Features Corvette hot rods - picture thread

Not real sure of the class it could be SS.

Pat

 

Pat some time ago you posted a picture of the John Gunn 62 so I made a file and decided to look him up one night. I found a link to another 62 Vette so I copied it (although the page I saved disappeared so I had to look it up and I copied the article on Word). It mentions in the article which was from 2003 that John Gunn still had his 62 (not sure of when they were referencing-but it would be cool if it was still around). Here is a pic I found (terrible pic) with super tricks on the front and SS on the window and was probably early 70s. The Cragars in the pic you posted were probably from the late 60s as they are considerably heavier.

The other pic of John Gunn.

Here is the text of the article that mentions John Gunn and also a picture of the fawn beige 62 f/S that is the subject of the article. Pretty cool running F/S in recent times with a 62 Vette.




"Joe and Tim Abbazia are brothers who share a common passion…cars. Race cars, mostly, but they like cars of all sorts. So when there dad used to tell them about the 1962 Corvette that he had and raced, the boys listened intently and they dreamed of days when they might race a car just like their dad did. “Dad bought the car back in 1962 and it was a brand new Corvette with the 340 horse power configuration engine,” Tim said. “Joe and I loved it and dad used to tell us about how he raced it in the “A” sports car class at Dover Drag Strip. Those were some great stories.” When their dad passed away fifteen years ago the boys decided that they would honor his memory by finding a Corvette just like the one he had.

Saying that you’re going to get a ’62 ‘Vette is one thing, finding a 1962 Corvette is something else all together, and finding one that was just like their dad’s would prove to be even tougher. The boys checked out all of the Corvette books, web sites and literature that they could and they just couldn’t locate the right car. Then they talked to another racer, John Gunn, who just happened to own a 1962 Corvette, but he wasn’t in a real hurry to sell it. “John’s car was in like mint condition and it had very few miles on it,” Tim said. “He didn’t want to sell it but he did help us track down the car we eventually bought.” When I asked Tim about the condition of their ’62 pride and joy when they found it, he just smiled and said that, “It was like a chicken wing. You know, it had been all picked over.” Apparently it had enough left on it that the boys decided to buy it and begin the long restoration process. “It took about three years and a lot of work,” Tim said, “but we finally got it ready for the track.” The car made its debut last year and is currently racing in the F/Stock class.



When you look at this car in the staging lanes you know right away that something’s different about it. First of all, how many 1962 Corvettes are there racing today in Stock Eliminator? Second, how many Stock Eliminator cars do you see with hardly a single decal on them? And third, how many fawn beige Chevrolet Corvettes have you seen anywhere? “This is the same color that dad’s car was, and very few people know what the color is.” Tim was quick to add that the first time that NHRA announcer Lewis Bloom saw the car last year at Cecil Country Dragway he said that, “here comes a fawn on fawn ’62 Corvette.” Tim said that he and his brother just turned and looked at the announcer’s booth in the timing tower and gave Lewis the thumbs up. “Not many people know the color but Lewis hit it right on.”

​

Joe Abbazia

The car, which is currently running in the G/S class, has a 327 cubic inch engine with a single Carter AFB four-barrel carburetor. With a change of motors to one with a little higher compression and an aluminum intake manifold it fits into the F/S class. “The ‘F’ motor is rated at 270 horsepower which puts it in the higher class,” Tim added. In the faster trim it has gone 11.20’s.while as a ‘G’ car we’ve gone about 11.40.” He also admitted that they are still in the feeling-out stage and that they have a lot of work to do on the suspension of the car before they feel that it is actually competitive. Red Goldstein, an engine builder who works for Scott Shafiroff, helped with the engine and Gunn himself added his expertise on some of the Corvette parts. “Ed Nelson, who has a shop in Greenwich, Connecticut, did some of the restoration and he and my brother, Joe, actually painted in it in Ed’s garage.”

Since Joe is the younger brother and it was his idea originally to get the car, Joe was scheduled to be the driver, and that’s why I wanted to know how Tim got the gig. “Well, that’s an interesting story,” Tim said with a Cheshire-cat like grin on his face. “Joe’s a big guy and when we were restoring the car we had to take all of the seats out of it. And then when we put it back together and Joe got in to drive it, he put his helmet on and his head hit the roof of the car. And when he took his foot off the gas pedal he hit shifter and he knew that he wouldn’t be comfortable racing it so I got the call.” Wow, I’ll bet that made little brother happy!!

Tim Abbazia has been racing for about fifteen years and has participated in the Stock Eliminator class for about the past three years. His familiar 1967 Chevy II has been a fixture on the Division 1 circuit for several years and it actually began life as a bracket car about fifteen years ago. Brother Joe also raced, but his car of choice was a Ford that held the L/Stock Automatic national record a few years ago. Tim, who works as a sprinkler technician for the Summer Rain Sprinkler Company in Greenwich, Connecticut, is racing the Corvette in Stock while still driving his ’67 car in the Super Stock class. “It’s been a challenge to get the ‘62 car running, but we’re confident that we can do it,” And if it doesn’t pan out as a race car, brother Joe’s wife Kim, who loves the car, plans to take it to car shows and drive it on the street. “With a milder engine, it would be very capable of being driven on the street,” Tim said. “All the lights work and it starts off the key so it may end up as a street car someday.” Where ever it ends up and in whatever form the boys leave it, they’ve done something that a lot of kids would like to do, they’ve created something that would honor their parents and give them something back for introducing the kids to cars…and drag racing.

