KALEIDOSCOPE

Volume 56, Issue 7
KALEIDOSCOPE
AMERICA’S OLDEST CORVETTE CLUB
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CORVETTE ASSOCIATION
July, 2013
Inside this issue:
President & Membership Column
3
NCM/HOD/WSCC Thunderhill
5
General Business Meeting Minutes
Social Activities Column
6-7
8
Code 88
11-13
Vette Magic
14-17
Iconic Corvette
Birthdays
Vettes & Vipers
Calendar
19
21
26-27
30
Front/Back Cover:
Steve Logan’s C6 & Maurice
Liang’s Viper. Photo credit
Maurice Liang, [email protected]
A Classy 62 entry from Vette
Magic 2013
President’s Column - George Robinson
Well, Vette Magic 38 is over. Six
months of planning and a lot of
man hours and money have resulted in another year of a weekend
car show and Corvette Drag races.
Thank everyone that helped in
making this happen, not just NCCA
members but the members of other
clubs that attended and provided
much needed judging teams and a
big thanks to our sponsors. Without our sponsors Vette Magic could
not happen, the costs to run the
drag races far exceed the entrance
fees we charge. This year Dublin
Chevrolet and Able Chevrolet
specifically sponsored our drags
and made it possible to hold them.
Our other Platinum sponsors,
Boardwalk and Courtesy Chevrolet,
allow us to hold “A Legend on
Display” car show in May and our
Vette Magic car show in June.
Longtime supporters, Neal Golding,
Tim Sullivan, and Walt Lupeika
never fail to support this club with
generous sponsorships. Pat and Sue
Hendrix owners of Precision Motive
again this year provided tech
support and the King of the Hill
Trophy. Dan Miller provided Amsoil
products for our raffle.
Thank you.
Vette Magic was one HOT car
show!!! I believe something like
108° hot.
This took a toll on
attendance and all those that
worked and attended the event.
Thanks to diligent workers we
completed the judging and tallying
and were able to hand out awards
in record time so people could get
out of the heat.
We had major concerns about the
heat at the drags the following day
but we were lucky and the weather
broke with temperatures in the mid80’s and a breeze making it
pleasant on the track.
Again
because of NCCA volunteers the
drag races went off without a hitch,
the results were rapidly tabulated
and awards handed out. In never
ceases to amaze me just how fast
we get the track set up and taken
down.
This year because we
purchased a trailer we did not need
a crew to load and unload all our
equipment. The trailer has also
been sorted and organized thanks
to the effort of Steve Bisset. He has
really taken on the responsibility like
it is his own. Tim Sullivan again has
stepped up to the plate and is
providing the storage for the trailer.
Finally, many thanks to Ken Tonkin,
Kevin Sleeman and Hayward Pipe
for the many years they provided
the storage for our “stuff”. It is a
team sport as they say.
Membership News - Carol & Greg Brott
June arrived and so did our 38th
Annual Vette Magic with a hot car
show and even hotter 110° temperature. The Car Show brought
Corvettes from all over the West and
everyone had a wonderful time with
fellow Corvette owners and lovers.
This was also Carol’s and my first
time racing our Z06 and we had a
great time with Carol having a 104
MPH run and I ran 116 MPH and we
are already looking forward to next
year’s event.
The IHOP Park and Munch was
again well attended and the
Legends/Vette Magic Download
Meeting brought out a large number
of members to ensure next year’s
events will be even better!
New Members
At our July General Business Meeting
we were very excited to welcome to
our NCCA family, Art Lebermann
and his wife Sharon and their 1997
VOLUME 56, ISSUE 7
Sebring Silver Metallic C5 Coupe. Art
is a Broadcast Engineer for Cumulus
Media, in SF and works for many
local radio stations we all listen to
locally, KGO, KSFO, KNBR, KSAN,
and KFOG. We are looking forward
to seeing Art and Sharon at many of
our events in the future.
during our lunch at The Prickly Pear
for those who bring their membership renewal form and their check or
cash
Membership Renewal
Total Likes: 127 (Up by 23 vs. last
month)
Membership renewal will again be
during September and we will be
utilizing the September 7th Blackhawk Automobile Museum event as
our Club Photo, Museum Tour and
Membership Renewal Day.
This will be the first time since 2009
that we will be taking our official
NCCA Club photo so you won’t
want to miss this one. We will park
our Corvettes at the entrance to the
Museum and will be a beautiful
backdrop for the photo.
We will also have a drawing to give
away one (1) free membership
Facebook
O u r N C C A F a c e b oo k p a g e
continues to grow. Newest stats are:
Total Potential Reach: 38,880 (Up by
10,221)
If you haven’t already, this is a friendly reminder to please “Like” the
NCCA Facebook page and if you
have already liked the page to
please “share” some of the articles
and photos on your own Facebook
page.
Enjoy the great NorCal summer and
America’s Sports Car and don’t
forget to Save the Wave.
Page 3
2013 Board of Directors
President
George Robinson
650.291.4601
president@
nccacorvettes.org
Events
Rob Andersen
650.878.9835
vpevents@
nccacorvettes.org
Motor Sports
Chuck Gerughty &
650.799.1975
Bob Ashbaker
510.521.9471
vpmotorsports@
nccacorvettes.org
Secretary
Shirley Smith
510.481.2739
secretary@
nccacorvettes.org
Membership
Carol & Greg Brott
925.
648.9750
membership@
nccacorvettes.org
Social
JoAnn &
Al Zwicky
510.314.
1938
[email protected]
Treasurer
Carole Robinson
650.218.8965
treasurer@
nccacorvettes.org
Publications
Stayc Feil
925.829.1881
publications@
nccacorvettes.org
Advertising Director
Open
Historian
Dave Meccariello
209.814.2984
historian@
nccacorvettes.org
BMAL
Ken Rabello
925.484.9838
bmal@
nccacorvettes.org
WSCC Representative
Steve Bisset
925.455.6431
wsccrep@
nccacorvettes.org
Charitable Foundation
Lloyd Peoples
510.278.7763
charitable@
nccacorvettes.org
Web Director
Jim Wells
925.443.2707
web@
nccacorvettes.org
Hats For Sale
