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CORVETTE ENTHUSIASt
Retrofit Head Up Display In An Early C5
CORVETTE
ENTHUSIAST
CORVETTE
king ray 620 HORSES hit the street!
King Ray
620 Horses Hit The Street!
Also Inside:
www.corvetteenthusiast.com january 2007
C1: Modern Made ’60
C2: St. Louis Final Assembly Tour
C3: Weather Stripping Without Compromise
C4: Convertible Greenwood CrossFire
C5: Nomad Returns As A C5
C6: Convertible With A Touch Of Z
Vettes On The Rockies
A Shark For The Street
Corvettes At Carlisle
How Hot Is YOUR Spark?
U.S. $4.95 / Canada $6.25
january 2007
Display until 12/04/2006
VOLUME 10, ISSUE 1
King
Hits T heRay
Road
With the last bolt tightened, it was
Looking stock until you notice the extra gate for fifth
gear, the five-speed transmission greatly enhances King
Ray’s road-going characteristics, a definite must-have.
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CORVETTE enthusiast
time to take him for a spin
We’ve said it before, building a project car in a year is not an easy task,
even for veteran Corvette restorers like Jerry’s Vette Service. Invariably,
there will be some snags along the way but, again, we were able to have
the car finished in time for its big debut at Corvettes at Carlisle, thanks to
everyone who partnered with CE to see the project through. Once every
bolt had been tightened and all the points checked again and again, there
was only one thing to do — turn the key!
By Andy Bolig
That’s exactly what I had the privilege
to do this past August. The instructions of
King Ray’s owner, Jerry Clark, were specific,
“Press the throttle slowly three times and
hit the key.” Little did I know that firing
up King Ray was very similar to waking a
water buffalo with a bullhorn. Things got
real raucous, really fast! The car leapt to
life and the sound emanating from those
3-inch Sweet Thunder side pipes was sweet
indeed. The car fired off in about a quarter
revolution of the engine, and it became
obvious, almost instantly, that there was
a lot of air traveling through those pipes.
Inside Jerry’s shop, it was a sound that only The 3-inch side pipes just fit under the Eckler’s-supplied side covers. Wheels are from American Racing (17x7 front and
a hardcore enthusiast could appreciate. 18x8 rear) with a 4.75” backspacing and tires are Goodyear F1 GS-D3s (225/55-17 front and 255/45-18 rear).
C O R V E T T E e n t h u s i ast
25
ABOVE: If not for the orange valve covers, the install
could be mistaken for stock. Using newer parts, but
keeping a factory appearance keeps King Ray a classic,
yet contemporary.
CENTER: Jerry had these air cleaner flags printed up
for King Ray. They could easily be overlooked, but are
definitely a finishing detail.
BELOW RIGHT: Speaking of details, you can just see
the spacer plates’ seam where they meet the intake.
Machining makes them almost disappear.
BELOW LEFT: We needed to use an MSD PN 8547
distributor to make up the difference between the oldstyle intake and the raised-deck block. This distributor has
an adjustable sleeve to set the proper cam engagement
and is designed for Donovan tall-deck racing blocks. It
works fine in the 572 for this application.
There was a little bit of carb work to be
done, but the car settled into a nice trot
at idle, giving the antenna mast a constant
wiggle to the tune of the dual pipes. Sure,
there’s nothing like the sound of a big-block
breathing through a set of side pipes at
wide open, but with the right compression
and camshaft, the sound at idle can also
put a smile on your face, especially if
you’ve got the steering wheel in hand. But,
let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
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CORVETTE ENTHUSIAST
steering bracket from a big-block and
simply cut off the power steering portion.
This mounted the alternator in the right
spot and gives even that 572, a feel of
originality. Mixing elements of original and
aftermarket met a perfect balance on this
project. Jerry restores early Corvettes for a
living and decided at the beginning of the
project that this one was to be different. He
didn’t want to get too far away from what
he knows well, but improvements were not
out of bounds either. Everywhere you look
there are modifications to make the car
better for a driver. That’s exactly what Jerry
wanted. The chassis, with its four coilover
shocks, is much more adjustable for the
type of driving you want to do, while the
drivetrain was beefed up accordingly to
help it survive behind that big-block.
A Classic Chevy five-speed resides
where the factory powerglide once held
residence. If there was one modification
that makes this or any early Corvette more
drivable, it would have to be putting
a five-speed in them. This one went in
without a hitch and acts just like a
four-speed. The car drives very similar. That
is, until you go into fifth. Then, the RPM
drops and the car settles into a smooth
rhythm. At about 70 MPH, the engine is
turning just over 1,800 RPM. That’s with a
set of 3.70 gears in the rear. The clutch was
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CORVETTE enthusiast
updated with an aluminum flywheel, disc
and pressure plate from RAM Clutches,
but we went with a mechanical clutch
assembly to operate it. Pedal pressure was
not excessive, but it was very positive.
