As a European, I must salute you. The two Corvette C7.Rs were simply amazing at Le Mans. And not just because of those burnouts.The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the greatest race in the world, and while it certainly works without Americans, having a few stars and stripes around always makes it more exciting. Just think of all those GT40s back in the day!The C7.R is no GT40, but Chevy’s newest racer built by Pratt & Miller for the GTE Pro and USCC GT classes. It’s no GT40 because it’s not a prototype and also because they couldn’t beat Ferrari at Le Mans this time: The #73 car finished second behind a 458 Italia while #74 got the fourth place thanks to a rapid 911 RSR.Still, great results from a pair of brand new cars fighting against the best of Europe, especially with Cadillac’s paint from the early 2000s quietly fading away in the background as a constant reminder of previous GM failures at Le Mans.
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:
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 …
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.
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!!
I watched part of the day (stupid budget meeting!!! ) as they dug around the 1.5 millionth Corvette.Currently it is lays at the bottom of the of the sink hole.
The Spyder hood has been found! Thanks Timmy with SMD for taking this pic. They also found a badge that had come off the car that was also autographed.
That’s Great!!! Look at all the signatures….HEY…LET’S NOT RESTORE THIS HOOD!!!!
Update from the Construction Managment company, Scott Murphy and Daniel from yesterday afternoon: We are continuing to carefully excavate around the 1.5M Vette. With the limited space, heavy rock boulders, and its position with the…See More
Thanks to this guy and all the workers. NICELY DONE!!! Can’t wait for the beautiful 1.5 to surface!!!
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 my trips to the NCM.
Details
One of the best looking Vette paint scheme wise.
Awesome look!!!
I actually thought about getting a decal for my C6 with the number on it!!
Current location of the 1.5 Mil Corvette Sad to see it here.
News of a new reality show for aspiring car designers sponsored by Chevrolet got me to thinking – could the next-gen Corvette come out of a reality show?
The new TV series, Motor City Masters, will pit 10 aspiring car designers against one another on truTV testing both their exterior and interior design capabilities.
The 10-episode show, hosted by Brooke Burns, former star of Baywatch and Melrose Place, will be based in Los Angeles with a series finale in Detroit.
Show participants will be judged in areas such as creativity, execution and the forward-thinking in their work. After a series of elimination rounds, the top two designers will face off in front of members of Chevy’s design team.
) as they dug around the 1.5 millionth Corvette.Currently it is lays at the bottom of the of the sink hole.
