Category Archives: Corvette C5

Museum Commemorates Sinkhole’s Third Anniversary With 1962 Corvette Restoration

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Thought I’d pass long an update on one of the sinkhole corvettes.

Three years ago, on February 12, 2014, viewers tuning in to their morning news witnessed and heard an almost unbelievable story – a sinkhole had opened inside the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and eight Corvettes fell victim… lying at the bottom of the more than 30 foot deep gaping hole. Fortunately, the cars and building were the only things damaged as it occurred in the early morning hours before anyone was in the Museum. The story captivated those who watched it, and while the Museum initially planned to put the past behind them, the interest in the sinkhole and damaged Corvettes was undeniable.

On Thursday, February 9 the 1962 Corvette, still covered in dirt and debris from the sinkhole, was removed from display in the Skydome and transferred to a garage bay where it will undergo restoration work to bring it back, better than ever. The on-going work will be performed in the Museum, and guests will be able to see the car’s progress, oftentimes as it is happening. In addition to visiting the Museum to witness first-hand the work being performed on the Corvette, enthusiasts can tune in to Facebook and YouTube where a number of videos will be published by the Museum, providing updates and progress reports.

See the complete article at National Corvette Museum

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Mallett Hammer Corvette – Found in the NCM Sinkhole!

Found but not yet complete uncovered. Here is the shot provided by the National Corvette Museum. The Hammer was a 2001  C5 Z06                       By the looks of it, it will come no where near the condition of a first few cars pulled from the sink hole. Thanks for reading. Tim
Mallett Hammer Corvette – Found in the NCM Sinkhole! NOPE!!!

Looks like previous reports of finding the Mallett Hammer Corvette was incorrect. Looks like we have the rearend of the body for the PPG Pace Car.                         Seventh Down, One Mallett Hammer Corvette to Go:   In less than a week, the 1.5 Millionth Corvette… http://t.co/hHAAVMPS2G Mallett Hammer Corvette – National Corvette Museum http://t.co/5DuDGdJQU6             Stay …
1 Millionth Corvette Restoration

Craftspeople and technicians at the General Motors Design Center are painstakingly restoring the historic 1 millionth Chevrolet Corvette damaged nearly 16 months ago when a sinkhole opened beneath the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky. The restoration crew is part of GM’s Mechanical Assembly group at the Design Center, which …
1,000,000th Corvette Surprise Rescue!!!

http://corvettemuseum.blogspot.com/2014/03/millionth-corvette-unexpectedly-saved.html “Initially there was no intention to bring the Millionth out, but as we got in there and saw more this morning we did feel like this might be our best chance,” said Danny Daniel, President of Scott, Murphy and Daniel Construction. Danny indicated that they pulled the car by one wheel …
A Mini Documentary on the National Corvette Museum Sinkhole

Watch the video, you’ll see a good close up of the first three cars and seem them on display “as is”.     http://youtu.be/5Q57YHiSt2I Thanks for reading. Tim     Five of eight Corvettes pulled from museum sinkhole; photos show heavy … National Corvette Museum’s effort to remove the eight cars swallowed by a sinkhole last month got off …
A Sinkhole Swallowed Cars at The Corvette Museum And Now Everyone Wants To Go

A Sinkhole Swallowed Cars at The Corvette Museum And Now Everyone Wants To Go | TIME. A view of a sinkhole that opened up in the Skydome Tourism up 50%….that’s great!!!   Tim   National Corvette Museum might preserve sinkhole The sinkhole that swallowed up eight Corvettes earlier this year has been something of a mixed …
Mallett Hammer Corvette – National Corvette Museum

Update from the National Corvette Museum: In less than a week, the 1.5 Millionth Corvette has gone from location unknown to being dug out from the depths of the sinkhole… regaining its status as a display car in the National Corvette Museum on Thursday. While methods of probing the mounds of dirt …
1,000,000th Corvette Surprise Rescue!!!

