Corvette Returns To Le Mans To Defend Its Checkered PastGeneral Notes:For 2003, engine air restrictors reduced by 10 percent. Less power, lower rpm shift point (old rpm shift point was around 6,200, new is around 5,600), but 7.0L engine now has a wider power/torque curve.
Compression lowered to 12.2:1 (versus 13.2:1 for ALMS) for Le Mans that mandates a special (lower) octane unleaded (98 versus 100). Air restrictor actually allows for more CR than otherwise would be with a non-restrictor motor (similar to NASCAR).
New Sequential Hewland Six-Speed Gearbox
So far, drivers have had to recalibrate driving style with a sequential gearbox (as opposed to old H-pattern gearbox). In the corners the new box downshifts much quicker, which has caused speed-generated over-rev and a nervous rearend and/or brief rear tire slide/lock, and more redline wear on the engine. "No lift shift" electronically controlled, sequential gearbox will soon be tested that should eliminate 11/410 to 21/410 shift time per shift, as full-throttle shifts can be made without having to take the time to lift throttle, change gears, then add throttle.
New carbon-fiber side-impact (airbag-like) device that's about to undergo side-impact sled crash testing at Wayne State University in Detroit. Now it is carbon-fiber and Kevlar constructed, but is likely overbuilt and will be made even lighter.
Aero Changes* New carbon-fiber rear wing. Same downforce, but now delivers 10 percent better aero due in part to less attack angle needed to deliver the same downforce.* Revised front air dam and side sculpting under turn signals.* Revised front fender top vents.* Added an air inlet hole in direct center of nose that increased radiator airflow by 25 percent.* Special low-carb meals, always eating to keep energy level high, drink special "Jimmy Juice" that's a weird concoction of pick-me-up ingredients including ginseng, etc.* Yoga, masseuse, quiet rooms to decompress, etc., for drivers between driving turns.
Trauma ER physician, nurse/practitioner, and massage therapist on hand for any driver or crew-related needs.
Early Testing On Wednesday* Earlier than normal pit stops for practice of tire changes, driver swaps, etc.* Early testing found a dirty track so little to no changes were made until the track was clean.* Major chassis setup changes were: more rear stab bar force, more front brake bias, "night tire" tire change from Goodyear Eagle Racing Special 25.5x12.0-18/28.0x12.5-18 483 to softer 470 compound, and carbon-fiber belly-pan tweaks for added nose downforce during high-speed corners.* During qualifying, on approach to the corner Tertre Rouge, Fellows was too aggressively drafted by a Prototype thus eliminating crucial amounts of rear downforce, resulting in high-speed get-off with a kiss of the safety tires, thus generating a multi-piece carbon-fiber chin spoiler and a busted center stack of fog lamps.* If it rains, Team Corvette feels it has an advantage over the ProDrive Ferraris as they feel the Goodyear rain tire is better than the Ferrari's Pirelli rain tire. The Corvette will be better able to use more of its power than the Ferrari.* HANS (Head And Neck Support), new head net from 'cage to stereo center stack area to prevent radical body movement during crash/impact. Half the team used HANS at the last Le Mans; this year all six drivers use it.
Thursday Testing* After first practice on Thursday, car No. 53 was having a problem with its rear differential starting to slip so in the one hour between afternoon and evening qualifying, the unit was removed and torn down. A mad thrash ensued to swap in a new Hewland gearbox and rear diff combo (it's faster to swap the combo than it is to install just a new diff). Normally the swap takes about 40-42 minutes, but the crew did it in 32 minutes.* On Thursday afternoon, an ACO official came by to tag and safety-wire the "approved" intake restrictor.
Friday (No Testing)* Kicked out of the "Tiki Hut" as C6 and GTO public relations efforts were in full effect. No press allowed.* Midday on Friday, Pastor/Father/Priest came in with holy water and wand to bless the two Corvettes.
Saturday (Race Day At 4 p.m.)* 111/42 hours before the start of the race, a cloudburst opened up.* Race started under fairly dry pavement. The No. 50 car immediately had a problem and pitted due to "an extreme lack of power" that the crew thought was due to a bad ECU; but upon underhood inspection, it was revealed that a loose throttle linkage was the cause of no WOT (wide open throttle).* Car No. 50 experienced a loosened shift mechanism that required fixing.* Car No. 53 suffered a broken engine accessory pulley and a thrown belt. Cost 22 minutes worth of pit stop. Happened about 1 a.m. Later, the pulley again became a problem and the team knew that fixing the existing pulley would only be a temporary fix, so they R&R'd the entire rear diff/tranny to solve the problem as the P/S pulley is driven off a shaft coming out of the diff. Upon removal, the tranny got stuck midway, thus adding to the franticness. After 32 minutes, No. 53 was ready to leave the pits. The pulley situation alone cost almost one hour total of downtime.* Early a.m., No. 50 experienced a tranny/diff failure as well, thus requiring more than a 30-minute pit stop.* Near the end of the long, tiring 24-hour race, at about 3 p.m. Johnny O'Connell tried to liven the scene with a string of funny remarks while driving No. 53 including, "Funny thing, even at 185 mph you can still check out the hot babes on the side of the road."* Both Corvettes finished after completing 326 laps, 10 laps behind one of the ProDrive Ferraris.
On The BlockCorvette Investment Pricing PictureThis month our coverage of Corvettes sold at Special Interest and Collector Car Auctions virtually spanned the nation, including Washington state, Missouri, Indiana, and Florida.
This month's sales results were interesting, with two restored '54 models drawing top dollar. One sold for $60,000 and the other, an original red roadster, sold for $46,000. Only 100 of the '54 production-line units out of 3,640 sold that year were painted Sportsman Red. A '62 roadster with a matching-numbers 327-250 base motor, four-speed manual transmission, and both tops sold for $29,000.
In the mid-year ('63-'67) category, prices ranged from $29,000 to $72,000. As one would expect, the high price of $72,000 went to a '67 coupe with the correct high-performance 427-435 motor. At the low end of the spectrum was a '64 correct-engined, 300hp coupe that sold for $29,000. Others worth mentioning were two fuel-injected '65 models; one was a coupe that sold for $44,500, and a roadster that sold for $50,000.
As we've noted in the past, a nice mid-year Corvette without the optional high-performance motor can also sell at a respectable price. This was the case with a '66 roadster with the base 327-300 motor, automatic transmission, air conditioning, power steering, and power windows that sold for $45,500.
Noteworthy sales were also recorded for the '68-'82 models. Included was a '68 T-top with an original 427-400 engine, (only 6.7 percent of '68 production was ordered with this motor). It sold for a reasonable $17,000. A '69 roadster with the optional 350ci-350hp motor and a rare three-speed manual transmission sold for $16,000. The three-speed manual transmission was rare, because fewer than 300 of the '69 models were delivered with this standard equipment.