6 Greenwood Customized Street Vettes You'll Want to Know
From the street to the track... and back! Greenwood Corvettes shared tech in both directions. No, we don't mean the Sportswagon.
1. Sebring GT
"Man, I really love the way those Porsche 935s look! Can I buy a street car that looks like those?!" Nope. Sorry my seventies buddy. But if you want something that looks like the full-on race car that influenced the design of those Porsches, then you're in luck! Greenwood began building the Corvette GT and the Sebring GT in 1975, using a design as close to the Trans-Am series racers as was practical for the street, including the sidepods developed with Zora Arkus-Duntov. The hood was stock on the GTs, as was the interior and usually the engine, but suspension mods were common—the Greenwoods were race-tuners after all. Once the new body pieces were put on, the cars were re-painted the factory color—but to a higher standard. The cars received aluminum Greenwood badges on the B-pillars and the 10” wide American Racing Vector wheels got “Greenwood GT” center caps.
Chicago-area Chevrolet dealer Rick Mancuso commissioned fifteen GTs and these became the serial-numbered Sebring GT models, some built by Greenwood in Michigan and some by American Custom Industries (ACI) in Ohio, who were contracted by Greenwood to make the body parts and assemble the cars. While ACI was busy with that John Greenwood and company were busy working on their next creation...
2. Turbo GT
Race constructors can never leave well enough and John and Burt Greenwood were no different and in 1976 they showed a prototype of the Turbo GT to the public. Though the prototype was not actually turbocharged, it had less extreme fender flares than the earlier GT, a more aggressive wing, and a modified fastback style rear widow for improved aerodynamics. When the Turbo GT went into production in 1978 the motor was indeed turbocharged, by a blow-through design with water injection for cooling, and featured a true double A-arm rear suspension. 'Production' might be the wrong word though, as only three were ever produced, and the prototype was converted to a Sebring GT then lost to time.
3. Daytona Turbo Coupe
Greenwood's Daytona Turbo Coupe switched-up the usual practice of racing car innovations trickling down to street cars. Greenwood built the first Daytona as a street car, but Tico & René Racing did take it to the track to fine tune the aerodynamics that would be used on the street cars, and the racers that followed. Their goals were the usual troika: low drag, high downforce, and enough cooling for the engine and brakes. The result wasn't to everyone's taste, but worked, and Greenwood struck a deal with fiberglass specialist Eckler's Corvette in Florida to produce the body parts. Greenwood built five Daytonas themselves (and sold them for between $37,000 and $53,000, depending on options), before Eckler's took over production in the form of body kits.
4. GTO
In 1982 Greenwood introduced the latest refinement of the Daytona design with their GTO. It retained the cooling scoops for the brakes, and the extended sill that reduced drag while adding downforce, but added a few twists. The hood had to be modified to clear the Greenwood cross-ram injection system, side vents were added to help funnel heat out, and the Daytona's NACA ducts were eliminated. Also new were BBS wheels with built-in Kevlar brake cooling 'fans'. Like the Daytona, the GTO was used to refine ideas for Greenwood's race cars, and as such the tail had to be changed to comply with IMSA rules for 1982. It featured a shorter spoiler than the virtual pickup truck bed of a thing used on the Daytona. You could order body kits again but this time only direct from Greenwood.
5. Sportwagons
One car not designed to be raced was the Sportwagon. Greenwood made Corvette station wagons in a few different versions. The first version was designed to work with chrome-bumper early C3 'Vettes and had a non-operational rear window. You could order these cars as kits through Eckler's catalogs and there was even a panel van version—the story goes that the first one was requested by a drummer to carry his gear. The redesign of Chevrolet's Corvette naturally called for a likewise change to Greenwood's wagon. The next version had plexiglass side widows that flowed nicely from the T-tops, and also curved up into the roof now so you could see around you, which was a nice touch. They didn't stop there though, the new version included a hatch that actually opened and Dayton wire wheels! Station wagon buyers, your dreams have come true.
6. Eckler Can-Ams
Eckler's Corvette Parts in Titusville, Florida, produced and marketed Turbo GT and Sportwagon body kits through their catalog for Greenwood after John moved nearby 1979. They would also go on to manufacture Daytona bodies for Greenwood, but meanwhile they came out with their own kits. Various styles and options were available but most resembled the Greenwood Sebring GT or Turbo GT. Eckler's called these kits the 'CR-II Series' and today people often refer to them as the 'Can-Ams'. Common features found on the Eckler cars are non-functional rear fender 'cooling ducts' that actually attach to the doors, flares that come out almost horizontally from the stock fenders, closed rear fenders, and rear end treatments with six tail lights. The stripes on the car in the upper-right inset are the same style as those found in period Eckler's catalogs—though they might be slightly faded. I guess they call that 'patina' now.
Do you have one of these? We want to hear from you! Don't see your car on this list? Let's see what you got! We want details! Want to know more about Greenwood? Well they are still around.
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