River City Corvette Club, Inc. Newsletter July 2016, Volume 22, Issue 7

CRUZIN’
River City Corvette Club, Inc.
Newsletter
July 2016, Volume 22, Issue 7
RCCC in Lynchburg
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Cruzin’ is a publication of the
River City Corvette Club, Inc
serving the Chattanooga , TN
and surrounding area, created
by appointed members for the
benefit of the members. All
rights reserved except where
expressly waived.
2016 Officers
President- Ron Kellogg
[email protected]
Vice President- Anna Lane
[email protected]
Treasure- Robin Peterson
[email protected]
Secretary- Lynn Roach
[email protected]
2016 Board of Directors
Sheila Martin
[email protected]
Jerry Davis
[email protected]
Dan Smith
[email protected]
Charles Logan
[email protected]
Membership Chairman
Jerry Ray
[email protected]
National Corvette Museum
Ambassador
Dan Smith
[email protected]
Cruzin’
www.rivercitycorvetteclub.com
The E-Newsletter of the River City Corvette
Club of Chattanooga, TN
Table of Contents
Sponsors
3
President’s Desk
5
You Might Be A Corvette
Nut, If…
5
By the Numbers
6
Lynchburg Pictures
9-10
Upcoming Events
11
Birthdays
12
Car Show flyers
13-14
Thanks for this months contributor:
Dan Smith
Mailing Address:
River City Corvette Club
P.O. Box 1061
Hixson, TN 37343
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Our Sponsors
INTEGRITY CHEVROLET
#1 on Automotive Row
2110 Chapman Road
Chattanooga, TN 37421
Sales: 866-475-3976
Service: 866-543-1020
Certified Corvette Technician
http://www.integritychevrolet.com
Oasis Glass Tinting
2114 Chapman Road
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37421
(423) 892-7604
http://[email protected]
http://www.oasisglasstinting.com/
Chris Williams Insurance Agency
Chris Williams-Agent
FARMERS
Auto * Home * Life * Business
7161 Lee Hwy. STE 600
Chattanooga, TN 37421
Bus:423-664-9044
Fax:423-499-0043
http://www.farmersagent.com/cwilliams8/
Email: [email protected]
Dairy Queen
5433 Highway 153
Hixson, TN 37343
O'Charley's - Hixson
(423) 877-8966
Clear Bra
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Twenty Five Years
And counting
Keep Connected
http://www.rivercitycorvetteclub.com/index.html
http://www.rivercitycorvetteclub.com/calendat.html
https://www.facebook.com/rivercity.corvetteclub
Our meetings are held the 3rd Thursday of each month at
O’Charley’s on Hixson Pike. Dinner at 6pm and the meeting
starts at 7pm. Visitors are welcome. Come see what we are
all about!
With 164 members we are one of the largest Corvette Clubs
in southeast Tennessee.
Our Members enjoy:
Organized road trips to events in almost all surrounding
states.
Cruises of scenic roads, including annual spring and fall
weekend trips, annual spring poker run, annual club picnic
Participation in local events like cruise-ins, cook-outs,
homecomings, parades and other community activities.
The club is a 501(c)(3) organization and has fund raisers
throughout the year in support of local charities. Giving back
to the community is a high priority with the club.
But most of all fun!!!
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From the President’s Desk
It’s been HOT, HOT, & more HOT but RCCC
has managed to still have some fun.
We had another very nice dinner cruise to Café
on the Corner and around 30 cars made the cruise
to Lynchburg and lunch at Miss Mary Bobo’s.
Several members received trophies at the car
show.
As you know RCCC is incorporated in Tennessee as a Charitable Organization and
with the IRS as a 501(c)3) Charity. This means that gifts to the RCCC are tax
deductible. RCCC supports local charities with funds raised through yearly
membership dues, car shows and 50/50 drawings. Charities are nominated and voted
by membership within the first two months of each year. This year our selected
charities are the East Ridge Needy Child Fund and the Ronald McDonald House.
Saturday August 6th will be our large show at the Camp Jordan Arena and we need
your help. For anyone that can help setup we will meet at the Arena Friday August
5th at 12:30pm fill goodie bags, arrange tables for trophies, door prizes, tee shirt sales
and auction items.
