digital unit was added to the dash that projected the car’s speed onto the windshield. There’s no telling how high Mitchell got the digital counter up to! The
A look back at Chevrolet’s experimental, prototype, concept car, and show car Corvettes
Dedicated to Preserving the History and Traditions of the Corvette
2017Member Directory
New 2017 LegeNds CoLor PiCtoriaL
MeMbershiP direCtory
Now avaiLabLe Get yours at any meeting, brunch or event.
Women’s Shirts-Cotton Short Sleeve Polo-Long Sleeve Oxford-Long Sleeve Twill Dress-Long Sleeve Heavy Denim
Hats -5-panel, mesh back, plastic snap closure-6-panel, self- fabric closure
Men’s Shirts -Cotton Short Sleeve Polo-Long or Short Sleeve Oxford-Long or Short Sleeve Twill-Long Sleeve Heavy Denim-Long or Short Sleeve Lightweight Denim
LEGENDSClub Shirts & Hatsat Embroidery King!
972-317-1686We carry Corvette Legends merchandise for you to wear
to your next club meeting or just to show your love for the car.
***Orders placed before the 25th of every month will be available for pickup at the following month’s meeting.***
Price includes Corvette Legends embroidered logo on upper left chest.Add your first name to upper right chest for $5.00 extra.
If there are any questions about an item, call Embroidery King at (972) 317-1686, Address: 1297 FM 407 Suite 302A, Lewisville, TX 75077
Club Shirts & Hats
6
Dobb’s silver 1963 Coupe Wins AgAin!!!
May 13 was the 6th Annual East Texas Corvette Show put on by the Touch of Glass Corvette Club of Longview, Texas. It was sponsored by Peters Chevrolet of Longview. This year they returned to their previous show format after trying a different format last year. One change, though, was that it was all held in the Holiday Inn, the host hotel. There were about sixty to seventy cars, in-cluding several 2017s. Friday night party and Saturday lunch were catered by the hotel. Saturday lunch was steak or chicken fajitas, and very good
That’s really Ken Dobbs behind the trophy! Best of Show! They did not give class trophys only People’s Choice, Longest Driven and three Best of Show Awards. Third place was $250, second place was $500 and first place was a cool $1,000 and a trophy. Third went to a1966 blue convertible that had just gotten out of a 28-month restoration. Second place was a 427 Corvette coupe. First place, for the trophy and $1,000, went to Ken & Linda Dobb and their Silver 1963 Split-window Coupe! The weekend was beautiful and lots of fun, especially for the Dobbs! Be there next year.
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Saturday, June 17 Legends Dinner Cruise
2:00 PMMeet at the t/a truck
StoP2105 S. Goliad St.
Rockwall, TX
toThe Shed Cafe in Edom, TX (903) 852-7791
Need more room for Need more room for Need more room for your your your VROOMVROOMVROOM???
If your passion has taken over your garage, call fellow Corvette Legend Member, Erika Wood-Cherry!
She can help you find a home with a larger garage, covered parking or a longer drive way! Don’t leave your “baby” out in the cold, CALL TODAY!!
Office: 972/987-3800 VM: 972/733-7105
For Real Estate results, call Erika!
Cell: 214/704-3079
EVERYTHING for Corvettes& GM Muscle Cars!
CarrsCorvettesAndCustoms.comPlano, Texas 972-578-2270
• C1-C7 Specialists • Knowledge, Maintenance, Repairs & Restoration • Engine, Trans, Brakes, Chassis, Exhaust, Suspension, Interior, Fiberglass Repair & Paint • Factory A/C Repair & Aftermarket Installation • Power Steering Conversions • Auto OD and Manual Transmission Conversions • Multiple National Awards, Magazine Features & Covers • Resto-Mods, NCRS, Bloomington & Concours
We do it all...AND do it right the first time!
Meet at 2:00 PMat T/A Truck Stop
2105 S Goliad St, Rockwall, TX,(I-30 exit 68 @ Hwy 205)
We will take a scenic cruise through east Texas to Edom and eat at 4 pm
For info call: Mary Jean Entrekin (214) 663-1468.
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Upcoming meetings 2017 June 10 Café del Rio in Allen July 8 Corvette World Tom Lainson indicated that members who had lost their name tags can order new ones at a cost of $10.00. Jerry Echols reported that the club has corral space at the Texas State Fair on October 1. He also reminded everyone of the Friends Place Memories Car Show in Richardson on June 16. John Zachary will be reordering Corvette Legends signs for car windshields – cost will be about $10.00. Bill Preston reported that $1,420 was collected for Patriot Paws at the Pate Swap Meet. We are about $3,000 short of getting to name a dog. Patriot Paws will be at the July meeting and members can make donations now or at that meeting. Tom Atchison encouraged members to participate in the Best Little Brewfest in Texas on June 17 in Lewisville. Info is available on their website. Meeting adjourned at 12:36pm, followed by the raffle. Minutes submitted by Pat Cople, Secretary
Mark Elliott in his ‘70 Donney Brook Green Coupe
Anne & David Sanfort arriving at the meeting
J.C. Cherry, our speaker Jack Griffin of Garages of Texas, Sam Deneault & Dan Jacobs visit after the meeting.