NCCA has embroidered baseball hats
for sale for $20. Available in Red,
Blue, or Yellow.
so don’t hesitate on getting yours
today.
If you are interested in purchasing
one contact: George Robinson @
6 5 0 . 2 9 1 . 4 6 0 1
o r
[email protected]
There are a limited number available
and many sold at the March meeting
Page 4
K A L E I D O S C O PE
America’s Oldest Corvette Club
In July of 1956, two Corvette owners
waved & stopped to talk. Corvettes
were few in numbers then & several
weeks could pass before encountering
another. These drivers discussed the
starting of a Corvette Club.
By July 15, 1956, an informal meeting
of Corvette owners had decided to
establish the Northern California
Corvette Association. These early Corvette owners met frequently at each
other’s homes with their numbers increasing each month.
On March 28, 1957, an initial group of
35 met at Daily Chevrolet in Oakland
to establish the by-laws. By then Josh
Hogue, San Francisco Examiner’s
sports car event columnist suggested
that this group combine with the one
meeting at Les Vogel’s Chevrolet.
On May 9, 1957 NCCA was
incorporated & 40 members elected
Roy Storey, a TV & radio sportscaster &
Corvette participant in SCCA‘s regional races, President.
Sandy Greenblat was elected Vice
President, Patty Gellenbeck Secretary &
John Zeh Treasurer. The charter membership for NCCA was closed at the
end of May 1957 listing 47 members.
President Roy Storey suggested a series
of autocross’ named after Grand Prix
races. NCCA presented Northern California’s 3rd autocross. 150 cars drove
the course at the Milpitas Ford Plant.
This series set the standard for autocrossing in Northern California.
Though Roy Storey was soon transferred to Hollywood by CBS, he helped
NCCA to properly start as a competing
club.
NCCA is still participating in autocrossing, drag races, track racing & car
shows. The club is the oldest member
of the Western States Corvette Council
(WSCC), joining in 1966. We have
evolved into more of a social club over
the years with the focus on day &
weekend trips. In recent years interest
has increased in racing, with members
taking trophies in drag racing, autocross & entering more & more track
days at Thunderhill, Laguna Seca,
Infineon & Buttonwillow race tracks.
NCCA celebrated it’s 50th anniversary
in 2007 by inviting past presidents to
a dinner dance where we shared
memorabilia. Our
calendar is filled
each January with events for the
coming year that include trips to an
assortment of locations, car shows,
our annual fall banquet & Christmas
party.
Vette Magic, an all Corvette Drag
Race & Car Show, is sponsored by
NCCA each summer. Each year this
event draws a large number Corvette
racers and spectators from Northern
California & the surrounding States.
NCCA is a valuable member of our
community, as we contribute to several charitable organizations each year
through our charitable foundation.
NCM/HOD/WSCC Thunderhill HPDE - October 23-24, 2013
Thursday participants take to the
track at Thunderhill. Students will
have instructors in their cars or be
checked off for solo as well as classroom time. Thursday evening will
feature the parade to the park in
Willows with an outdoor dinner
and include an auction.
Corvettes return to Thunderhill in
Willows, California for the annual
HOD/WSCC sponsored HPDE
fundraiser for the National
Corvette Museum. Once again this
multi-faceted event will start with a
lunch and road tour on Wednesday
October 23rd led by the ChiPs
ending at the Thunderhill racetrack.
Track registration sign in will be
held and parade laps will be open
to both DE participants and visitors.
VOLUME 56, ISSUE 7
Registration is expected to open by
March 2013 so watch for announcements in NCM eNews for
the latest update and then check
back to this site for the details.
www.corvettemuseum.org
Friday will bring a second full day of
track activities. As has become
customary, there will be a GM
representative there to interact with
participants
Page 5
General Business Meeting Minutes - Shirley Smith
July 2, 2013
7:00 pm @
San Lorenzo Homes
Association
Meeting called to
order: 7:00 pm
Roll Call of Members - 32 in attendance
George Robinson - President
Welcome all members and E-Board.
Do we have approval of the minutes from last
month’s meeting? Minutes approved.
Welcome to everyone.
Members we will have board positions available
for our upcoming year. Please think about volunteering for one of the available positions. More
information regarding these positions at next
month’s meeting.
Officers Reports
Membership – Greg & Carol Brott
We have a few guests this evening, Art Lebermann
who has a 1999 Corvette. He will be inducted this
evening into our club.
We have another guest, Laurie England, she
purchased Bruce Bourne’s 1982 corvette.
Welcome to all guests and welcome to the new
members.
Treasurer – Carole Robinson
We are pretty much at the end of our year. Club
sponsored events are done.
We ended up
surprisingly in the black.
We purchased a Banner for the National Corvette
Museum.
All financial numbers will be posted on our members only website for members review.
Social – Jo Ann & Al Zwicky
I have a signup sheet for Dublin Chevrolet get
together to see the new C-7 when it arrives. The
date has not been announced at this time, should
have a date in a few more weeks, but we would
like to know who would want to attend. Bill Finch
from Dublin Chevrolet would like to see at least
200 Corvettes attend this unveiling.
Powder Puff run-Women driver’s, ok to bring
hubby, and men are welcome too, signup sheet
up front.
River City Corvette Club sent us a letter regarding a
tour of the Beal Air Force Base outside of Grass
Page 6
Valley. If anyone is interested in going and taking a
tour on an active base please let me know. The tours
are only on Thursdays, so we would have to go up on
a Wednesday and return on Friday, there was a showing of hands from approximately 10 people who
would be interested. More information to follow soon.