http://corvettemuseum.blogspot.com/2014/03/millionth-corvette-unexpectedly-saved.html “Initially there was no intention to bring the Millionth out, but as we got in there and saw more this morning we did feel like this might be our best chance,” said Danny Daniel, President of Scott, Murphy and Daniel Construction. Danny indicated that they pulled the car by one wheel …
1.5 Millionth Corvette Pre-Sinkhole

If you’ve never been to the National Corvette Museum, you should put that on your bucket list.  If you are a car gal/guy  you’ll love it, even more so, if you own or previously owned a corvette. Here are my pictures I took of the 1, 500,000th Corvette on one of …
A Mini Documentary on the National Corvette Museum Sinkhole

Watch the video, you’ll see a good close up of the first three cars and seem them on display “as is”.     http://youtu.be/5Q57YHiSt2I Thanks for reading. Tim     Five of eight Corvettes pulled from museum sinkhole; photos show heavy … National Corvette Museum’s effort to remove the eight cars swallowed by a sinkhole last month got off …
A Sinkhole Swallowed Cars at The Corvette Museum And Now Everyone Wants To Go

A Sinkhole Swallowed Cars at The Corvette Museum And Now Everyone Wants To Go | TIME. A view of a sinkhole that opened up in the Skydome Tourism up 50%….that’s great!!!   Tim   National Corvette Museum might preserve sinkhole The sinkhole that swallowed up eight Corvettes earlier this year has been something of a mixed …

 

“Mr. Corvette,” Dick Guldstrand, Passes Away at 87 Years Old | Hemmings Daily

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Posted by Terry Shea

Legendary SoCal hot rodder, racer and all-around Corvette maestro Dick Guldstrand passed away on September 2 at age 87. A few years back, we featured Dick in our Hot Rod Hero column for Hemmings Muscle Machines. In fact, I had the opportunity to speak with Dick on the day he was celebrating his 84th birthday. There is nothing quite like the candor of a retired racer, particularly one who has never truly left the arena.  (Chase the link below for the rest of the article from Hemmings.)

Source: “Mr. Corvette,” Dick Guldstrand, Passes Away at 87 Years Old | Hemmings Daily

Dick Guldstrand

Dick Guldstrand

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

 

dick guldstrand

Selecting the Right Clutch for Your C5/C6 Corvette – CorvetteOnline.com

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A while back I ‘had’ installed a Spec Stage 3 clutch with steel/iron fly-wheel.  I did a lot of research before hand and decided that this would be a great combination for my auto cross/daily driver.  So far I’ve been happy with the switch.  It’s not as ‘street’ smooth as the stock but it helps get the torque to rubber!!  But you have to do your research.  If you noticed in the first line above I used the phrase ‘had installed’.  It is a monster job to disassemble the tunnel and you don’t want to have to do it again after find out that you can’t leave a red like without loosing rubber, nor pay the $$$ for someone else to do it.

I grabbed the article below to share, it has some great tips.

Selecting the Right Clutch for Your C5/C6 Corvette

If you’re a late-model Corvette owner and you’ve ever been in the market for a new clutch, then you’ve discovered that there is such an array of options to choose from, you could find yourself being a little bit lost and confused. To make things even more difficult, thanks to the transaxle layout of the C5 and C6, swapping a clutch is a far more involved process than on a car with a more conventional driveline. A clutch swap isn’t the kind of job you want to do twice on these Corvettes, so getting it right the first time (and having the room to grow for more horsepower and torque down the line) is critical.  Read on:

via Selecting the Right Clutch for Your C5/C6 Corvette – CorvetteOnline.com.

 

 

Street-Disc_Optimized

Thanks for reading

Tim

corvette clutch

Vooveo: 1997-2004 Chevrolet Corvette Clutch Kit Ac Delco …

1997-2004 Chevrolet Corvette Clutch Kit Ac Delco Chevrolet Clutch Kit 381408. ac delco clutch press and driven plate kit 11-11/16 in. x 26t x 1-1/8 in. diaphragm; includes flywheel and cover; a high quality direct fit oe …

NCM – Mallett Hammer Update 4/09/14 Part II

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So it ends, at least the recovery part of the ill-fated  “Great 8” as dubbed by the National Corvette Museum folks.