I couldn’t help but notice that simply
driving around town, I was shifting
more aggressively than I typically do.
Not jamming gears, more like rowing
through the gears both upshifting and
downshifting. The powerful 572 fivespeed and the sound from those side pipes,
made owning a standard fun again! I found
myself shifting just to hear the engine.
Further back the drivetrain, the
differential was substantially beefed up
by Van Steel with a Tom’s Differentials’
1340 Vette Axle Kit. We didn’t want
any problems coming from the rear and
Tom’s kits are proven performers. To keep
the entire driveline bullet-proof, a set of
carbon fiber driveshafts were fitted under
the floorboards of King Ray. With the
carbon fiber shaft’s increased diameter, it
got a little tight right around the seat belt
attachment bolts, but trimming the bolts
provided enough clearance.
When sitting inside King Ray, you can’t
help but notice the white stinger out in front.
It blends well with the white and black Al
Knoch interior and white convertible top.
The only part of the interior that Jerry’s
Vette Service farmed out, was installing
the seat covers on the original seats and
the convertible top. We took the seats
to the NCRS Kissimmee, Florida show,
and Al Knoch’s technicians installed the
seat covers right there at the show. They
can install everything from convertible
tops to complete interiors for enthusiasts.
If you’re thinking of changing out your
Corvette’s innards, consider this service
from Al Knoch. It’s well worth it. The top
was installed by Street Seats once the car
was near completion.
To compliment the white interior, stinger
and convertible top, Jerry opted to have
the gauges finished in the original font,
but had Corvette Instruments put a white
background as a base. The effect sets off
the gauges, but doesn’t detract from the
rest of the interior. They look great seated
behind that factory teak steering wheel
and they are very easy to read.
King Ray was built to drive and cooling
is always an issue with a big-block
Corvette, especially in Florida heat.
To cool the engine, there’s a DeWitt’s
aluminum Direct-Fit radiator in front
of a factory 7-blade fan from a 1969
big-block Corvette. Inside the cockpit,
Classic Auto Air rebuilt the factory unit,
setting it up for 134a, and installed
a more efficient (and smaller) Sanden
TOP LEFT: The interior is basically stock, including the
factory A/C and teak wheel.
BOTTOM LEFT: We did some kit-bashing for the 572
on the hood, combining 454 and 427 number kits.
ABOVE RIGHT: The white gauges stand out in the
black dash, but blend well with the white interior.
In the Feb. ’06 issue, we started covering
the buildup of King Ray, our ’67 project
vehicle that Jerry picked up off of eBay.
It started out as a 300 horse, powerglideequipped convertible. One thing he
had, which was original, was factory air.
Within a week, Jerry’s Vette Service split
the body and frame, sending the chassis
to Van Steel in Clearwater, Florida, and
the fiberglass to J & M Enterprizes in
Brooksville, Florida. Since then, they
have been scuttling wrenches and parts
to complete the project with their eyes set
on Carlisle. We covered the car as it came
back together over the past year and what
you see on these pages is the result of some
late nights, numerous phone calls and
emails, and enough sweat to fill a small
swimming pool. Even with everything that
went into the project and obsessing over
all the details for the past 11 months,
when we asked if he would do it again,
Jerry had only one answer, “Oh yeah!” For
me, hearing that engine breathing heavily
yet freely through those Stainless Works
headers and 3-inch chambered side pipes,
made it all worthwhile. Now it was time to
prove that the focal point of all this noise
and attention was actually a car and could
be treated as such; it was time for a drive.
I pushed the clutch in, found first gear and
we were off.
There’s no mistaking that the GM
Performance Parts 572 crate engine is a
performance engine. With 620 horsepower
(the smaller of the two offered by GM)
there’s plenty on tap when you want it.
In fact, it would take a serious, die-hard,
power-hungry enthusiast to even want the
720hp version in their Corvette. The little
brother is quite capable and really puts the
car right on the edge of everyday driving.
It’s rowdy but not violent, and if you don’t
mind getting noticed, it’s a great engine for
the performance-minded, early Corvette
owner. Think of it as an L88 on pump gas.
It does get a little tight under the hood due
to the higher deck height. Since we had a
small-block car, we opted for a big-block
style hood and even then, we needed to
clearance a little for the A/C compressor
and also, since we wanted the shielding
on the ignition, we needed to trim the rear
portion of the hood where it comes down
in past the body line.
I can remember the response I got when
I called GM Performance Parts and told
them we wanted to put a 572 into a ’67
Corvette. Their reply: “How do you intend
on doing THAT!” After convincing them
we were NOT crazy and had actually
thought about how we were going to do
it, the check was written and the shipping
label applied. Interestingly, it wasn’t
terribly complicated to make the engine
fit. We obviously changed the intake to
one of Coffman Corvette’s factory-style,
435hp tri-power setup with the help of
spacer plates, and we also swapped
out the oil pan with a Milodon unit for
more clearance, since the 572 uses a
truck-style pan and the sump was too low.