If you went on the Corvette/Viper run this last weekend you know we had a blast and it was very hot. If
you didn’t attend you missed a fun day. There were 15
vipers and 12 corvettes. The president of the Viper
club is a professional photographer and he will be
sending us pictures for the K. Stephen Logan and his
car and one of the Viper cars are featured in one of the
pictures and this picture is going into the Viper
Calendar for next year. They are interested in participating with us for another event.
July 7th Cars and Coffee at the Black Hawk Museum the
first Sunday of each month please come out and enjoy
the morning.
Non-NCCA car show event coming up on July 13thRedwood Chapel Car show.
July 13th and 14th is the WSCC Summer gathering and
if you are attending please contact Ken Rabello who is
organizing a caravan, he needs a count.
July 18th Thursday, Danville Car Show Hot August
nights.
The Membership Drive run date has been changed.
The new date for the Membership Drive run is for
Saturday September 7th. We will include a club photo
of all of our cars that same day, the museum tour will
be $7.00 for our club members attending. And lunch
is scheduled at the Prickly Pear Cantina with a private
room for our club. Since our membership renewal
starts on September 1st, for any member who pays and
turns in their paperwork the day of the event at the
museum that person will have a chance to win a free 1
year membership.
August 9th and 10th Cambria Run date has changed –
We are changing it to Oct. 4th and 5th due to the cost
of the hotel being very high in August. More
information will be available soon. Please note we
would be leaving on Friday and coming back on
Sunday for the Cambria run.
August 15th, Thursday is the 2nd Danville Hot August
nights car show.
August 16th, Friday is the Pacific Grove Auto Rally, that
same weekend is the Mazda raceway motorsports
event.
August 17th, Saturday is the 1st annual Friends and
Family Corvette Car Show in Fairfield, flyer will be posted on our website.
August 24th, Glass Paks 3rd annual Car Show in Tracy,
Jim Neyland has a special prize for the volunteer
judges and scorers that work that day.
August 23 thru 25th – Good Guys Car Show in
Pleasanton.
K A L E I D O S C O PE
General Business Meeting Minutes - Continued
Public Relations – Ken Rabello
Nothing to Report.
Publications – Stayc Feil
Nothing to Report.
Charitable Foundation – Lloyd Peoples
First I want to thank Boardwalk Chevrolet for
donating 4 new rims for a C-6. They have been
sold and are out the door. The funds will be added
to our Charitable Foundation. I will send a letter to
them thanking them for the donation.
I have some gift certificates that need to be used up
soon, and I am offering them to the members here
tonight as a thank you from the charitable
foundation to the membership for helping out at
Vette Magic and Legends. Please see me after the
meeting if you are interested in the certificates I
have available. Next month is a raffle month.
Robert Andersen and Rob Wigand are working on the
new graphics and will report back soon. There are many
other areas that were discussed at the meeting and we
will be putting together possibilities that we will present
to the club. One of the problems we have been made
aware of is the advertising for the events wasn’t handled
properly and put out in the right areas. This could bring
more cars to our event if done in advance. We need to
contact the TV and radio stations in the Sacramento area
sooner to announce the upcoming events. We also
talked about opening up (again this was only a
suggestion not voted on by membership) that we allow
all bowtie cars to join us for the drags. More information
about the meeting will be coming forth in the next few
meetings. Webmaster – Jim Wells
Absent
WSCC – Steve Bisset
Nothing to Report.
Historian – Dave Meccariello
Nothing to Report.
VP Motorsports – Chuck Gerughty & Tim Sullivan
Absent.
VP Events – Rob Andersen
Vette Magic and Legends car shows and drags
attendance was low this year. WSCC is seeing this
low attendance across all of the corvette club
communities. One of the reasons we feel that the
attendance was low for us was that it was so hot in
Sacramento this year. Other than the heat everything went smoothly.
Download Meeting:
Discussions were held at the meeting on how to make
things better for our next year’s events. Input from all
members who attended will be put into an action format so that committees can be formed to address these
issues. We have Bruce Bourne, Stephen Logan and
Shirley Smith who are forming a committee to improve
on how well the judging goes for the car shows. We
will need more committees for other areas. Anyone
who has any new graphics for our t-shirts designs for
next year please get it to us very soon, as we would like
to address this very early in advance of the shows.
VOLUME 56, ISSUE 7
Old Business
The National Corvette Musuem has sent us a letter
thanking us for signing up again this year for a Club
Banner in the parking lot. We are providing them
with our logo and any other graphics that we would
like to have on the banner. A suggestion was made
to add Happy 60th Anniversary. Bob Ashbaker has
received the Patches for Vietnam Veterans and the
Window Clings decals. If you are interested in getting
these please contact Bob Ashbaker and he will give
you the information needed.
New Business
We have a lot of slides from our past events. We
need to do something with these slides to avoid the
storage and possible damage. We can possibly have
them digitalized. George has looked into 2 possible
places. We have to have some people go thru all the
slides. (Who has a projector? –Steve Bisset has a
projector and it was decided that Steve and George
will go thru the slides). We will only choose a certain
amount to have put onto digital format. George
makes a motion to digitize our slides with a cost of up
to $300.00, and the motion is seconded and