The Mallett Hammer comes to the surface.

Hammer4 Hammer5

As with a couple of the others – this is how I expected to see them come to the surface.

From the NCM:

The 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 was one of two Corvettes that’s whereabouts were initially unknown after the sinkhole happened. The car was finally discover this Monday, upside down with the nose pointing towards the red Spire in the center of the room. It is, by far, the most heavily damaged of all eight Corvettes.

“It looks like the worst one… a lot of parts and pieces,” said Mike Murphy, CEO of Scott, Murphy and Daniel Construction. “It took a lot of punishment from a lot of big rocks.”

The Mallett Hammer was donated to the Museum this past December by Kevin and Linda Helmintoller of Land O’ Lakes, Florida, Lifetime Members of the Museum and previous R8C Museum Delivery participants. Upon hearing the car had been located, Kevin traveled to Kentucky to witness the rescue operation. “I expected bad, but it’s 100 times worse,” he said. “It looks like a piece of tin foil… and it had a roll cage in it! It makes all the other cars look like they’re brand new.”

Strode had forewarned Helmintoller that the car would be in bad shape and he might not want to watch the recovery process. “Honestly though, I’m still glad I’m here because I would have never believed it was this bad. I’m not positive I would have recognized it – there are just a few little pieces that give it away.” 

Helmintoller added that he sent pictures of the damaged car to his engine builder, who (jokingly) was quick to point out that the motor was not covered under warranty.

Kevin and Linda spent 13 years modifying the Corvette, a car they purchased new in 2001. The Mallett Hammer conversion was completed in June 2002 and since then has had many AntiVenom LSX Performance modifications with the car boasting 700hp with 575 torque at the flywheel. The car’s speed achievements helped it score a cover of GM High Tech Performance magazine.

GM has said they would restore them.  I look at this one and the Spyder and say “Really?”   Same VIN number perhaps…not a lot more.

Although the recovery is completed – other than fishing out the top parts of the “Hammer” there is still a long way to go for rebuilding that part of the museum and restoring the cars.

I hope GM keeps great video records and that they release them to the public to allow us to keep track of the progress.  That ought to be a good History Channel – nearly live – documentary, yes?   For sure a dedicated YouTube channel. (Not sure live 24 hour camera coverage would be of much value.)

I’ve hyped the National Corvette Museum and urging folks to donate and I still do (Here’s the link again. Donate Click Here ) they need the assistance.  But that’s because Corvettes are my thing (one of them, anyway), but there are a lot of car museum’s across the country that are doing a great job preserving vehicles of interest.

Right here in Tucson, Az is the Franklin Museum with a very nice collection of Franklin cars.   Find one near you!!

Thanks for reading.

Tim

mallett hammer corvettenational corvette museum

NCM – Mallett Hammer Update 4/9/2014

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The digging continues at the National Corvette Museum (NCM).  The goal is to uncover the beautiful Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette to the point where it’s removal.

Here is the latest picture  provided by the NCM and it’s not pretty with the shiny side down.

Hammer2 Hammer3

Thanks to the guys doing all the work down there in the sinkhole!!!!

Here is a link to donate to the museum.  GM is restoring the cars but the museum has to fix the sinkhole after the Vettes are removed.

Donate Click Here

Thanks for reading.
Tim

 

National Corvette Museum – Mallett Hammer Found!!!

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The Mallet Hammer has been located in the sinkhole at the National Corvette Museum (NCM).

According to the NCM:

The final Corvette… #8 of the “Great 8” has been found! The Mallett Hammer is upside down with the nose going to the Spire in the center of the room. There are lots of rocks, so the removal process will be more time-consuming that it was with the other cars.

Thanks to Samuel for this photo!

MHammer

Mallet Hammer at the museum.

Mallet Hammer at the museum.

 

I’d image it’s going to take as while to pull that out and odds are it won’t be in great shape.

