What do you do with one of

[Camino LS6]

...the five original Corvette Grand Sports after you buy it?

http://www.grandsportcorvette.com/gs/gs002.htm

[balthazar]

I understand & find legitimate the different public stages of #002, but it's still the 'as-built- white coupe (choice #1) that appeals to me most.

[Camino LS6]

Check out the restoration process they went through to obtain the second incarnation of the car.

Totally fascinating.

[SAmadei]

Get Xzibit and his crew to go wild? ;-) Maybe not.

Calling George Barris... ;-)

Oddly the Grand Sports really never thrilled me outside of being unobtainium.

[Camino LS6]

That is odd, they were the purest expression of Duntov's vision for the Corvette.

[daves87rs]

Wow....

[hyperv6]

That is odd, they were the purest expression of Duntov's vision for the Corvette.

It is a show case of the race think in the early 60's not just Zora. Back then light weight ruled with the GS, Cobra, Birdcage and even the Aluminumed bodied factory cars. They all knew lighter was faster.

The GS also showcases the lack of understanding with aero effects. Remember this is the car that at speed could not keep the front tires in contact with the pavment and had trouble turning at high speed. It was not just GM either.

The Paul Van Valkenburgh book Cheverolet Racing? is a must read for any GM fan to really understand all that was learned out the back door even when GM was Ehh Not racing. I at times think that the things they learned starting with the GS led to the many things they learned and applied to Jim Halls cars. Even Donohues Book Unfair Advantage shows how crude and difficult sorting cars out back then really was. GM's test truck helped a lot but doing so out the back door made it difficult. Imagine if they went to it with support like HF II gave Ford.

It is sad that it was confirmed not long ago that a sixth GS was confimed burned on the Warren proving grounds. Sad it was lost.

Locally here we have Mongoose Motorsports that produce repo's of the GS and Corvette GTP. We see a lot of these running around here. I would love to have one of these over the many Cobra repos cars.

[Camino LS6]

I don't know about you, Hyper, but I'm glad that the understanding of aero wasn't up to modern standards back then.

Just think of all of the beauty we would have missed out on over the years.

[hyperv6]

I don't know about you, Hyper, but I'm glad that the understanding of aero wasn't up to modern standards back then.

Just think of all of the beauty we would have missed out on over the years.

Sorry but this car no matter how good looking it is will always be the also run. If the GM engineers had the chance they would have had a small nose spoiler at some point and beaten Shelby.

Winning is also as a thing of beauty. Imagine a GS that not only looked good but handled well. Looking good and winning is what beauty we did miss out on. Like you said elsewhere that results matter.

I just don't think these cars ever got to show what all they could do and it is a part of history you can never change.

I used to sit in school drawing the 003 coupe from a picture in a book I had. Trust me I know the lines and the history of these cars well.

Note not all aero is ugly. The Chaparral 2E is still considerd my many a work of art and function. There again too bad Jim Hall had to mess with so many new technologies at once. Leading aero, automatic trannies, prototype engines etc lead to a lot of failures.

[balthazar]

There's a car out there for any subjective fan. Chaparral 2E looks like it came out of the Cake Boss's shop as far as aesthetics goes, but no doubt someone thinks it's the bee's knees.

I respect Duntov's 'ultimate vision', but I'm not necessarily Duntov, so his aesthetics are not always going to be mine.

GS is not in the top 5 of my personal vette list, stylistically... but obviously, a car driven to 7 figures has favor with more than a handful of fans.

[Camino LS6]

Aero is behind the genericism we live with today, I'd rather it took a backseat to design from time to time.

As for the GS, it is the full package that interests me about the car - not simply the look. It's a great story.

None of which inspired me to post the link, however. I posted it because I found the restoration process to be over-the-top stunning.

I do like that the owner intends to take the car vintage racing as well.

[§carlet §wordfish]

I read in a book that they thought the Sting Ray coupe would be better on the track because of the aerodynamic advantage of the fastback, but the convertible had better weight distribution and thus better handling so they used that instead.

Of course I militantly disagree with Camino about aerodynamics, but that's another discussion.

[Camino LS6]

Oh?