approved by the members in attendance this
evening.
Next Meetings
E-board - Next meeting July 30, 2013
GBM - August 6, 2013 at 7:00 pm
Meeting adjourned at 8:05 pm
Page 7
NCCA Legends & Vette Magic Download Party/Meeting - George Robinson
Sunday June 30th NCCA had its
second annual download party for
those that worked on Legends and/
or Vette Magic this year. The party
is to thank those that put in their
time and effort to make these
events a success and to gather
ideas to improve the events in
coming years.
Again this year Tim Sullivan hosted
the event at his HOA building in
Danville and again overdid himself
by also donating tri-tip and ribs,
and, if that was not enough,
cooked them and made his own
sauces and beans to go with them.
We can’t thank Tim enough for this.
As usual there was great food and
too much of it. There was wine,
beer, lots of talk and believe it or
not a very productive meeting in
which we analyzed the events with
the perspective of making them
better next year. We reviewed
complements
and
criticisms
received by individuals and the
WSCC. We looked at each one and
decided if it was something that we
reasonably could have avoided and
if so how to do so in the future. We
discussed how to improve things
like judging which seems to plague
all car shows.
We have a
committee composed of three avid
car show members: Bruce Bourne,
Stephen Logan and Shirley Smith.
They will look at what we have
historically been doing and report
to the board on their findings. If
you have any suggestions please
talk to one of them.
We discussed venue changes to try
to avoid weather issues and
improve attendance and we
discussed possible future changes
to the events themselves, again
with the idea of making them better
and more attractive to a wider
group of people.
One thing we are ready to say
now is that the single biggest
thing that will improve these
events is a greater participation in
the running of the events by
NCCA membership.
If you are not now working on one
or both please do so next year, you
will find it rewarding and make
your membership more fulfilling.
I plan on presenting the minutes of
the meeting to the membership
when they are finalized. Remember
comments, concerns and opinions
are best addressed by being
involved. There will be plenty of
opportunity for that in the
upcoming year. Social Activities News - Al & Jo Ann Zwicky
June ended with a first time NCCA
joint event with the Viper Club. It was
a challenging run through some very
twisty back roads in Santa Clara
County ending in Gilroy. The Vipers
lead and it’s a good thing. They tend to
travel at a spirited pace. There were 15
of them and 12 of us. We all had a
great time except for the heat. I know
we talk a lot about hot cars, but our
old C3 was beyond hot on this one.
July starts off with the WSCC Summer
Gathering Event in Jamestown, CA on
July 13 and 14. See both flyers on our
website Events Calendar for details.
WSCC has done quite a job putting
together a great to do list followed by
a BBQ on Saturday night. This really
has the potential for another great
Corvette weekend. Ken and Katherine
Rabello will be leading our caravan to
this event. We leave from McDonalds
on Santa Rita Road in Pleasanton on
Saturday, July 13th.
Thursday night, July 18th is the Annual
Hot Summer Nights Car Show in
Danville. This year Corvette is the
honored car making all Corvettes
eligible for main street parking. The
Page 8
second edition is on Thursday, August
15th in case you miss the first one.
Again, details are on our calendar.
Last but not least, is the NCCA Powder
Puff Run to Pescadero on July 27th. The
name says it all and expectations are
high for this event hosted by Carole
and Shirley. The flyer is posted on the
web calendar.
Unique about this
event is the ladies drive. It is a short
event with a stop for lunch of course
and sounds like a lot of fun. RSVP per
the flyer.
Pebble Beach weekend Corvette
events start with the Rolex Monterey
Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca on August 16th.
Chevrolet sponsors a Corvette Corral
for parking and admission to the races.
See the flyer on our web calendar.
Friday, August 16th is the NCCA cruise
to Pacific Grove for the 19th Annual
Auto Rally. Tim Sullivan will be our
cruise leader again this year. This is a
full day of cruising, lunch, informal car
show, rally through 17 Mile Drive and
downtown Carmel, and dinner. The
rally is the most fun with hundreds of
spectators waving to the cars as they
drive past, reminiscent of the road
races in the 1950’s. The Pebble Beach
Concours d’Elegance is the highlight of
the weekend on Sunday.
Family and Friends Corvette Club hosts
their 1st Annual Car Show on Saturday,
August 17th in Vallejo. This club has
supported several of our events in the
past and this would be a good
opportunity for us to return the favor.
See our web calendar for details.
On Saturday, August 24th, Glass Pack
Corvettes sponsors their 3rd Annual
Glass Fantastic Car Show in Tracy. This
is a WSCC event which many from our
club attend. We will have an NCCA
group cruise to Tracy for this one.
Finally, on Saturday. September 7th,
Greg and Carol Brott will host an event
at the Blackhawk Automotive Museum.
This will be Annual NCCA Membership
Day which will include a club photo,
Museum Tour, and membership
renewal fee raffle. Lunch will be in a
private room at the Prickly Pear
Cantina and there will be plenty of
opportunities for shopping in the plaza
for those so inclined.
K A L E I D O S C O PE
Northern California Corvette Association - 1st Annual Powder Puff Run
Ladies Drive (Men are welcome)
Saturday, July 27th, 2013
Time: 10:00 am to 2:00 pm (estimated time)
North Bay group leaves San Leandro McDonalds at 9:30 am
Meet up with Coastal group at Crystal Springs Shopping Center just off 92 and De Anza Blvd. at
10:00 am
Short Trip Just for fun!
We will be visiting the Harley Goat Farm. We will drive back into the town of Pescadero for lunch at Duarte’s Tavern they