Mary Ann Lisbona, Tom Entrekin, Julia Kelsey, Tom Atchison, Al Lisbona, Carl Johanson, Ken Weller, John Cantleberry, & Tom Lainson
Fred Hager, Mark Elliot, Rick Scholz & Gary Williams
Allen Eggleston, Len & Beth Woodruff looking at
the Vettes.
Jean & Mike McCall
CORvETTE LEGENDS OF TEXAS
Saturday, May 13, 2017At New New Buffet in Addison
The meeting was called to order by Sam Deneault, President at noon. The minutes were approved.
President Deneault reported that the Treasurer, Susan Joseph, informed the Board that the club has a current bank account balance of $5,474.58. Tom Lainson introduced guest, Jack Griffin, owner of Garages of Texas – luxury garage condos for car collectors. One project is completed in Plano, with plans for 5 more in the area. Lady Legends Winner: Cynthia Nutt 50-50 Pot Winner: Bruce Nutt ($40)
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Aero Coupe was completed with a deep, candy apple red paint with heavy gold metalflake, gold striping, and Corvette and custom Aero Coupe badges. This very special Corvette went on to delight Corvette fans for several more years, with each version getting progressively wilder. When it finally became the Mulsanne in 1974, only insiders knew that it was really a small-block ’68 Vette on steroids.1970 XP-882 Mid-Engine/Transverse Corvette Prototype“Duntov SLAMS Ford’s Pantera, AMC’s AMX/3 & Mercedes–Benz’s C111” Between Car Life Magazine and Road & Track, the Corvette community was almost totally convinced that this would be the 1973 Corvette! Obviously that didn’t happen, but it was still a great day for Corvette fans at the New York Auto Show on April 2, 1970, because no one knew that Chevrolet was showing a mid-engine Cor-vette concept car. Mid-engine Corvettes were always lurk-ing in the shadows with that, “Hey, sailor …” smile. But the XP-882 mid-engine experimental Corvette show car had drop-dead looks and it seriously looked like it “could be” the next Vette. It was everything a Vette lover would want and then some. Best of all, Ford and AMC never knew what hit them. Duntov’s design team started working on the XP-882 in 1968. Two prototype cars were built around small-block Chevy engines, with plans for big-block power and eventually all-wheel drive. Zora had been playing with AWD since his experimental ’64 mid-engine CERV II. This shows just how forward-looking Duntov’s thinking was. The styling group designed a new look that was crisp, edgy, and low-slung, yet it “looked” like a Corvette, but wasn’t “Mako.” Chevrolet General Manager John Z. DeLorean stopped work on the XP-882 in August 1969, to pursue making Corvettes more profitable, using the new, inex-pensive Camaro chassis. DeLorean was met with fierce resistance from sales, styling, and engineering, NOT to take the car in that direction. Then, Duntov was stunned when he learned that Ford was buying Italian carmaker De Tomaso so that it could market the new mid-engine Pantera as a “Ford.” And, to make matters worse, Zora also learned that little AMC had designed a mid-engine car that was to be made by Italian carmaker Bizzarrini, plus Mercedes was working on its C111 mid-engine car. Something had to be done! Duntov showed Bill Mitchell and Chevy’s Chief of En-gineering Alex Miar his mothballed XP-882. The decision was immediate — “Get the car into the New York show!” The XP-882 was quickly painted silver and dressed as a show car. The interior was utilitarian because the XP-882
never had a chance to get a show car interior – there wasn’t time. When the show opened, attendees were shocked, especially Ford and AMC. The car magazines were all over the XP-882, initiating a feeding frenzy of speculation. Enthusiasts had been lusting for a smaller, lighter Corvette for years, and the XP-882 looked like it could deliver. Compared to a ’70 Corvette, the wheel-base was 2.5 inches shorter, the length was 8 inches shorter, the width was 5.8 inches wider, and at 2,595 pounds, it was almost 700 pounds lighter. Of course, this was a prototype and not a fully-featured car.