[hyperv6]

Aero is behind the genericism we live with today, I'd rather it took a backseat to design from time to time.

As for the GS, it is the full package that interests me about the car - not simply the look. It's a great story.

None of which inspired me to post the link, however. I posted it because I found the restoration process to be over-the-top stunning.

I do like that the owner intends to take the car vintage racing as well.

I saw the story on this car a while back and liked the work that went into it.

Aero packages have won a lot of races and save lives by making cars much more stable. Trust me I know what a 65 GTO is like at 140 MPH plus in a sweep curve. When the wheel is to the right and the car is still going straight you start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But I agree it also hurts styling when you have a weak styling department. I think some of GM's cars today have help break some of this trend like the CTS v and Camaro.

In racing while aero helps win races it also runs up the cost and has killed some series.

But back the the GS. I have several books on these cars and have followed there history. There have been better race cars but there have been few with better stories. Each GS has a very interesting story and each had seen some of the best drivers in the world behind the wheel of each. The fact the 5 that raced are still with us is amazing.

This site has some neat info and stories on Vettes. http://corvette-racing.tripod.com/

When I was a kid I usd to make my Dad take me to every race car appearance in town. Living in Akron the tire companies would always have something around. I have sat in everything from the Sprit of America jet car to Garlits Swamp Rat. Once day at a Marathon station near our house the Greenwood BFG Corvette was there in all it's Sebring glory. We went over and I recall the station owner that my dad knew putting me in the car. I still remember rowing the gears in that car. Sweet memories.

I suspect with what we have seen with the new Sting Ray Wellborn is letting us know it may still be aero but styling will not be forgotten. I have seen this car in person and photos do not show it for what it really is. If they use it as a guide for the C7 we should have a good car to carry the name on.

I saw a Mongoose GS tonight on the road. It was a Penske look alike with yellow 17 inch Hildebrand wheels on it. It has the vintage look with todays technology. The Sunoco colors suit it well.

Edited June 18, 2011 by hyperv6

[Camino LS6]

Cool site you linked to.

This pic is awe-inspiring:

[A Horse With No Name]

Check out the restoration process they went through to obtain the second incarnation of the car.

Totally fascinating.

Agreed, thanks for the link!

Cool site you linked to.

This pic is awe-inspiring:

Too bad we can't get a decent duplicate C2 body like we can a factory 5 Cobra...I would see my future project in building a clone of one of those!

[Camino LS6]

Oh, but you can!

Just ask Hyper about them.

[A Horse With No Name]

Tell me more...I know a company in Cleveland was making them about twenty years ago, but methinks they went bankrupt.

[A Horse With No Name]

Interesting...doing a little bit of internet research...cool...

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c1-and-c2-corvettes/247716-grand-sport-replicas.html

[Camino LS6]

I saw a show featuring them on Speed a while back, but Hyper seems to have the low-down on them.

[hyperv6]

Check this out.

http://www.mongoosems.com/index.php

Mongoose is not in Ravenna Ohio Just east of Akron. They used to be G&S Corvette years ago in Akron and then were sold to someone in Medina Ohio when they did have money issues. Mogoose took over they have been in and around the Akron area since.

Even Tim Allen came to town and had one built.

I is common to see these cars in Penske colors or even the Foyte paint running open side pipes with pumped up LS or even 572 Big Blocks. THey use a similar tube frame with new Corvette control arms etc. Some are stipped down inside like the race cars and some are fully fitted. Each one is different.

The GTP cars are amazing. I wish they would paint one in the Goodwench colors. That would be something to see.

The thing on the GS that always make me sad is they never really got developed as well as they could have. A few simple changes to the nose and we may not have so many Shelby fans today.

I would love to build one of these cars some day. A friend of mine has one and loves it.

[Camino LS6]

It would be a fun build.

[A Horse With No Name]

Esp. now in Ohio...it is easier than ever to register a kit car.

At our last autocross, a 65 factory 5 Daytona coupe was out....had less than 300 miles on it. VERY easy registration process...you get a vin from the OHIO DOT...no smogging issues...and they pretty much seem to only want recipts for what you've put into the car to make sure nothing is stolen.