have been in business Since 1894 – great menu! They are located at the intersection of Pescadero and Stage Roads.
There are a few shops in town, antiques etc., also Arcangeli Grocery – Deli, Wine, Bakery Great baked goods! The Pescardero
General Store is located next door food, wine and shopping too!
We can then go to Pescadero Beach on Highway 1 for pictures of our cars by the ocean. Then drive up Highway 1 pass Half
Moon Bay and to 92 East and head back home.
Please join us!
Please be sure to have your CB radios and Fast Trak or bridge toll and a full tank of gas.
Contact- Carole Robinson e-mail [email protected] or Shirley Smith
e-mail [email protected] PLEASE RSVP by July 19, 2013!
VOLUME 56, ISSUE 7
Page 9
Page 10
K A L E I D O S C O PE
Code 88 - The Secret Code to a Race-Ready Corvette in the late 60’s
The L88 Corvette is a car that, for the
most part, hid in the shadows. But it
actually cast a big shadow on the
American muscle car scene. Oh, if
you were keeping a close ear to the
ground, you knew about it. But if you
didn't pay attention, it came and
went in a flash. The reason for its
existence was that Zora ArkusDuntov, the chief Corvette engineer,
was chagrined that Ford got all this
publicity for winning the 24 House of
LeMans. He knew that Chevrolet had
a durable engine in the 427 and
yearned to make it available for
racing. But he had one problem Chevrolet, officially, was not in racing.
They had their heavy duty parts lists
you could peruse at the dealership
and buy stronger parts than normal
over-the-counter, but didn’t' have a
ready-to-race
model like Ford had
with the Cobra 427 S/C, or even
GT40s (of which they only sold a
handful). So Duntov pushed and
shoved and surreptitiously developed
the package known as "L88."
The 1967 Model
You have to figure they only sold 20 of them in 1967 - the
first year it was available (you could call it a half year
model because it was only available in February 1967), so
very few people knew about them. Part of the
corporation's problem with the car is that it didn't meet
any of the usual standards for noise/vibration/harshness.
It exceeded the maximum in all areas. It idled like the
heartbeat of a thoroughbred racehorse at the opening
bell of the Kentucky Derby. It had a buckboard stiff ride.
There was no air conditioning available. In some states,
the car might not have been able to be registered due to
"Off Road" labeling. And, an interesting note is that on the
'67 Corvette, the humongous hood scoop was a
"dummy". If you ordered the L88 though, that scoop was
made functional, feeding cold air to the carburetor.
The first year, the L88 was not listed among the available
choices on the option list and Chevrolet resorted to a ruse
to keep sales down, a sort of feint-left to weed out the
true cognoscenti from the wanna-be-racers. Chevy listed
the L88 at 5 horsepower less than the 435 horse L71 427
in order to discourage buyers wanting to order the fastest
Corvette available. The non-savvy thought the L71 was
the more powerful of the two, going by the advertised
horsepower rating but they didn't reckon on all the gofast heavy-duty parts in the L88 that made it a superior
engine for race work.
VOLUME 56, ISSUE 7
There were a few mandatory heavy duty parts you had to
order with the L88 option, including heavy duty F41 front and
rear suspensions, J50 vacuum power brakes, J56 special heavy
duty brakes, K66 transistor ignition, and the M22 heavy duty
close ratio manual gearbox.
There were no special L88 emblems and you had to look real
hard at the car to note the hood was open in the back of the
hood blister. It also had 6" wide wheels, which you needed. If
you lifted the hood, you might have been able to spot the
improved radiator - an aluminum cross-flow with a Harrison
expansion tank, where other '67 big-block Corvettes had brass
radiators. The '67s were also the only year the L88's block and
heads came painted Chevy Orange.
The M22 gearbox was nicknamed the "Rock Crusher". It might
have gotten that nickname due to its noisiness. The gears
were cut at a much lower angle - closer to straight - for a
much higher torque rating. This design made it very noisy, but
allowed it to handle really powerful motors. The gear ratios
were: 1-2.20, 2-1.64, 3-1.27, 4-1.00.
The '67 L88 was just the start of Duntov's ware against the
Cobras. The package was carried over in '68 in the new "Mako
Shark" inspired body and was phased out during the following year (calendar year 1969). There was no chance it would
be offered in production in the future as all kinds of emissions
laws were coming into being in the early '70s. In the new-for'68 body, the L88 accounted for 80 units.
Page 11
Code 88 - Continued
One way of checking on the number made is by the use
of a heavy duty options. The records show that in '68 only
80 M22 "Rock Crusher" gearboxes were ordered, so they
probably all went on L88 Corvettes. A bit odder is the fact
that 81 1968 Corvettes were built with the heavy duty
J56 special performance brakes - which means 80 L88s
got them and one non-L88 car did as well, The last year of
its offering, 1969, shows a change in sales. Word must
have spread because that year, its final year of
production, it recorded sales of 116 units.
While Chevrolet acquitted themselves on the sports car
racetrack with the L88, they also did well in drag racing,
where they could regularly run in the low 11 second
range at over 120 mph. If you ran in a modified class
where you could choose gears (a stump pulling 4.56 was
available), stickier slicks, headers and open side pipes, you
could rule the track.
Almost unbelievably, in the final year of production, 1969,
there was even an automatic available (one figure
bandied about on Corvette websites is that 17 were sold
with automatics). The automatic had a 3-element torque
convertor, compound planetary gearset, and had the
following ratios: 1-2.48, 2-1.48 and 3-1.00.