 

Jim, thanks for the history, great stuff!

 

Jim, that was a very cool story about how they found and built a 62 corvette a lot like the one that their dad had

 

Jim , John still had the car up until he died in 2011, a guy he knew talked his wife into putting it back to the way it was with the cragars. John had a ton of NOS and desirable parts and I suspect more disappeared than got sold. The car did get finished and was at the Dover nostalgia drags I think in 2012. He always said it was for his daughter and as far as I know she still has it.

Pat

 

Pat that is cool that his daughter has the car. At least it still has some semblance of it's true history.

Jason it was cool seeing Jim with the 56 at the event. Car looked, sounded and ran great. Really represented the Corvette marque very well.

I really liked John's black 62 though. I really appreciated his build. From what he started with it is truly amazing. The prior owner in the 60s wanted to build a race car and basically cut it apart and left it little more than a shell. A friend of his bought it and John worked on him to sell it and I am glad John was able to buy it. John's craftsmanship is pretty amazing. Here are a few pictures of the car when he bought it a couple of years ago. Great save is an understatement.

The one picture of him on the track right after finishing it.

 

A few more from today

 

Here are some more pictures of it Jim

 

Jason, I have a file on the build but I would presume others do not know the extent of his build. Cool car and it runs very well. As I said he turned quickest ET at the pie crust (11.68).

 

Yes it was a fantastic save on that corvette and o was surprised by how he fixed the missing floor of the car but it turned out great and I bet that it saved weight too. It says that it still has the same black paint as when he bought it. He also built it quickly.

 

From the Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green this weekend

 

Nice pics of the event Enloe. I really like the Vette above and would probably like it a bit more if I saw it make a pass or two.

 

There are some very cool early Vettes coming out of the Woodworks lately.

 

A few more racers

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Rudestude I tried to lighten up your pics a bit. The #2 62 Vette road racer is the same car that I was able to sit in when Mike Ernst owned it in the 80s. The pics you posted appear to be when it was still racing. It was later turned into a street car and Mike found it in either Minnesota or Wisconsin (I forget which).

Like the stance on the other Vette far lane. I believe near lane is the Texierra renditition.

 

Mike found the Gulf Oil car in Ohio. It was in rough condition. A prominent NCRS member that lived in Ohio and still does put Mike onto the car. After getting it home and digging around he figured out what it was. He then wrote an article titled "$3500.00 and 3500 Miles" or vice versa. At the time of purchase he lived in El Cajon CA. He has since returned to Wisconsin. Coincidentally we had our usual chat in Dearborn a little over a week ago.

I tried to enlarge the picture to see if the fellow is Mike in a younger day. The quality of the photo is poor so I can't tell for sure. I believe the T shirt has a Corvette on it and I recall him having a white hat like that back then. I can't say it is him but I think it may be. Like Jim I first concluded it may be an much earlier picture.

 

Thanks.....that would have been cool ...to just be around a part of auto history like that would definitely be a memory to have...here is the complete article that the picture's came from .. normally I like to do the complete article if possible but this one is in a 80's publication and I didn't want to cause a problem.... sometimes I guess you just got to bend over and take it...not a practice that I partake in normally...but here it is.... thanks again...

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You are probably correct that it was Ohio. Although I have corresponded with Mike via PM on the Corvette Forum, we have not spoken in years. Now that I look at the photo that very well could be Mike alongside the car and even though the truck is old the picture may be from the 80s.

I cannot remember exactly how Mike and I first met but I believe he had heard that I owned the #12 -62 (my black car) and he wanted to look at the numbers on the glass-which he said were original. Since my shop was just a relatively short jaunt up Highway 15 he came up and took a look. It was then I showed him the big brake parts I believe that led to a little horse trading. I found out that he had tried to buy the #1 and the #13 62 Vettes from Terry Michaelis and so did I. I even offered Michaelis full price over the phone for both (package deal) and asked when I could go to Napolean Ohio to pick them up but found out the following week they both burned. Bad timing I guess. The #1 has allegedly been resurrected but like so many stories in the Corvette world I am a bit skeptical. That was in the 80s when you could buy them for a song. Back then I had not heard of any earlier car than mine although I believe the #5 car showed up not long after in Colorado if my memory is worth a hoot. Cool seeing stories on the car though-brings back good memories.

 

Here is that shot as big as I can make it.

 

I don't know what it is but the early Corvettes just look so cool on a race track...Drags...road course....or even just pulling hard from a stop light.....here are some more getting it...

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Ok...here are a few more racers.... I will move along now ... I figured you guy's are probably getting tired of seeing racers and I don't want to hog the thread...... I will be back again.....
Thanks..
Terry (aka Rudestude)

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This Vette looks like something Steve McQueen would have drove back in the day.....
It has that vibe anyway.....

 

Some cars just have the look. This makes me think about being at the local Dog 'N Suds with
our Camaros, Chevelles, Mustangs, a couple of Impalas, a Roadrunner and then this Corvette
would pull in. Owned by a kid who was stand offish, went to school in another town away from
us regular kids, parents made sure he always had the best. No matter what, the car was still kool.

 

This one is on the cl in Portland Oregon....looks like it's just needing paint and the final details...long list of parts and work that has been done...$65.000

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McCool's vette :

 

Rudestude that looks like JP's car (jackal396 on the HAMB). Don't like to hear health issues though.