The Corvette Hunter. Tyler Greenblatt

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СКАЧАТЬ Dave Heinz’s boat. That control panel is from Dave Heinz’s boat. The shifter and all the gauges are there and the original roll bar. The car is unbelievable. That’s the car! I can help you because I have all the photographs of the car in its period.”

      With a bevy of original photos by Walt Thurn, as well as his enthusiastic approval that this was indeed the real #57 Rebel Corvette, the Corvette Repair team got down to the restoration. All the original wiring was still in place, although the engine and transmission had long since been removed. The steering wheel and control panel from Dave Heinz’s boat were refurbished, with every toggle switch still being in serviceable condition.

      The final piece of the restoration proved to be one of the most difficult to find, but the car would remain just shy of ultimate perfection until it was attained. When the car raced at Sebring in 1972, the year it made the cover of Corvette News, it ran with a novelty plate that featured an image of a Confederate soldier holding a Rebel flag and stated, “Save Yo’ Confederate Money Boys—The South Gonna Rise Again!”

      Before the Internet and online auction and sales websites, the only way to find something that specific was to stumble upon it at a swap meet. Kevin took the time to poke through license plates at every swap meet he went to and always asked the vendors about this specific one. He finally found it at the Belmont racetrack swap meet and nearly fainted. The restoration of arguably the greatest C3 Corvette was complete.

      The Most Valuable

      The restored Rebel in its 1972 Sebring livery was finished just in time to debut at the 1994 Malcolm Konner Chevrolet Show, the same one where Kevin debuted his first restoration a decade prior. Zora Arkus-Duntov, father of the Corvette, made an appearance to sit in and sign the car.

      It was next invited to appear in the newly opened National Corvette Museum among the best 50 Corvettes in existence. “100,000 people were at the museum for the opening and my car was there,” Kevin says. “I was like a proud father. That’s why I did that car before the John Paul car. I wanted to do the most significant cars first, not even knowing that I would find this car!

      “I found it in September 1991 and I found the Sunray DX #3 racer in August 1991. Back to back. Within eight weeks I had two of the most significant cars. I had the best ’68 on the planet and the best ’69 on the planet just by dumb luck.”

      The Rebel sat at the museum entertaining, educating, and inspiring Corvette enthusiasts for a year and a half before returning to Kevin’s garage to join the Sunray DX #3 Corvette and the VV Cooke Corvette. After years of continuing to show the car, and displaying at Bloomington Gold Special Collection, the Rebel received an NCRS American Heritage Award in 2000. Numerous production models, posters, and other promotional material were sold commemorating the Rebel Corvette. It would have been tough to be a Corvette enthusiast in the 1990s without hearing about or seeing the Rebel and its magnificent story and restoration.

      Selling a high-profile race car such as the Rebel Corvette comes with its fair share of publicity. Here, Kevin is being interviewed for a television show. He dressed up for the occasion and matches the car perfectly!

      In 2014, what had become known as the most iconic L88 Corvette to ever race hit the auction block at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale. Even with a reserve, the Rebel hammered at a record $2.86 million, making it the most valuable C3 Corvette race car ever sold at auction.

      Zora Arkus-Duntov sitting in the Rebel Corvette that was part of the elite lightweight L88 program. He was personally involved with each one, with the Rebel being the most successful on the racetrack. (Photo Courtesy Bill Erdman)

       CHAPTER 4

       1969 John Paul Lightweight L88

       CRIMINALLY FAST

      In 1955, after Mercedes’s famous accident at Le Mans that led to the deaths of 83 spectators, the major automakers formed a gentlemen’s agreement that they would no longer participate in racing. It wasn’t that they suddenly realized the danger and wanted to shy away, they feared congressional action that would start with the removal of factory racing. So the major OEMs decided that they would have no official involvement going forward. Independent shops popped up staffed by former employees almost immediately and, with silent factory support, turned out high-level competition racers to bear the moniker’s flag.

       John Paul Sr. (right) leans up against his Corvette. His son, successful racer John Paul Jr., has his back to the camera. The father-son duo would go on to race together in the coming years. (Photo Courtesy Kevin Mackay Collection)

      This underground support continued with great success until General Motors ordered all its brands to cease racing operations, public and clandestine. The problem this time was that General Motors was selling too many cars; it had cornered approximately 53 percent of the U.S. market. As it neared 60 percent, government trust busters would be forced to break up the firm under monopoly laws.

      As with the previous pullback from racing, GM execs were pulled back in just a few years later when development of the high-performance Mark IV race engine began in 1965 and first saw track use in 1966. Only 13 Corvettes were Heavy-Duty Mark IV equipped in 1966, each one ordered through Zora Arkus-Duntov.

      By 1969, factory L88 cars had become a popular starting point for both professional and amateur sportsmen, with 116 being produced that year. They were available through Chevrolet dealerships and, in theory, anyone with the money and desire to drive a bare-bones automobile that required high-octane fuel could buy and drive one. Arkus-Duntov wanted to build more than just a “showroom” amateur race car and decided to build four special lightweight L88s to be given to certain race teams that could bring high-value wins to the Corvette brand.

      The four lightweight Corvettes were given special treatment right from the assembly line. Usually, every car was given a water test, which showed any leaks in the body that would have to be fixed before shipping. The lightweight cars were noted “No Water Test” on their build sheets because they were meant for racing only. The cars had no carpets or any other “luxury” features of the other 112 L88s built that year.

      Each lightweight was a different color. The white one went to Owens/Corning, the yellow went to the Rebel team, the blue one went to Herb Caplan in California (who ended up being the Northwest Champion in 1970), and the burgundy one went to 1964 BP National Champion Frank Dominianni.

      Yard Sale

      Frank Dominianni’s shop, High Speed & Power, had been in business in Valley Stream, New York, since 1946. He became and remained friends with many of the GM engineers and managers in those early days, including Zora Arkus-Duntov. In addition to being the B Production national champion in 1964, he led many race teams to many victories until his death in 2012. His shop also happened to be four blocks away from Corvette Repair.

      In 1987, Frank walked into Corvette Repair and said, “You know, Kevin, I’ve been there a long time, I’m not getting СКАЧАТЬ