Bore and stroke: 4.251" x 3.76"

Compression ratio: 1967-9: 12.5:1

Minimum octane recommended: 103 Research Octane
and 95 Motor Octane

Camshaft p/n: 3925535

Engine codes: 1967-8: IT; 1969: LO, LV, ME, MG, MR

Engine casting nos: 1967: 3904351; 1968: 3935439;
1969: 3935439, 4955270

Base circle: 32.8 mm (1.291 in.) lobe lift 9.9 mm (0.39 in.)
Supplier: GM Bay City

Connecting rods length: 6.135"

Crankcase description: open deck 4-bolt fastening per
bearing panel

Cylinder head volume: 103.3 114.8

Deck clearance: .008"

Deck Height 9.800"

Head gasket thickness (compressed): .043 head

Gasket Volume: 10.81 cc

Minimum combustion chamber volume: 74.15 cc 73.47 cc

Crankshaft material: forged premium allow 5140 steel
with "tuffride" surface coating
Ironically, for all of its thundering legend, the L88 didn't
seem to record very high top speeds - below 155 mph
certainly. Even the 427 Cobra could top that, though it
too had dicey aerodynamics (but the advantage of much
less weight).
1967-1969 L88 engine specifications

General SAE gross horsepower (advertised): 430 hp
@ 5,200 rpm

SAE net torque (advertised): 460 lbs-ft @ 4,000 rpm

SAE gross horsepower (actual): approximately 550570 hp @ 6,200-6,400 rpm

SAE net torque (actual): approximately 470 lbs-ft @
5,200 rpm

Displacement: 427 cubic inches
Page 12
K A L E I D O S C O PE
Code 88 - Continued
Surprising to many is the fact that the L88 came with an
iron block. Iron was heavy, but had one big advantage
over aluminum - if you overhead an iron block engine,
you can usually count on no "core shift" or cylinder barrel
shape changes once it cools off. You can't say that for
aluminum blocks. The L88 did use aluminum cylinder
heads and you had to cope with a difficult 12.5:1
compression ratio. If you didn't have Sunoco 260 fuel in
your neighborhood, you were in trouble.
If you were to look at an L88 for possible purchase, the
most important thing to find is the RPO code on the
engine, located on a machined plate in front of the
passenger side head. This tells you what year the engine
was built, what engine it is, and usually what transmission
was attached to the engine. It also reveals what manufacturing plant Chevy used to build the engine (L88 engines
were built on a special assembly line at the Tonawanda,
New York plant), what year the engine is, and its horsepower rating.
That cut out certain amount of "street cruisers" who would
have been buying too much car right there.
Another off-putting feature was the warning label that came
on all L88s that mandated the use of really high octane fuel
("103 Research Octane and 95 Motor Octane, or engine
damage may result.") That probably scared off any buyers
who knew their neighborhood didn't have Pense's favorite
race fuel - Sunoco 260.
Then there was the price tag. That extra $947.90 got you the
engine, but didn't include all the other options you had to buy
with it as mandatory equipment. In extensive testing, Duntov
had decided which options the car couldn't live without. For
instance, the heavy duty brakes placed the maximum braking
effect at the front to account for the weight transfer (due to
the big-block's extra heft) under braking. The brake shoes had
increase rigidity. The front calipers had dual long cotter pins.
How much is an L88 worth?
Buyer Beware
Nasty con men have been
known to machine off the
original RPO non-L88 numbers
and re-stamp new ones. Your
best bet is to find a reference
source that shows if the RPO
code matches the casting number. We'd also highly
recommend investing in an NCRS
Specification Guide covering the
model years you're interested in.
The rarest and most valuable
item to document a Corvette is
the car's build sheet, which was
applied to the gas tank during
assembly. It's not easy to get at,
but obviously worth searching for if it means authenticcating the car.
Chevrolet tried in every way possible to discourage
ordinary street drivers (who just wanted to be top dog on
their street) from buying the L88-equipped Corvettes.
First of all, there was the lower-horsepower rating trick
we previously mentioned. Then, Chevy also made the
price tag much higher (an extra $947.90). Seems like
chicken feed now, but at the time it was equivalent to
almost 20% more for the car than the L71. A third way of
discouraging "cafe racer" types was to make it impossible
to order with a heater, radio, or fan shroud that first year.
Dick Guldstrand, who raced a '67 L88 at the 24 Hours of
LeMans, like to tell about picking up an L88 Corvette at
the factory and having to drive it through a wintry landscape of snow and ice without a heater or defroster.
Chevy even forbade you from ordering a radio in '67!
VOLUME 56, ISSUE 7
In 2007 at a Mecum auction, a oneowner car with 2,248 miles on the
odometer sold for over $400,000. Of
course, that was a low mileage oneowner with the original window sticker, tax and license receipt, Protec-OPlate, order form, owner's manual
and other documentation - enough
to fill a loose leaf binder several
inches thick. When you are dealing
with a care that rare, excessive documentation is what makes the
difference in value at an auction. In
fact, add a racing history and you
could say the sky is the limit on value.
"Corvette Mike" of Anaheim, California prides himself on
having a wide spectrum of vintage Corvettes for sale. We only
had to call him to have him roll out a 1968 red coupe as a
representative example of the breed. "I feel that the welldocumented L88s will not only hold their value, but increase,"
says Corvette Mike Vietro, "because the total number is so
small and because they represent a mindset: this is a factoryprepped race care for the street."
And so it goes. In that golden era before emission tests and
mileage requirements, Detroit automakers could actually build
a limited run of special cars to indulge our fantasies (would
you believe sixty-nine '69 Camaros were also made with ZL-1
engines?) Chevrolet created the L88 and for that we are grateful, even if they did so almost "behind closed doors" with the
result that they were off the market before most of us even
knew they were available.
Page 13
Vette Magic #38 … The Heat is On! - Rob Andersen
