Our Favorite Rides from the ‘Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals’

If you missed the MCACN car show, you missed some incredible Corvettes. Luckily, we went and caught up with some legendary rides.

The Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals show (MCACN) visited Chicago on November 23 and 24 to allow Corvette and hot rod owners to show off their wares, and Corvette Forum was on the scene to take in all of the action. Long established as a significant show on a national level, MCACN attracts the very best of the best. This year we stopped by for a look and were blown away by the rare and historic Corvettes on display.

The First L88

It’s not often you see an L88, and even rarer if you see one from 1967. In total, 20 were built and over that span of 52 years, the number known to still be around has dropped to just 14. But that’s not all that makes this L88 special. It is, in fact, the very first RPO built L88 Corvette. Add to that but it also has a racing pedigree that spanned three decades. We feel this was easily the most important Corvette at the MCACN Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals show, so let’s get into some more of those details.

RPO L88 was a package created by none other than Zora Arkus Duntov himself. It took two years to develop the package, but the main showcase was the 427 engine. The Mark IV’s rotating assembly saw a lot of attention. The steel crank was hardened, for durability. Forged rods compressed 12.5:1 pistons against aluminum cylinder heads. Those cylinder heads were fed by the one thing that visually sets the L88 apart; an 850 CFM single Holley carb. As it sat atop an aluminum intake manifold, the hood cowl then essentially became an integrated air filter.

We all know the car was severely underrated at 430 horsepower. Good tinkering could take advantage of the L88’s new solid lifter cam. Estimates of 600 horsepower weren’t unheard of, especially on the required race fuel. The L88 wasn’t just about the engine, though. Duntov saw other areas of improvement, too. To back up the engine’s durability, it was mated to a 4-speed M22 transmission. That gearbox fed power to a Positraction rear end. With all of that forward momentum, big brakes were an obvious necessity. The suspension came from RPO code F41. In all, it was a great achievement by Duntov. An achievement helped along by race car driver Tony DeLorenzo.

DeLorenzo’s success in SCCA racing came from a number of Chevrolets before finally campaigning this L88. As the son of a GM Public Relations Executive, DeLorenzo had access to a number of Corvettes, at one point asking for a specially optioned 1964 model. That car started the legend of DeLorenzo racing the car without his father’s knowledge. It also was the car that Duntov used as a base for the suspension and brake package for the L88 package.

Come 1967, and DeLorenzo’s racing career had truly taken off. Duntov wanted to give him a car that would ultimately put Delorenzo in the history books as one of the winningest Corvette drivers of all time.

Backing from a Chevrolet dealership was essential for racing, and Hanley Dawson Chevrolet provided that backing. They also took delivery of this first production L88 and immediately it was modified for racing for DeLorenzo. Ultimately, DeLorenzo had a dominant 1967 season with this car, culminating with a 2nd place finish at the Sports Car Club of America Runoffs at Daytona International Speedway.

This L88 was then sold by DeLorenzo, and raced periodically thereafter when it was then restored to its factory condition in 1982. Though restored long ago, the car is still in amazing condition. Included with the car are NCRS “Top Flight” awards, Bloomington Gold awards, among others. This L88 is one of the most significant vehicles in the history of the Corvette. Rumor has it, it’ll take $2,500,000 to call it yours.

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The Cut-away Corvette Barn Find

Blind luck sometimes befalls us in the strangest of ways. For the owner of this 1965 Corvette cutaway display model, they were already the owner of one 1965 cut-away Corvette. But this one found out about a second one through Facebook of all places.

These cutaway models used electric motors to “move” the driveline while it sat on display. Plaques are placed on areas of importance and explain features as well. This cutaway model apparently does not have a body to go with it, but if it did, it would have been a coupe.

According to Hemmings, these are understandably rare, but they cite only one exists. That one sold in 2018 for $1.1 million, but the mere existence of this barn-find proves there could me more out there.

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1965 ‘Street Machine’ Corvette Dragster

Not all Corvettes stay true to their factory original equipment. This Corvette is no exception. Owner Bob Studer had a 1965 Corvette that he raced in his younger years, but ended up having to sell it. Fast forward a few decades and he wound up discovering his own Corvette for sale yet again. He had to get it back.

With a new approach to this Corvette, Studer decided to make it just as much “show” as it is “go.” Studer, now the owner of a body shop, felt it would be a great exercise to show off his skills. A custom yellow paint is the initial attention grabber, but deeper under the skin shows a modified chassis, tubbed rear wheel arches and an all new driveline. Being a factory fuel injection Corvette, Studer went to Hogan Manifolds to to make a custom set up. It glistens atop the imposing Reher Morrison Racing engine.

Quick passes down the strip are possible with over 900 horsepower, and the rest of the car is equipped for the job as well. A fully integrated cage with a neatly “stock” looking interior hints at what it can do. And what it can do is win awards. At MCACN in 2018, it scored an impressive 996/1000 points.

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The Best of the Rest

Additionally, the show had many stunners, which we compiled into a neat gallery to peek at below.

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Photos for Corvette Forum by Patrick Morgan

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