The NASCAR Racer that saved the Corvette?

[Bruce Nunnally]

A lot of car people, and especially a lot of people who like Chevrolet, know the basic framework of the story. The Corvette started out as a show car during the Motorama shows presented by General Motors and made it to production on the cheap. Snail-like sales of the hallowed originals just 300 in 1953 nearly led to the car being dropped. Folklore has Zora Arkus-Duntov delivering an over-my-dead-body ultimatum that kept the Corvette alive. The real story is more complicated and compelling. It involves a very special early Corvette that predicted its future remaking as a true sports car with V-8 power. The car is also being extensively shown at some of the countrys most prestigious car shows. -

See more at: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2014/06/27/the-nascar-racer-that-saved-the-corvette/?refer=news#sthash.MvgwEehN.dpuf

[cdgrinci]

The title should have read, "

"The NASCAR Racer that helped or maybe helped save(d) the Corvette?"

You'll have a hard time convincing me that Zora isn't the one who (truly) saved the Corvette. The article, while interesting (though incomplete), has gone beyond the lines of assumption IMO on its statement (whether using the question mark at the end of the title or not). I think a different title would have been more prudent (in presenting these unto unheard of surfacing facts). That's my take anyway.

Thanks for the link Bruce; it did make me think about it for a while.

[Cadillac Jim]

The amazing thing about the Motorama roadster concept cars is that they were built from existing production cars. The 1953-1962 Corvette featured the same suspension components - springs, A-arms, etc. as the 1949-1954 Chevrolet. The sports car handling came from the lower chassis and rearrangement of the attachment points, spring rates, and such. I would bet that the 1962 Corvette was probably the last production car in the world that was built with a kingpin front suspension and steering axis. The upper and lower A frames were attached to a large brass cylinder, the kingpin, and there was a cast iron sleeve that it went through that the hub and brakes were attached to. It was lubricated through grease fittings, often.

The production car suspensions were going through rapid metamorphosis as was the drivetrain, body, interior, etc. during that period. The 1955-1957 was a new design using some rubber bushings and upper and lower ball joints instead of a kingpin, and the 1959-1964 used an improved design, 1965+ was a new geometry, etc. I believe that the C2 used the same A-frames as the 1933-1964 Chevrolet.

I had a friend that drove a 1954 Corvette. Before he got it I thought that it was just a Powerglide six two-seater, but just one ride changed everything. For its time, it was amazing.