We had a beautiful sunny day on
June 8th, but it was 112°! Because
of the extreme heat in the
Sacramento area we had a very low
turnout, only 65 cars entered.
Despite the extreme heat, our
NCCA team shined through and
handled all job duties without any
complaints. I personally want to
thank everyone for a very
professional job you did, without
Page 14
your help Vette Magic can’t exist.
I also want to thank every entrant
who showed up and our sponsors
for hanging in there during the day.
We were able to total up judging
sheets early and finish up the
awards by 3:00 pm. This was
appreciated by everyone and just in
time to clean up, load the trailer
and make it to happy hour by 4:00
pm!!
Overall, Vette Magic #38 ran very
smooth and this being my first year
as VP/Events it was an honor to run
our events. I learned a lot how
procedures work and who to turn
to for help. This is why I choose to
continue with NCCA, it’s all of you
that make this the best corvette
club in Northern California. See you
at the next event or at autocross….drive it like you stole it!!
K A L E I D O S C O PE
Vette Magic - Pictures
Page 16
K A L E I D O S C O PE
Vette Magic - Pictures
VOLUME 56, ISSUE 7
Page 17
Vette Magic 38 & Mother Nature - Chuck Gerughty
Well two years ago we had nothing
but rain and this year it was heat.
Can’t Mother Nature get anything
right? I am only kidding Mother
Nature. I still think you are pretty hot
stuff. Pun intended.
Actually it wasn’t too bad on Sunday.
It might have gotten up to 92° but
that was nothing compared to the
reported high of 112° on Saturday
the day of our car show.
Unfortunately all that jazz about heat
lead to a smaller crowd than usual
and only 77 Corvettes had to
compete for King of the Hill.
You have to just love it, the cars were
fast, the drivers were polite (more on
that later) the crowd was great and
the workers put it all together for a
wonderful day. Before you knew it
the new King was crowned, awards
were given out and everything was
whisked away into our new trailer
and driven away. I just looked up
and around and everybody and
everything was gone.
If I were a betting guy I would have
picked Willie or Christopher to win
but neither did and I never would
have believed that good old Mother
Nature would figure in the King of
the Hill victory. The eventual winner
got blown off the starting line by a
gust of wind. Now that’s a foul anyway you look at it and the driver was
disqualified but the other driver
didn’t think that was right and he
asked for and we allowed a re-run.
Of course the nice guy lost and
Mother Nature’s child went on to
win the whole thing. I hope I never
again have to make another decision
like that. I know it’s all for fun but
sometimes we just have to play by
the rules.
As usual when it was all over I got
conned into being the Director of
Motorsports for another year and I
think we have some good ideas for
Vette Magic 39 or should I say GM
Magic 39. No Vette Magic it will
always be but change is on the
horizon. From all of us that helped
with VM 38 to all of you who
participated we promise to change
things around next year to make
the VM 39 event even better.
Once again thanks to all that
helped me with the drags this year.
Without your assistance it wouldn’t
have gone as well as it did. Iconic Corvette Began 60 Years Ago
First Corvettes rolled off the
assembly line on June 30, 1953
Since then, more than 1.5 million
Corvettes have been produced
BOWLING GREEN, KY – Chevrolet
today marked its 60th anniversary of
the Corvette, an iconic American
sports car. The first Corvette went into
production in Flint, Michigan on June
30, 1953. Since then, Corvette has
become an American icon that
continues to offer the best in today’s
technology and performance.
“During the past six decades, the
Corvette has been woven into the
fabric of American culture, as the
sports car of choice for movie stars,
musicians and astronauts,” said Chris
Perry, vice president, Chevrolet
Marketing. “The very best Corvettes
represent the state-of-the-art for their
eras in terms of design, technology
and performance.”
Here are some key facts highlighting
60 years of Corvette history:
Corvette is the world’s longestrunning, continuously produced
passenger car.
VOLUME 56, ISSUE 7
Corvette made its debut as a
concept vehicle at the General
Motors Autorama in New York
City on January 17, 1953. It was
such a success that a limited run
of 300 production Corvettes
began on June 30 of that year.
All 1953 models were Polo White
with a red interior and they were
priced at $3,498. In 2006, the
third 1953 Corvette produced
sold for a record $1.06 million at
auction.
Corvette was exclusively available
with an inline six-cylinder engine
until 1955. That year, the optional
V-8 engine was ordered by 90%
of buyers. The six-cylinder was
dropped in 1956. Corvette has
been available exclusively with
V-8 power since.
Corvette was produced only as a
convertible for its first 10 years.
The fixed-roof 1963
“splitwindow” Corvette Sting Ray
coupe launched the secondgeneration
Corvette.
Sales
doubled and it became a yearround car for drivers in colder
climates.
Approximately
1.56
million
Corvettes have been produced
since June 30, 1953. The
500,000th Corvette was built in
1977; the 1 millionth was built in
1992, and the 1.5 millionth
Corvette rolled off the line in
2009.
Corvettes have been produced
at three facilities: Flint, Michigan
(1953); St. Louis, Missouri, (19541981); and Bowling Green, Kentucky (1981-2014). The change
from St. Louis to Bowling Green
happened
during
the
production year. The first 1981
Corvette was built in St. Louis,
and the last 1981 Corvette was
built in Bowling Green.
No 1983 Corvettes were sold to
the public. The model year was
skipped in preparation for the all
-new 1984 Corvette, which
launched the C4 generation.
Forty-four Corvette prototypes
were built as 1983 models. Only
one remains, and it is on display
at
the
National
Corvette
Museum, in Bowling Green, KY.
Page 19
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K A L E I D O S C O PE
May & June Birthdays
July
Dolores Peoples
30
Carol Brott
31
Sue Hendrix
5
Don Henning
6
Rob Wigand
7
Tom Barclay
15