Thanks to all those work hard on the recover.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

 

A Look Back at Two Significant Corvettes | bowmanchevy

When the Z06 was introduced in 2001, Mallett quickly grabbed hold to engineer and develop the “Mallett Hammer” Z06 Corvette. Historically, this Z06 is significant because it was one of the first Mallett Hammers engineered to …

 

 

Mallett Hammer Corvette – Found in the NCM Sinkhole! NOPE!!!

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Looks like previous reports of finding the Mallett Hammer Corvette was incorrect.

Looks like we have the reared body for the PPG Pace Car.

Looks like we have the rearend of the body for the PPG Pace Car.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tampabayvettes

Seventh Down, One Mallett Hammer Corvette to Go:   In less than a week, the 1.5 Millionth Corvette… http://t.co/hHAAVMPS2G
07C6Vette

Mallett Hammer Corvette – National Corvette Museum http://t.co/5DuDGdJQU6

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

 

 

 

 

Mallett Hammer Corvette – National Corvette Museum

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Update from the National Corvette Museum:
In less than a week, the 1.5 Millionth Corvette has gone from location unknown to being dug out from the depths of the sinkhole… regaining its status as a display car in the National Corvette Museum on Thursday.
While methods of probing the mounds of dirt in the sinkhole and the use of metal detectors were

unsuccessful in finding the milestone Corvette, it was the retrieval process of the Spyder that yielded signs of the first of the two missing cars.  “We had no idea where it was, we just happened upon it,” Mike Murphy, CEO of Scott, Murphy and Daniel Construction said.

Upon the removal of the Spyder, the team began working to free the 1.5 Millionth.  Initial attempts to pull the car free were to no avail as a large rock appeared to be wedging the rear of the car in the dirt.
“Originally, we thought we had to remove the boulder itself to free the vehicle,” said Zach Massey, Project Manager with Scott, Murphy and Daniel Construction, “But we were able to free the 1.5 without addressing the boulder as it turned out it was not directly resting on the car, which was a great advantage to us.”
Wednesday afternoon the team was able to successfully free the car, with final removal from the sinkhole taking place Thursday morning.  “While the car appears to be in really rough condition, most of the major components are still there and provides a great base to work off of,” said Adam Boca of the NCM Insurance Agency and a member of the Museum’s Display Committee.
The National Corvette Museum was given the opportunity to purchase the milestone car brand new to preserve its place in history.  It was built in Bowling Green, KY on May 28, 2009 and is a white convertible with red interior, a small nod to the first 300 Corvettes built in 1953 in Flint, MI – all being white convertibles with red interiors.  The 1.5 Millionth is fully loaded with the 3LT Preferred Equipment Group, Z51 Performance Package, Dual Mode Performance Exhaust, Navigation, 6-Speed Automatic Transmission with Paddle Shift and has a 6.2L V8 engine boasting 430 hp.
The final Corvette to be removed is the 2001 Z06 with Mallett Hammer conversion. “The rest of the day will be spent probing and excavating the area to find any signs of the Mallett Hammer,” said Murphy.
mallett hammer corvettemallett hammer corvettemallett hammer corvette
Thanks for reading.
Tim

North Country Corvettes – NCoCC Plastic Fantastic XXXVII

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NCoCC.

They have been holding this Plastic Fantastic  car show for 37 years (the oldest and largest Corvette show…ever!!!)

Looks like a blast!!!!!

Plastic Flyer 2014 - mailer 01-15-14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The proceeds go to support the club charity, the San Diego USO.

Thanks for reading

Tim

 

A Mini Documentary on the National Corvette Museum Sinkhole

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Watch the video, you’ll see a good close up of the first three cars and seem them on display “as is”.

 

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

 

 

Five of eight Corvettes pulled from museum sinkhole; photos show heavy …

National Corvette Museum’s effort to remove the eight cars swallowed by a sinkhole last month got off to a triumphant start: The 2009 Corvette ZR1 “Blue Devil” pulled from the hole earlier this week drove away from the scene of the disaster under its …