Please try to be at the Arena at 7:30 am on Saturday the 6 th to help with parking
cars, registration and other things that need to be done. Doors will open at 8am and
the show will be from 9am until 3pm.
We still need donations of door prizes and auction items.
We hope to give out the volunteer’s green show shirts at the Friday Night lights on
July 29th. Keep a lookout on email and the RCCC FB group page for time and place.
Ron Kellogg,
President
River City Corvette Club, Inc.
You Might Be A Corvette Nut, If…
Copyright© Dan Smith, RCCC, Chattanooga, TN
You know the first year for optional factory installed fuel injection on the
Corvette, extra points if you know the RPO code for the 283/283 fuel injection
engine option?
See page 10
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By The Numbers
Daniel (Dan) Smith, Sr., RCCC
Most of us know the first year Corvette, 1953, was the smallest number in Corvette production
history. The 300 examples of the 1953 model were basically individually hand produced in Flint,
Michigan.
Very few of us could name the highest number in Corvette production history. That would be
1979, when 53,807 were built. The 1979s were all coupes, the Corvette convertible was in
hiatus. No Corvette convertibles were produced from 1976 through 1985.
Four 1954 Corvettes were produced with black paint
Many may not know that there were fewer 1956 Corvettes produced than there were 1954
Corvettes produced. 1956 final production count was 3,467, while 1954 final production count
was 3,640.
1956 was the first year for optional power windows, five hundred forty-seven orders were
produced.
Approximately half-way through 1957 production, the 4-speed manual transmission became an
option and 664 4-speed manual cars were ordered.
There were no 1983 titled Corvettes sold to the public. One, very special “1983” Corvette exists.
This Corvette is on display at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Corvette historians report that the “1983 body shell” was produced in December of 1982, but
that the car identified as the only existing 1983 model was pieced together solely to
commemorate Corvette’s 30th anniversary. Supposedly, some of the pieces used to complete
the “1983” car were parts from the “1984” production run.
The Rare Corvettes
Seven hundred 1955 Corvettes were produced. Seven were ordered with the 6-cylinder, Blue
Flame Six engine and 693 were ordered with the new Chevrolet 265 C.I., V-8 engine.
(RPO Z06) In 1963 Corvette offered a special performance package. Regular Production Option
(RPO Z06), was offered initially on coupes only; but, later in that model year, it was also offered
on convertibles. The price of the option was steep, roughly 40% added to the base cost of the
Corvette. Only 199 were ordered.
The Z06 option did not appear again until 2001. Most collectors feel the C5-C6-C7 generation
Corvette Z06s have become too numerous to be considered rare or highly collectible Corvettes.
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The first year for optional air conditioning in a Corvette was 1963. Two hundred seventy-eight
were ordered with this option
The 1965 Corvettes were mostly produced with four wheel disk brakes, however, a drum brake
option was available (resulting in a small credit on the order price.) Three hundred sixteen such
Corvettes were produced.
L-88 Corvettes
Some of the fastest, rarest and most collectible Corvettes are the RPO L88, 427 C.I. engine
equipped Corvettes. Offered between 1967 and 1969, only a total of 216 were produced.
The L88 option was meant for racing and although a handful were sold to individuals, Chevrolet
discouraged L88 orders from dealerships and the public. One way Chevrolet went about
discouraging orders for street use was to mandate the radio delete and heater delete on Corvettes
ordered with RPO L88.
Only 20 cars were made in 1967. Eighty were ordered in 1968 and 116 were produced in 1969.
They are fast, they are rare and they are at the top of the collectibles heap.
ZL-1 Corvettes
What could be more special, or rarer than a 1969 L-88 Corvette? Maybe a 1969 ZL-1 optioned
Corvette. On ZL-1 cars, it was mandatory to order with the L-88 special turbo jet 427 V8
package, the F41 special purpose suspension, a heavy duty transmission, posi-traction rear-end,
transistorized ignition, and a heavy duty brake system. The ZL-1 option consisted of an
aluminum cylinder block, in addition to the aluminum heads which came with the other L-88
enhancements to the base Corvette.
