K2

Here you go.

K2

I found this picture in my archives. Does anyone know if this Corvette was an SR2 prototype as seen at 1956 Daytona speedweek, driven by John Fitch?

SebringBill

Klaus,

That's the #1 car that ran at Sebring in 1956. Two things distinguish it: 1) No side trim; 2) No fender scoops. That car was a 55 Corvette (maybe even earlier) body that had been "modified" into a 56.

There is also a picture of three Corvettes on the beach in 1956 with Zora driving one, Betty Skelton driving another and I believe John Fitch driving the third. I also recall that Zora's Corvette had a fin and those clear headlight covers.

IMO, the fin is a similar one to John Neas' SR-2 (Replica).

Compare John Fitch in the above picture to this one taken in Rich Mason's SR-2 at the 02 Monterey Historics:



There's a big difference in the fin height relative to Mr. Fitch's head. I really don't think he's shrunk that much!

I still maintain that John Neas' car has a "meduim" fin.

SebringBill

Here's another picture of Rich Mason's SR-2 at Laguna Sega in 2002.

Note the difference between the bottom of the padded headrest as compared to the Sebring car in your photo.

DZAUTO

Those are exactly the pictures I wanted to see! Thanks for posting them.

Tyler Townsley

I finally can post on my server again so here are some shots of Johns car. NOTE: I left these pictures full sized so you could look at the detail on the car. If you are on a dialup be patient. I was going to post in the forum but am already 30 meg over my limit.

http://www.sirgalahad.org/tyler/misc/john1_fin.jpg
http://www.sirgalahad.org/tyler/misc/john2_side.jpg
http://www.sirgalahad.org/tyler/misc/john3_sfrount.jpg
http://www.sirgalahad.org/tyler/misc/john5_rearside.jpg
http://www.sirgalahad.org/tyler/misc/john6_interior.jpg
http://www.sirgalahad.org/tyler/misc/john7_enine.jpg
http://www.sirgalahad.org/tyler/misc/john8_front.jpg
http://www.sirgalahad.org/tyler/misc/john9_side.jpg


Tyler

desertpilgrim

Bill:
The chassis was indeed a '55; the body was the "prototype" for the 1956 styling, not a modified early 53-5 body.
This is ALSO the car that raced at the Sebring 12 hours as #1 in the B modified class minus the fin.
There is also a very good possibility that the fin on John Neas' "SR-2"
is THE FIN that is pictured on the car with John Fitch. It was included in the "pieces" when John bought the 2 cars from Frank Buck, along with a Z-F 4 speed, etc.

K2

Bill, Tyler; Great pictures and I agree John Fitch likely did not shrink that much. You can see the fin on the Daytona picture is removable as you can see the parting line and it appears the same from the side as the one on John Neas' SR2 so what Loren states about it being the same fin is most likely correct. The SR2s have long been a fascination of mine and I've got lots of bits and pieces in 35 years of article and picture accumulation. John Neas' car was a new piece of the puzzle that I wasn't previously aware of. Thanks to all who contribute and keep the info an pics coming.

DZAUTO

Any comments, observations or questions about the retainer that holds the air intake hose away from the generator?

K2

DZ;
I'll look to see if I have anything that shows that part of the engine compartment.

I did come across this pic of the Sebring #1 with John Fitch holding up the door and car clearly showing where the fin had once been attached to the trunk lid. Verifies Loren's statement that this was indeed the car (with removed fin) that ran at Sebring in 56. Bill, somewhere I've got the picture of John, Zora, and Betty at Daytona. One of these days I'll get them or myself organized.

desertpilgrim

I believe that's Fred Warner; it's not John Fitch.

SebringBill

I have pictures of 56 #1009 (the #7 car at Sebring - aka John's SR-2 replica/his #7 car) when Rick Carroll owned it in 1986. They're mostly of the high performance related stuff since at the time I was trying to figure out just what the heck my 56 (now known as an SR-1)was. I did find a nice pic of one of the backup lights that didn't make it into John's restoration.

I'm not sure about the fin being the one on John's car. The fin in the 56 pic may be off Zora's 55 Phoenix car. I have a nice bit of correspondence with the owner of that car in the 80s.

When I saw #1009 the fin was not installed and I recall it looked like it had never been installed. It had a black finish that looked like the original one from the mold. I think the headrest was also black. Here's hoping I can find some more pics somewhere to prove my memory isn't full of cerebral flatulence

I also just found two pictures of XP-819 that I took there as well so I may have some better pics of #1009 lying around. At that time Rick also owned the Harley Earl 63 a/c styling convertible with the second set of gauges in the glovebox door. Don't recall if I even took any pics of that; it wasn't a solid axle

Time for a dive into the archives! Then I'll scan away...

K2

Desert Pilgrim - Thanks for correcting the picture ID.
Here are a few more interesting photos I found of 55 mule car and SR2 with canopy on.

SebringBill

This is not an SR-2 (no cove scoop), nor is it #1009 in it's SR-2 trim (no backup lights or different license plate mount - I'll get that pic out and shoe ya what I mean) yet the fin looks to be more permanently attached as in SR-2. That's at Daytona (with Smokey himself lookin under it)!

K2

In the actual photo (Smokey looking under car) you can see that the white appearing line at the base of the fin is tornado tape covering up the parting line of the fin. It also shows the same tape over the trunk opening gaps.

desertpilgrim

This is #1, the same car pictured with Fitch when it was white/blue. This is in January when they came to Daytona and made some preliminary runs on the Beach, more or less to verify the PG mph. If I
was computer literate, I could offer a picture of Smokey, black hat, red
shiny jacket & cowboy boots, leaning up against the car - with his 4-5-6 year old son, black hat, red shiny jacket & cowboy boots, standing next to him. I don't think Fitch was there; Betty Skelton, Zora, Russ Sanders, Frank Burrell, etc.

desertpilgrim

At the least, the fin could have been from the same mold.
I'll check the orders; #1 received a number of things from #5951 when it returned from the PG - engine, gauges, etc. At the same time, #5951 gave up its body - minus the fin - to '55 #1399, one of the NASCAR sports cars that was going to Daytona, and its prior body had apparently seen "contact" on a # of occasions.

vintagecorvette

Those photos and the history are very cool. Thanks for sharing.

oWEN


Keep posting if you got them.

DZAUTO

Loren,
SID YOU SAY ZF 4sp???
I've never seen one in John's warehouse, nor has he ever mentioned to me that he had one of those!!!!
If in fact he did get one with the car, has he mentioned to you what he did with it?

desertpilgrim

Tom, I'm sure it's there. It "might" even be a Z-F with overdrive, as modified by Frank Burrell.