In fact, the Milodon pan gave us a little
more clearance than the factory 427 pan.
Originally, the spacer plates for the intake
were cut with flat upper and lower edges.
This made the plates VERY obvious so Bill
Harris machined the plates to match the
intake, which made the plates virtually
indistinguishable. If you didn’t know what
you were looking at, you would probably
never see them.
We didn’t use power steering on King
Ray, but we did use an alternator/power
CORVETTE enthusiast
27
compressor. Combined, they keep the
inside of King Ray cool, both engine and
passengers.
A major concern when going through
an early Corvette is there are scores of
pieces that, if not replaced or restored,
will make the rest of the work look
substandard. Early on, we partnered with
Year One, Inc. and they supplied many
of the pieces that make everything work
together. Everything from dash bezels to
fuel tanks/lines and even the necessary
radiator core support came from Year
One. They recently started focusing on
Corvettes; with their emphasis on driving
and enjoying collector cars (both metal
and fiberglass), a partnership with them
went without saying. One look at their
phonebook-sized catalog for Corvettes,
and you can see that while they have
parts for a restoration, they consider
“improvement parts” equally as important.
They’ll be happy to know that King Ray
has many miles of smiles in his future.
King Ray was well on his way to starting
those miles and I was lucky enough to be
behind the wheel. At some point, I’d be
tempted to turn on the factory radio, but
for now, I was content to hear the roar
of the engine, have the wind in my hair
and row my way through the gears. Of
course, we needed to have King Ray in our
booth during Corvettes at Carlisle and that
meant I’d have to take him back to Jerry’s
so he could get loaded onto a trailer in
preparation for his trip. We had hoped to
have the car finished in time to do some
shakedown runs and possibly drive him
to Carlisle, but we decided it was better
to have him at Carlisle than half-way to
Carlisle with a problem. The weekend
immediately following Carlisle, King Ray
went out on his first show road trip and he
operated flawlessly. The trip revealed that
the 12-way adjustable shocks needed to be
adjusted to tune in the ride to Jerry’s liking;
other than that, it was smooth sailing.
While at Carlisle, we had many CE readers
stop by the booth to see King Ray. Many
reported they were either planning or
doing a similar project. Whether they have
a small-block or big-block doesn’t matter,
and even if they don’t adhere to the recipe
we used to build King Ray, the main thing
is they consider the build with the goal of
driving the car and making it suitable for
them. King Ray suits Jerry just fine and it
makes a great replacement for the ’67 L89
that used to reside in his garage. The best
part about having the car finished is that
now he can enjoy it and isn’t that what it
was all about from the beginning? ■
Back Issues Containing King Ray Coverage:
King Ray Goes Under the Knife (Introduction)........................................................... Feb. 2006
Differential Treatment (Differential Buildup)..............................................................March 2006
Building a Foundation (Chassis Buildup)....................................................................April 2006
Body Building (Bodywork/Panel Replacement) ........................................................ June 2006
Making It Fit (572 and 5-Speed Trans).......................................................................Aug. 2006
Super-Cooling a Sting Ray (A/C Install)..................................................................... Oct. 2006
Skin and Bones (Convertible Top Install).................................................................... Nov. 2006
Special Thanks To:
Al Knoch Interiors
www.alknoch.com
Jim Meyer Racing
www.jimmeyerracing.com
American Racing Wheels
www.americanracing.com
MSD Ignition
www.msdignition.com
Classic Auto Air
www.classicautoair.com
Milodon, Inc.
www.milodon.com
Classic Chevy 5-Speed
www.classicchevy5speed.com
Paragon Reproductions
www.corvette-paragon.com
Coffman Corvette
www.coffmancorvette.com
Ram Clutches
www.ramclutches.com
Corvette Instruments
(561) 691-2905
Seatbelt Sity
(908) 719-2354
DeWitt’s Radiators
www.dewitts.com
Sermersheim’s Fiberglass, Inc.
(812) 424-4701
Dupont Performance Coatings
(Paint Materials)
Stainless Steel Brakes Corp.
www.ssbrakes.com
Eckler’s
www.ecklers.com
GM Performance Parts
www.gmgoodwrench.com
Goodyear Tires
www.goodyear.com
Stainless Works
www.stainlessworks.net
Steve Hackel (Wiper/Headlight Motors)
(708) 687-4183
Street Seats
www.streetseats.com
Harris Performance
Bill Harris
(727) 734-3394
Sweet Thunder
www.sweet-thunder.com
Holley Performance
www.holley.com
Tom’s Differentials
www.tomsdifferentials.com
J&M Enterprizes
www.jmenterprizesinc.com
(352) 796-5264
Van Steel, Inc.
www.vansteel.com
Jerry’s Vette Service
Jerry Clark, Owner
Jack Sauns, Assembly Technician
(352) 666-9966
Vette Brakes & Products
www.vbandp.com
Year One, Inc.
www.yearone.com
CORVETTE enthusiast
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