The combined package added $4700 to the price of the Corvette. In fact, this doubled the cost of
the car. The L88 package was $1100, and the special ZL-1 aluminum cylinder and case were an
additional $3600 making this combination a big price kick-up in 1969. Only two Corvettes were
factory assembled with this ZL-1 aluminum engine option. That alone is enough to highly excite
most Corvette collectors.
C4 Corvette ZR-1 (1990-1995)
The C4 Corvette ZR-1 went on sale in 1990 and was available only as a coupe. It was
distinguishable from other Corvette coupes by its wider tail section, 11" wide rear wheels and
its new convex rear fascia with four square shaped taillights and a CHMSL (center high mounted
stop lamp) attached to the top of the hatch glass instead of between the taillights.
The ZR-1 displayed stunning ability both in terms of acceleration and handling capabilities, but
carried with it an astonishingly high price. MSRP for the (375 hp) ZR-1 in 1990 was $58,995,
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almost twice the cost of a (250 hp) non-ZR-1 and had ballooned to $66,278 by 1995. Some
dealers successfully marked units as high as $100,000.
GM found that the engine required special assembly, and that neither the Corvette plant in
Bowling Green, Kentucky nor any of their normal production facilities could handle the
workload. So, Mercury Marine corporation was contracted to assemble the engines and ship
them to the Corvette factory in Bowling Green where the ZR-1s were being assembled.
C4 Corvette ZR-1
In 1991, the ZR-1 and base model received updates to body work, interior, and wheels. The rear
convex fascia that set the 1990 ZR-1 apart from the base model found its way to all models,
making the high-priced ZR-1 even less distinguishable. A total of 6,939 ZR-1s were
manufactured over the six-year period. Not until the debut of the C5 platform Z06 would
Chevrolet have another production Corvette capable of matching the ZR-1's performance.
C6 Corvette ZR1 (2009-2013)
The C6 Corvette ZR1 is a Corvette variant that was available from 2009-2013. This exotic version
of the Corvette was originally rumored to feature a supercharged LS9 engine producing more
than 650 h.p. with a sticker price reported to exceed $130,000.
C6 Corvette ZR1 hood and rear badging
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Carbon fiber is used on the roof, hood, fenders, front splitter, and rocker moldings. The hood
and fenders are painted over; while the roof and splitter are merely covered in a clear-coat,
retaining their black color. A polycarbonate window is placed in the center of the hood,
allowing the engine intercooler to be seen from the exterior. The brake calipers are painted
blue, as are the engine intercooler trim and the ZR1 logo.
Some collectors consider the C6 Corvette ZR1 to be one of the most fun to drive, and most
collectible of all Corvettes.
Additional input: Mike Antonick’s Corvette Black Book
C4 ZR-1 Wikipedia.com
C6 ZR1 Wikipedia.com
Cruise to Lynchburg July 16th 2016
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Continued from page 5 You Might Be A Corvette Nut, If…
Copyright© Dan Smith, RCCC, Chattanooga, TN
1957. It was also another first for Chevrolet, the first time horsepower matched
cubic displacement. 283 c.i. and 283 advertised horsepower (RPO 579E).
Chevrolet used this fact in the advertising campaign for the 1957 Corvette.
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Upcoming Events
August 6
September 10
6th Annual Classic Car Show – Camp Jordan
Arena
Vettes on the Lex – Corpus Christi
October 1
October 7
October 29
RCCC Annual Picnic – Chester Frost Park
Vette fest – Pigeon Forge
Integrity Chevrolet “Show Your Ride”
November 19
East Ridge Christmas Parade
December 2
December 4
RCCC Christmas Party – Bessie Smith Hall
Soddy Daisy Christmas Parade
2016 NCM Major Onsite Events
These National Corvette Museum (NCM) events are what many
consider the major onsite NCM events held annually:
22nd Anniversary Celebration
September 1-3, 2016
Vets ‘n Vettes
November 3-5, 2016
Also check out the NCM Motorsports Park (MSP) event schedule:
www.motorsportspark.org
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July Birthdays
Eddy Price
7/1
Ed McClure
7/1
Keith Jones
7/4
Garry Roach
7/5
Alice Seiter
7/7
Jerry Nicely
7/7
Zach Pettet
7/9
Sheila Martin 7/14
Bobby Smith
7/16
Tammie Caldwell 7/16
JoAnn Tillery
7/25
Anna Lane
7/31
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