Mid-engine sports cars had an exotic glow about them, but Zora’s surprise exotic Corvette took it to the next level. The pow-ertrain was a combination of a transverse-mounted, 400-cid small-block engine
coupled with a silent chain-drive to an Olds Toronado Turbo 400 transmission, fitted with bevel gears, connect-ed to a stock Corvette rear. “Parts bin” yes, but very clev-er. Wheels were spun-aluminum, with vent slots similar to what would become available in 1976, and tires were E60x15 on the front and G60x15 on the rear. The rest of the suspension was made from production parts. After the overwhelmingly positive reception, DeLo-rean approved the funds to develop a big-block, four-speed version of the car. Motor Trend enthusiastically reported, “Chevrolet roared out of the sun with the throttle wide-open and the wind shrieking, and watched their tracers stitch into the shining sides of the new De Tomaso …” For a little while, it was all sunshine and unicorns. But, a few things got in the way. GM President Ed Cole, who was always thinking “over the horizon,” pur-chased a license to develop the Wankel rotary engine. Duntov was tasked with creating a high-performance version for possible use in a Corvette. Zora delegated this nightmare task to the capable hands of Gib Hufstad-er. Duntov then had to relinquish one of the two XP-882 chassis to Bill Mitchell to work out a new look for the 4-Rotor concept that was first shown in 1973. The other XP-882 chassis became the R&D, all-aluminum Reyn-olds Aluminum Corvette that weighed 500 pounds less than a standard Corvette. So, just like the running Mako Shark II, the handsome XP-882 was taken behind closed doors, chopped up, and made into something else. Mid-engine sports cars were the stuff of small, exotic European carmakers. But between the first Arab Oil Em-bargo, a recession, the rotary-engine interruption, and the sales success of the production Corvette, the XP-882 — or any other mid-engine Corvette — didn’t stand a chance. But for a time, it sure was exciting. Forward-thinking just couldn’t overcome bad timing.
Continued from page 5-PROTOTYPE
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06-08 Mark Fricke06-01 Vicki Linberg06-11 Bryan Liptoi06-13 Esther Towles06-13 Jim Harper06-17 Roy Evanczyk06-19 Pat Cople06-22 Janice Smith
06-23 Rocky Rainbolt06-23 Tom Entrekin 06-24 Barb Macdonald06-24 Kevin Shedden06-26 Philip Schilt06-26 Diane O’Brien06-26 Linda Boren06-27 Roger Berry06-28 Chris Feger
Birthdays for June
Legends members get fleet pricing on parts at
Huffines Chevrolet in Lewisville
Batteries Plus+ DiscountGet the commercial price on any batteries and home,
commercial or auto light bulbs at the Lewisville or Denton locations by asking for the
“Corvette Legends” discount.If your business needs batteries,
contact Tom Atchison 214-215-1948 for a personal quote.
National Corvette Museum Kartplex Opening
The highly anticipated NCM Kartplex will OFFICIALLY open Wednesday, May 31! Arrive and drive for a fun rac-ing session against your friends on the new karting track! Price: $20 per person for a 8-minute session. *Mini-mum height 50″Hours of Operation: Monday-Thursday: 12:-7pm Friday-Sunday: 10am-7pm*Hours are subject to change due to inclement weather. Please check our calendar for availability before visiting.
11
701 Shepherd Drive, Suite 108, Garland, Texas 75042(972) 494-6900
Open Monday-Friday 6:00 to 4:00
Open Saturday 8:00 to 12:00
DMSCorvette Shop.com
ASE Master Certified
25+ Years Experience
Specializing in Repair & Restoration
Patriot Paws @ Pate Swap Meet Pate Swap Meet at Texas Motor Speedway donated space for Patriot Paws to have a booth to publicize their organization, tell about their mission and collect donations. Legends members set up and manned the booth April 27-29. Sharon Satterwhite from Patriot Paws supplied materials and tent. The booth was located right at the entrance so the
foot traffic was very good. Thursday, Friday and Saturday Legends members Bill Preston, Bruce Jarrett, Sam Deneault, Joel Joseph, Gary Williams, Don Sebert, Tom Hubbert, Al Macdonald, Larry Dyer and Jerry Echols manned the booth. They told visitors about the dogs, the puppy raisers, the inmates who train them, the Veterans who receive the dogs and the Patriot Paws organization, facility and volunteers who put it all together. Due to bad weather we had to close down early on Saturday. Victor Freeney came to work, but we’d already left him high and not so dry! We collected $1,420 which was turned over to Patriot Paws. We will also be doing an inside booth at Good-Guys at Texas Motor Speedway on Sept. 29-Oct 1. Please plan to help. In previous years our club has held a charity auction to benefit Patriot Paws. Members have collected and donated items, then purchased them back at a silent or live auction. This year we hope to collect enough donations, through manning events like this and personal donations from our members, to equal or better our club donation in past years. At the July 8 meeting at Corvette World, we will be collecting your personal donations, so please come prepared with a check for Patriot Paws. If you cannot be there, contact Bill Preston (405) 412-0502 to have your donation included.
Bill Preston and Bruce Jarrett “holding down” the Patriot Paws booth at Pate
