Who has factual proof no 63 had KO wheels? *NM* - NCRS Discussion Boards

Who has factual proof no 63 had KO wheels? *NM*

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  • Duke W.
    Beyond Control Poster
    • January 1, 1993
    • 15657

    #46
    Re: It's The Same As "Big Foot"...

    Good analogy. The guy who shot the "bigfoot video" admitted on his death bed not long ago that it was all a hoax!

    Duke

    Comment

    • Gordon Peterson #4961

      #47
      Re: The Phrase is "BUILT WITH" - ALL of the

      Whew, what a thread! My $.02

      Franz got me looking at my copy of Ludvigsen's excellent reference book - first time in a while. In thumbing around, I settled onto a great picture of Dr. Dick Thompson's Z06 on page 164, replete in two-bar spinner KO's. The date on this picture is June '63, incidentally.

      So, if I've got this right, if this particular Z06 still exists out there somewhere, and the current owner can prove that he owns this Z06, he should be able to pull onto the NCRS judging field in 2-bar KO's confident that he will not get docked for having KO's on his '63.

      And I guess that's the way it should be!

      Pete

      Comment

      • Rich G.
        Extremely Frequent Poster
        • August 31, 2002
        • 1397

        #48
        Re: Who has factual proof no 63 had KO wheels?

        Bill

        My friend owns the Knudsen car and it has hubcaps (now).

        Rich
        1966 L79 Convertible. Milano Maroon
        1968 L71 Coupe. Rally Red (Sold 6/21)
        1963 Corvair Monza Convertible

        Comment

        • Mike M.
          NCRS Past President
          • May 31, 1974
          • 8379

          #49
          Re: The Phrase is "BUILT WITH" - ALL of the

          Pete: a picture, dated june of 63,with dick thompson driving a ZO6 with K/O's would not constitute objective evidence(were i asked to judge it) the car left St; louis with the K/O's. on the contrary, since the pic was of a VIP, and dick certainly was a VIP with a key to the back door at chevy, i'd would be inclined to use the pic as evidence that only racers/executives got the K/O's. regards, mike

          Comment

          • Duke W.
            Beyond Control Poster
            • January 1, 1993
            • 15657

            #50
            Re: The Phrase is "BUILT WITH" - ALL of the

            Only if the owner has an authentic copy of the production order that includes RPO P-48. What do you give as the chances for such a "harmonic convergence"? Even in A-production, cars were being changed between every race. Notice the riveted on aluminum spoiler across the hood and the cut out recesses where the decorative "grilles" formerly resided. Frankly, I'm suprised SCCA allowed that as the production class rules in '63 allowed very few changes other than open exhaust.

            It's interesting that the KO wheels were probably a disadvantage in short SCCA races where routine tire changes were not scheduled as they were in long distance races. The KO wheels including the adapters are actually heavier than steel wheels.

            Most SCCA racers used steel wheels or "SCCA legal" aftermarket aluminum wheels. Chances are Thompson's car had KOs because his Grady Davis team was a defacto works team that was doing development work for Chevrolet. Of course, everything was "under the table" because GM was still officially supporting the 1957 AMA "no-racing" policy. Ford was publicly ignoring it!

            Duke

            Comment

            • Jimmy B.
              Expired
              • July 31, 1980
              • 584

              #51
              Re: Who has factual proof no 63 had KO wheels?

              Robert,

              Years ago I owned 63 # 11122. I purchased it from the original owner. He ordered it from Dawson Taylor Chevrolet, MI salesman: Tom Swindell (ever hear of him)? anway this was a f.i. 4:11 swc and again the original owner TRIED to order k.o.'s and was told he could not get them so in early 64 the dealership supplied him a full set of 5. I purchased these separately from the owner when I purchased the 63. These were the early wheels with the dated ink stamps on the backside.

              Jim Blakely #3742

              Comment

              • Sydney G.
                Very Frequent User
                • February 1, 1994
                • 443

                #52
                Re: Who has factual proof no 63 had KO wheels?

                Rich,
                I think that in the article, from memory, it also was sporting caps.
                I'll dig up the mag and post the issue date.
                Syd

                Comment

                • Rich G.
                  Extremely Frequent Poster
                  • August 31, 2002
                  • 1397

                  #53
                  Re: Who has factual proof no 63 had KO wheels?

                  I just came across the article in CORVETTE FEVER. I think it was around 1996. I loaned it to another guy but I can get it back if you can't find it.

                  I'm going by memory on the wheels as I have not seen the car in a while, but I'm pretty sure. This same friend has a 63 pilot line car, #13 and I think that has 2 bar KO's, but I'm not sure and even if it does, I don't know what if any documentation he has. He found it in Rochester, NY several years ago, the story being it was at the Rochester factory for a while and ended up in private hands.

                  Rich
                  1966 L79 Convertible. Milano Maroon
                  1968 L71 Coupe. Rally Red (Sold 6/21)
                  1963 Corvair Monza Convertible

                  Comment

                  • Sydney G.
                    Very Frequent User
                    • February 1, 1994
                    • 443

                    #54
                    Re: Who has factual proof no 63 had KO wheels?

