You never know what you can find on Craigs List. While answering a Craigslist ad for Chevelle parts a brand new NOS (New Old Stock) (1968-1974) 427 ZL-1 bare engine block was discovered, still in its original plywood crate. This is not to be confused with the 2016 ZL1 (without the dash) supercharged version.
It is estimated that only 300 ZL-1 blocks were cast for Chevrolet by the Winters Foundry from approximately mid-1968 through 1974. Only 71 of these would eventually find their way into 1-year only factory built Camaros (69 built in 1969) and Corvettes (2 built in 1969). The approximately 229 remaining, like this one, were sold over the counter at various Chevrolet dealer’s parts departments.
The ZL-1 engine was intended for Can-Am road racing, and not for production vehicles. But the forward thinking of an Illinois-based Chevrolet dealer named Fred Gibb leveraged the COPO (Central Office Production Order) system to convince Chevrolet [...]
Two years ago, on February 12, 2014, many people across the globe woke up to some startling news – a sinkhole had opened up inside the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and eight Corvettes were laying at the bottom of it. Fortunately, the cars and building were the only things damaged as it occurred in the early morning hours before anyone was in the Museum. The story captivated those who watched it, and while the Museum initially planned to put the past behind them, the interest in the sinkhole and damaged Corvettes was undeniable.
“Probably two days after the sinkhole happened, after we realized it could be fixed and once we saw more and more visitors starting to trickle in from the interstate, we shifted our attitude. We embraced the situation,” said Katie Frassinelli, Marketing and Communications Manager for the Museum. “Honestly, it paid off big for us. Our attendance had leveled out [...]
A super car, sometimes called an exotic car, is a $100,000-plus ultra-high-performance sports car or grand tourer. Some supercars are marketed by mainstream automakers as “halo” vehicles. Examples include the Chevrolet Corvette, Ford GT or Lexus LC. Other super cars come from exclusive automakers like Ferrari, Lamborghini or Rolls-Royce. Either way, a supercar is almost always limited in production. Generally, less than 5,000 are produced and sometimes the production runs are as low 100.
Some super cars are limited-edition versions mass-produced production models. For example the Chevrolet Corvette. The standard coupe or convertible are impressive performance cars and fairly limited in production, but the uber-performance Corvette Z06 has the right to be called a super car based on its extremely limited production run and ultra-high performance capabilities.
Companies like Aston-Martin or Ferrari or Bentley, produce nothing but super cars and cater to the ultra-rich customer. These brands often don’t participate in auto shows but the [...]
Let’s face it, we would all love to take our sports cars around the track and really see what it, and you, could do. One reason most of us don’t do this is because our insurance does not cover us if we push just a bit over our ability. Well don’t let this stop you anymore, as the Corvette Museum offers track insurance for a reasonable price.
Back in October of 2015, an owner of a brand-new C7 Corvette went to the drag strip to have some fun. Well, as luck would have it, about half way down the 1/4 mile track he lost control and hit the cement barrier wall almost head on.
The damage from the crash was extensive and the fact that his brand-new Vette was almost a total loss wasn’t his only problem; his Geico insurance did not cover track events, so he would now have to pay to fix [...]
It was in 2013 that Chevrolet tuner extraordinaire Callaway first previewed the design of a shooting brake based on the C7 Corvette. Since then, the company has been gauging market interest and further developing the design.
On Friday, Callaway finally unveiled its Corvette shooting brake and confirmed the vehicle’s debut at the 2017 Michelin NCM Bash, the annual get-together at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky which this year will run April 27-29.
Called the C21 AeroWagen, the conversion is only available for the Corvette’s coupe body style and can be reversed should the owner desire. Carbon fiber is used for the panels while the rear piece is tempered safety glass that retains a defogger.
The good news is that the design doesn’t impinge on the car’s removable roof panel. In fact, it uses the original hardware and latching mechanisms. The downside is that since no structural changes [...]