Debbie Neylan
5
Mary Ann Sleeman
18
Cynthia Kesinger
5
Craig Thompson
19
Becky Tonkin
14
Wendy Mathews
21
Kay Reeves
19
Richard Noordyk
22
Carole Robinson
22
Tim Sullivan
24
Myra Northrop
31
Monica Rock
25
Karen Eelsing
28
August
Charitable Foundation - Lloyd Peoples
I wish to thank all the members
who donated articles for our raffles,
and for every one who bought tickets. Your generosity has made the
Charitable Foundation strong. As
we get back to our raffles in August
please keep up the donations.
Jeff Gordon Raffle
This year Jeff Gordon will be raffling
off his personal Corvette
Convertible Grand Sport 4LT. All
proceeds benefit the Jeff Gordon
Children’s Foundation’s efforts to
fund pediatric cancer treatment and
research programs. Each ticket is
$100 and the raffle will be drawn
September 23, 2013. Links with
more information and how to register are listed below.
VOLUME 56, ISSUE 7
URL: bit.ly/SrMoev
Rules and Regulations: http://bit.ly/
VKOfMM
facebook: /jgchildrensfoundation
Page 21
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K A L E I D O S C O PE
VOLUME 56, ISSUE 7
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K A L E I D O S C O PE
VOLUME 56, ISSUE 5
Page 25
The Vettes & Vipers Went Out to Play - George Robinson
Rob Andersen, our NCCA VP
events, had been communicating
with the Viper Club of American,
Northern California Region for
months regarding a joint run.
www.norcalviperclub.org
and other Corvette clubs in that
they are a social organization that
likes to exercise their cars on the
track.
Maurice, a professional
photographer, shot many of the
photos here.
On Saturday June 29th America’s
sport car and the Viper Club got
together for a spin from Foothill
College in Los Altos Hills through
the Santa Cruz Mountains and
down the base of the foothills to
Gilroy.
The run itself started with us getting
to know each other and checking
out the cars. One of their members
had previously owned 17 Corvettes
dating back to the early 70’s before
getting into the Vipers. We headed
out back roads from the college to
Page Mill Road where we wound
up this very twisty road to the
summit and onto 35 South along
the mountain ridge.
We then
turned down on route 9 to ward
Saratoga (It was interesting to note
that at the four way stop at 9 and
35, other cars blocked and waved
all the Vipers and Corvettes
through). The journey continued
through Los Gatos and onto 85 to
101 and then back to the back
roads at Bailey and into the foothills
south to Gilroy where we watched
the temperature climb to 107o.
NCCA arrived with 12 cars in the
parking lot of Foothills College to
meet 15 Vipers from all over the
area. It turns out NCVC covers a
pretty large geographic area from
San Luis Obispo to Lake Tahoe. Like
Corvette owners Viper owners are
passionate about their cars. We
discovered this as we left the parking lot. The drivers really seemed to
enjoy unleashing their massive
horsepower
and
sports
car
suspension. NCVC was formed in
1994 by Maurice Liang who was
then and still is the President of the
club. They are very much like NCCA
Page 26
Following lunch at a taco
restaurant and more discussion of
the cars and clubs most headed
home in various directions. Four
Vipers and three Corvettes however
went in search of an empty road for
a photo op for Maurice.
He
selected Stephen Logan’s Corvette
and a red Viper convertible to set
up a simulated drag race using
Dayton as the “starter”. The two
cars were set up side-by-side with
Dayton standing between with a
red flag while Maurice actually laid
down on the blacktop which must
have been like a frying pan and got
his shots. This photo will be in a
2014 Viper calendar.
From there the seven cars headed
north with Maurice peeling off on
85, one of the other Vipers onto
880 then the last onto 237 while
Stephen, Rob and I continued up
101 to our homes. We had a great
time. Thank you Rob for the
organizing and I think both clubs
would like to get together again. It
was a great display of American
Muscle.
K A L E I D O S C O PE
Vettes & Vipers - Pictures
VOLUME 56, ISSUE 7
Page 27
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K A L E I D O S C O PE
VOLUME 56, ISSUE 7
Page 29
General Membership
Meeting Schedule
Board of Directors
Meeting Schedule
FIRST Tuesday of Every Month
LAST Tuesday of Every Month
San Lorenzo Homes Association
Ricky’s Sports Theater & Grill
July, 2013
2
Tuesday
General Business Meeting @ San Lorenzo Homes Association 7:00 pm
3
Wednesday
Hooked on Driving - Laguna Seca - 925.552.8112 www.hookedondriving.com
7
Sunday
Cars & Coffee 8:00 am - Blackhawk Automobile Museum
12
Friday
Northern California Racing Club - Thunderhill - www.ncracing.org
13
Saturday
Redwood Chapel Car Show
13-14
Saturday/
WSCC Jamestown Gathering
18
Thursday
Hot Summer Nights Car Show - Danville
25
Thursday
Hooked on Driving - Thunderhill - 925.552.8112 www.hookedondriving.com
27
Saturday
Power Puff Run - See Page 9 for Details
30
Tuesday
Hooked on Driving - Thunderhill - 925.552.8112 www.hookedondriving.com
30
Tuesday
E-Board Meeting @ Ricky’s 7:00 pm
August, 2013
4
Sunday
Cars & Coffee 8:00 am - Blackhawk Automobile Museum
6
Tuesday
General Business Meeting @ San Lorenzo Homes Association 7:00 pm
9
Friday
Hooked on Driving - Thunderhill - 925.552.8112 www.hookedondriving.com
10-11
Saturday/
Sunday
Northern California Racing Club - Thunderhill - www.ncracing.org
15
Thursday
Hot Summer Nights Car Show - Danville
16
Friday
Pebble Beach Weekend Corvette Event
16
Friday
NCCA Cruise to Pacific Grove for 19th Annual Auto Rally
17
Saturday
Friends & Family Corvette Club - 1st Annual Car Show - Vallejo
23-25
Friday/
Sunday
Good Guys Show - Pleasanton
24
Saturday
Glass Pack Corvettes 3rd Annual Glass Fantastic Car Show - Tracy
See Page 25 for Details
25
Sunday
Hooked on Driving - Laguna Seca - 925.552.8112 www.hookedondriving.com
27
Tuesday
E-Board Meeting @ Ricky’s 7:00 pm
30
Friday
Northern California Racing Club - Thunderhill - www.ncracing.org
Page 30
K A L E I D O S C O PE
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
CORVETTE ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 6232
Hayward, CA 94544
America’s Oldest
Corvette Club
FIRST CLASS
Postage
NCCA