Newbie question.
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Intermediate
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 41
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From: Sacramento California
Newbie question.
Can anyone educate me as to the significance and history of the two painted hash marks on the front left fender? I have seen them on WildTurkey's C5 Avatar and others and am curious. Thanks in advance for your replies.
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 3,908
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From: Charleston SC
From wiki:
Chevrolet released the Grand Sport (GS) version in 1996 to mark the end of production of the C4 Corvette. The Grand Sport moniker is a nod to the original Grand Sport model produced in 1963. A total of 1,000 GS Corvettes were produced, 810 as coupes and 190 as convertibles. The 1996 GS came with the high-performance LT4 V8 engine, producing 330 hp (246 kW) and 340 lb·ft (461 N·m) of torque. The Grand Sport came only in Admiral Blue with a white stripe down the middle, and black wheels and two red stripes on the front left wheel arch added to its distinctive look.
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2004
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From: Dayton Ohio
From HashMarks.com:
Q: What is the significance of the the red hashmarks on the front left fender of the Grand Sports?
A: During some races of the original 1963 Grand Sports, the teams placed strips of tape (rumor says duct tape) on the fenders instead of numbers to identify the cars.
Q: What is the significance of the the red hashmarks on the front left fender of the Grand Sports?
A: During some races of the original 1963 Grand Sports, the teams placed strips of tape (rumor says duct tape) on the fenders instead of numbers to identify the cars.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2004
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From HashMarks.com:
Q: What is the significance of the the red hashmarks on the front left fender of the Grand Sports?
A: During some races of the original 1963 Grand Sports, the teams placed strips of tape (rumor says duct tape) on the fenders instead of numbers to identify the cars.
Q: What is the significance of the the red hashmarks on the front left fender of the Grand Sports?
A: During some races of the original 1963 Grand Sports, the teams placed strips of tape (rumor says duct tape) on the fenders instead of numbers to identify the cars.
I asked Carroll Shelby this a while back and he said it was for the pit crerws to identify their cars during races.
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Here's some info that was posted on the forum quite a while back:
The hash marks in the form to which you are referring showed up on the 1996 Corvette Grand Sport and were explained in the 1996 brochure on page 10 as follows:
"Those dual red hash marks on the left front fender of every 1996 Grand Sport have significance. Of the 5 original Grand Sport racers, three coupes made their debut with the MECUM Racing Team at Nassau in 1963. Along with the distinctive MECUM Team paint scheme, color-coded hash marks were used on the bodywork to differentiate one car from another." What the brochure text didn't mention was that the "color-coded hash marks" were on the nose (not the front fender) of each car at Nassau and there was only one (not two) stripe(s) per car. One had a red nose stripe, one had black and one had white).
And then there is the part of the story that no one in GM styling will admit and that no one on this board wants to believe - the design location (front fender) and the type (dual transverse angled) stripes were actually the type used by Shelby American on the Cobra in some FIA GT races.
Someone also added that they read somewhere that the reason they had two stripes on the '96 GS was to commemorate the two major victories of the original Grand Sports.
Back in the 1960’s, racing teams often had several cars with similar paint schemes driving at one time. It got confusing! With cars whizzing by at high speeds, combined with sometimes hectic work, race teams found the need to distinguish their cars and or drivers from one another. They accomplished this by simply applying one or two stripes on a hood, nose or fender. The most famous use for these stripes comes from the awesome lightweight 1963 Grand Sport Corvettes inspired by the father of the Corvette himself, Zora Arkus Duntov. These marvels dominated the track and brought down the almost unbeatable AC Cobras and Ferraris of the day. The stripes reappeared in 1996 with the revival of the legendary Grand Sport Corvette name and color scheme in the last year of the C4 design.
The hash marks in the form to which you are referring showed up on the 1996 Corvette Grand Sport and were explained in the 1996 brochure on page 10 as follows:
"Those dual red hash marks on the left front fender of every 1996 Grand Sport have significance. Of the 5 original Grand Sport racers, three coupes made their debut with the MECUM Racing Team at Nassau in 1963. Along with the distinctive MECUM Team paint scheme, color-coded hash marks were used on the bodywork to differentiate one car from another." What the brochure text didn't mention was that the "color-coded hash marks" were on the nose (not the front fender) of each car at Nassau and there was only one (not two) stripe(s) per car. One had a red nose stripe, one had black and one had white).
And then there is the part of the story that no one in GM styling will admit and that no one on this board wants to believe - the design location (front fender) and the type (dual transverse angled) stripes were actually the type used by Shelby American on the Cobra in some FIA GT races.
Someone also added that they read somewhere that the reason they had two stripes on the '96 GS was to commemorate the two major victories of the original Grand Sports.
Back in the 1960’s, racing teams often had several cars with similar paint schemes driving at one time. It got confusing! With cars whizzing by at high speeds, combined with sometimes hectic work, race teams found the need to distinguish their cars and or drivers from one another. They accomplished this by simply applying one or two stripes on a hood, nose or fender. The most famous use for these stripes comes from the awesome lightweight 1963 Grand Sport Corvettes inspired by the father of the Corvette himself, Zora Arkus Duntov. These marvels dominated the track and brought down the almost unbeatable AC Cobras and Ferraris of the day. The stripes reappeared in 1996 with the revival of the legendary Grand Sport Corvette name and color scheme in the last year of the C4 design.
