RREEVES

Just received my Vette magazine, cars received to be race cars were designed for the racetrack without any badges and were installed with side pipes and bumpers removed and special body panels?

any information on the above is always appreciated

On page 74 in the Vette mag.

Ron

sub006

I only know of the Z06 option, plus the 36 gallon tank (coupes only). It would be more trouble for the assembly line to NOT install bumpers, and probably a bigger PIA to fill the body holes for emblems.

Haven't seen the magazine, but what you describe sounds like what a racing-oriented DEALER like Nickey in Chicago or Delmo Johnson in Texas might do in the service department before delivery to a customer.

RREEVES

Just curious, I bought my 63 in 1968 from a dealer who said it was owned a GM executive, it had side pipes , no front bumpers, radio delete, 427 hood, rear scoops holes on quarters, no fuel injection emblems, badges were removed, has the big tank......
Just trying to find more information on this car.

Ron

vettebuyer6369

427 hoods didn't come out until 67, unless you mean the 66 bulged hood, but either way it's unlikely it was delivered with one in 63, racing of not.

RREEVES

I'm sure it was added at a much later date , probably around 1967, just before I purchased the car, also I was told that the car was from the Chiago area forgot to mention that it also has power brakes and a racing seat belt.

JohnZ

None of that stuff came from GM - modifications were made by previous owners, dealers, etc. Don't you get tired of hearing "It was owned by a GM executive" every time a dealer tells you about a modified car?

RREEVES

so let me get this straight, you feel the tank was added even before it was even offered to the public by about 2 months, when an expert tells me it is definitely a big tank car, I tend to believe their opinion, no I don't get tired of someone who tells me that, in 1968 who in the whole cared who owned a car.

JohnZ

No, not the big tank, but all the rest of the non-stock/modified stuff. St. Louis didn't build race cars and Kustoms - they built stock production Corvettes. The other stuff was done by dealers and owners.

Zoomin

Dude, JohnZ is THE expert.

project63

I don't have Vette magazine, but the only examples I can think of that might match your description would be the 5 Gran Sports.

Frankie the Fink

Your car sounds like it had typical Hot Rod Harry mods to do the occasional weekend 1/4 mile sprints. I saw so many similar mods done by guys in their garages late at night after working their day job that it isn't even funny. Did some myself.

Everybody that has this stuff today wants to think there car is some special one-off worth megabucks....its just what folks did back then as hobbyists.

62fever

Think the writer of the article was saying the Z06 had NO special badging, NO special body panels, nothing to announce it was a Z06 like it is done today.

As far as the sidepipes, and no bumpers, the writer was saying that Mickey Thompson was the only one of the four drivers to get "his" corvette early. The other drivers (McDonald, etc) got "theirs" 2 weeks before the first race and only had time to do limited mods like removing bumpers and installing sidepipes. Like others have mentioned, mods were done after leaving the factory.

Swept57

I don't hotrod every Corvette, but when I do, I tell everyone it was done at the factory for a GM exec.

91DRM

"I don't roll a joint often...but when I do it's an ankle."

RREEVES

Thanks for your response, all I can say is this what the car had when purchased in 1968, as a side note about the tank, the gas fill area is painted the same color as the car, Sebring silver, why would someone remove the black rubber seal and paint this area silver as the car, also why would someone remove the jack hook below the seat, which their is none, and put this hook inside the car above the tank cover, and. Replace the bulkhead with a big tank bulkhead and make it look 100% original! back in the 60's people could care less about originality.
I could care less about the value, I have enough money.
For all you experts, tell me where dealer 24 and zone 21 is
NCRS said this car was special ordered by Chevrolet based on their Shipping Data Report.

Have a good day

65hihp

Doug Hooper in MThompson Z06 at Riverside in Oct 1962.
I see emblems, side exhaust and no bumpers nor funny body panels. I think mods were made in CAL. I am no expert so don't know who/where your Dealer 24 in Zone 21 was. Some people ask poorly phrased questions that others can't understand, and then get indignant when they hear answers they do not like.
Have a good day.

BADBIRDCAGE

I can't offer any specific information on the jack hook being relocated.

As far as your question on the fuel filler area matching the car color the bodies were painted before the rubber boots would have been installed so there should be no mystery.

Nowhere Man

So your saying you have a N03 big tank car? If so congratulations. There is a lot of special features that go along with that option. It's very hard to duplicate everything. Mostly due to the lack of parts to do it. What you describe is typical and original. But not all big tank cars were race cars. What options does the car have?

JohnZ

You need some reading comprehension training - see post #8; I never questioned the authenticity of the N03 tank - just all the rest of the stuff that was done to the car AFTER it left St. Louis.

vintagecorvette

Do you still own the car? Can we see some photos of the car? Everyone loves pictures.