Features Corvette hot rods - picture thread

Still some stuff to do before our guy trip to Bowling Green in June.

 

Enloe. Very happy for you.....

 

Enloe, that's great. I bet that was a hell of a feeling. That had me remembering the first time
I started the '63 I was buying (as a 21 year old kid) in 1971.

 

Congratulations Enloe, that must feel great. It's been a long time coming and I am very happy for you. Soon you will be driving it with your son. It's time to start making some memories with your family.

 

Ethan will be lusting after it now LOL

 

Sounds good Enloe now you have to get it out and start having fun. Cool.

 

Excellent, have fun Enloe!!

 

That certain sound. Congrats.

 

LB that is a cool picture. I have other pictures of that car and can't put my finger on them. Now I will be forced to find them and make a file. Some early Vettes look what I would call tough (which I remember using the term years ago and liked the term for some reason-the stance, tires and wheels make it cool IMO). I am not a huge fan of 53-55 Vettes generally but I am a fan of that car (maybe the color is a bit questionable) but it really has the look. I liked tall tires back in the 60s and still am a fan. How someone can put on oversized calliope wheels and rubber bands on these early Vettes is beyond me. Just a personal deal I guess,, especially after seeing that car.

 

Yes I THINK I have posted at least one more of it at a different angle in here or maybe the MP thread.

 

LB I found my file that had been moved into an old dusty tool file. I remembered it was called Rat's Nest so did a search and found the picture you posted and others, although Rat's Nest may have morphed under different owners ( I seem to have a record of two owners and several different looks-maybe the same car). Here is another picture you may have referenced when owned by Bob Rexrode and is a 53 with a 330 Chev engine-ran in B/P-as he had
stock height or close to it-probably stock front suspension. Even though 53 is not my favorite I would proudly drive the wheels off of that car-really nice hot rod IMO.

 

The Rats Nest was a regular for many years at Maple Grove. Always was a tough competitor and ran hard. Was always a favorite of mine.

 

Bowie , Jim, and LB was that car ever orange? I remember some black guys maybe from Baltimore running an orange early Corvette at York in about '68. It too had what we referred to as a football helmet hardtop. I can't remember if it had this front end.

 

Bowie glad you posted maybe you can unravel some stuff with Rat's Nest. I believe the red version below may be the same car since the grill is the same and I have a note it is Rat's Nest. Then there are two other configurations below that are similar but not sure it is the same car as the grill is different plus some other issues. Do you know if all of these cars are one and the same? and do you know which year(s) they ran? The 3rd one down appears to be
70s-not sure of the other years. Not sure Doug.

 

When the Rat’s Nest ran at Maple it was red then white. I never saw it in orange. From what I remember it was a Pennsylvania car.

 

Jim, you jogged my memory; I watched it late 60’s up thru late 70’s . I believe those pics are all the same car. Like most , the car changed over the years. I can kind of recall it kissing the guardrails one time... hence the 2 grills?

 

Thanks, make sense Bowie.

 

loudbang the top picture is of tech inspection for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. The gas station was on the corner of Platte and Nevada Ave across the street from Colorado Springs high school now known as Palmer high school.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Good info thanks
I think I posted one in here sometime ago with Fords lined up at a gas station for tech and had to buy their fuel there I THINK maybe for Daytona sand track races.

 

I believe that this one belongs to Tim Bailey of the Southeast Gassers. I saw it a few years ago but now they have made it legal and are racing it with the SE Gassers.

 

Jason I watched the video of the recap and saw he was running the Vette instead of the Alley Cat Willys. I always liked the Alley cat and have watched it run but don't mind the Corvette of course. I see Kenneth Phillips won the season opener and I believe Corvettes won the last three events in A/G last year so maybe Tim Bailey wants to join the other Vettes in the winner's circle. I for one wouldn't mind.

 

Yes corvettes have definitely been making a strong showing. I know one more person with the Southeast Gassers that is looking for an early Corvette to build and another one that likes them a lot and owned one before

 

Quain told me his first car was a 62 Corvette and we have talked about possible Vettes in the SEG. Glad to see they are flying their colors and representing the brand quite well. When Quain was building the Silver car (Frequent Flyer 61), Mitch and Quain came over to look at my black 62 at the Meltdown (2015 maybe) and Mitch wanted to sit in it to see how it felt, as he was going to drive the 61 when it was first built. I should have snapped a picture of it.

Seeing the old Vettes yank the wheels sure brings back some good memories of the B/G days of 68-70.

 

I have half considered starting a new thread with Corvettes in competition as the car in this pic is not a hot rod in one sense (as we had a not so wonderful "discussion" on that some time ago-factory hot rod, maybe) but I am curious, as this pic has been posted in a couple of non Corvette threads and no one has uploaded it in this thread.

Probably one of the most famous Vettes that ever took to the racetrack-any guesses?

 

Briggs Cunningham racer?

 

Yes but which one?

 

It is a along story that I may try and relate when I have a bit of time but Briggs entered two cars for the 1960 Sebring 12 hour race carrying #1 and #2 for the race. This car lasted 27 laps before either a rear hub (and I have read axle as well) gave way and the car crashed-#2 lasted 41 laps before engine problems. Another 1960 Corvette did win class at Sebring but that was the #6 "Race Rat" owned by George Reed.

The wrecked #1 car was taken back to Alfred Momo's shop in NY and it was prepared for the 24 hours of Le Mans where it became the first Corvette to ever score a class win at Le Mans carrying the #3 livery for that race.

The win of the #3 car at Le Mans was quite the story as well. The second picture does not have the light covers so I assume it may be practice.

It is at least arguable that this crashed Corvette with it's class win at Le Mans was quite possibly the most important road racer in it's day and some may say so today I suppose.

 

Jim that's a great story, thanks for sharing that bit of Corvette racing history. I don't live far from Lime Rock Raceway in CT and love seeing the old race cars beat on it in Sept at the Vintage race.

Pat