                    Rich,
                    You are right. I remember now that it was Corvette Fever. I know that I kept it for sure as the cars color looked amazing. In the photos it still had the cross hatched cloth seats and as I mentioned to Bill via email, it is probably the only one ever built for sure this way and also most likely, much rarer than any KO equipped factory '63 (if there is such a thing)!!
                    I will find it. I remember studying it very closely from the pics and it is burned into my memory.
                    Anyone dispute the '63 model year as being the most unique and diverse of all?
                    Syd

                    Comment

                    • Gordon Peterson #4961

                      #55
                      Re: The Phrase is "BUILT WITH" - ALL of the

                      Mike, you're playing right into me!

                      What do we know about this Dr. DickT Z06 car in the picture?

                      - Clearly it's one very special-purpose Corvette
                      - It was intended by GM to be seriously raced with unofficial GM backing
                      - The owner (probably not Dr. Dick) had access to some very special GM parts
                      - These parts were supplied by GM to be used on this particular car
                      - I would say this car had zero street miles between St. L and the track

                      Tell you what, if I owned this Z06 today (hahahaha), it would SOOO have 2-bar spinner KO's on it. And I would feel justified in claiming they were original.

                      (I should be so lucky to have this dilemma!!)

                      Pete

                      P. S. Don't look now, but car #2 on page 165 is racing on KO's as well. Those KO's were EVERYWHERE!!

                      Comment

                      • Sydney G.
                        Very Frequent User
                        • February 1, 1994
                        • 443

                        #56
                        Knudsen's car

                        Bill and Rich,
                        The Corvette Fever issue is Dec. 1995 titled Bunkie's Bad Ride.
                        The #55 car does have KO's in the pics (so much for my memory) and some very interesting facts pertaining to this car.
                        It says that at the time of the article it was owned by Bill Jenson of NY and that it was the first '63 car equipped with air and am/fm.
                        The auto 300 Coupe also is equipped with ps/pb/pw and in the photos it is shown as having back-up lamps.
                        The article goes on to say that this car was taken from St. Louis to the GM tech center in Warren, Michigan where it received prototype leather seats with cloth weave inserts that was meant for production in the 1965 Cadillac. It was painted Cadillac Firemist Saddle also from the '65 Caddy lineup.
                        Number 55 is also said to have 'Special' on the trim tag for the paint code and hand-laid fiberglass matting in the rear compartment area for extra soundproofing!
                        It had a 5 year restoration according to the article, and was on display at the 1993 Bloomington Gold Special Collection.

                        Rich, is the #13 pilot line car a Silver/Blue FI Coupe?
                        Syd

                        Comment

                        • John C.
                          Expired
                          • January 1, 2001
                          • 171

                          #57
                          Re: The Phrase is "BUILT WITH" - ALL of the

                          And of course there's the famous video with Dick Thompson and friend driving a SWC and convertible at a GM test track. When they stop and get out to talk with Zora the mechanics immediately get out the hammer and start beating at the spinners.....

                          Yeah, I know. These are probably the pilot line cars.

                          Comment

                          • Loren L.
                            Extremely Frequent Poster
                            • April 30, 1976
                            • 4104

                            #58
                            They DID get in trouble with SCCA a lot -

                            especially when running a race right after Sebring or some FIA event which looked the other way....

                            Comment

                            • Patrick H.
                              Beyond Control Poster
                              • December 1, 1989
                              • 11640

                              #59
                              Re: The Phrase is "BUILT WITH" - ALL of the

                              I'd bet you that

                              1) the picture is not the first outing of the car

                              2) even if Zero miles (which I doubt as they often drove them from the factory to the race prep shop) the car had a significant prep at GM Warren before the race, or possibly in the parking lot before the race, or else at another race shop. Often Dr. Thompson just showed up for a race and the car was waiting there for him, having spent the intervening time since his last race with GM at the Tech Center or Proving Gounds.

                              Does the picture mean that all 63 coupes should also be sans rocker panels, sporting wind splits on the hood, and bear racing stripes? It would hold just about as much weight as your knock-off hypothesis.
                              After all, why would a car be able to go through all the other aforementioned prep but not have someone add knock of wheels???

                              Patrick
                              Vice-Chairman (West), Michigan Chapter NCRS
                              71 "deer modified" coupe
                              72 5-Star Bowtie / Duntov coupe. https://www.flickr.com/photos/124695...57649252735124
                              2008 coupe
                              Available stickers: Engine suffix code, exhaust tips & mufflers, shocks, AIR diverter valve broadcast code.

                              Comment

                              • Franz E.
                                Expired
                                • March 1, 1997
                                • 96

                                #60
                                Re: Knudsen's car

                                Hi Syd: Plotline car number 13 was Sebring Silver with dark blue interior and fuel injection.

                                Comment

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