MY FEEDLY

There’s An Original 1989 Corvette Challenge Race Car For Sale

This is an original 1989 Corvette Challenge Car and somewhat unusually, it’s still fitted with its original factory-sealed race engine. It’s one of 60 cars built for the final season of the Corvette Challenge and it remains completely original.

The Corvette Challenge was started in 1988 after the SCCA kicked the C4 Corvette out of the Showroom Stock racing class. The C4 had dominated the series for years, so the SCCA created a one-make series for it – the Corvette Challenge which ran from 1988 to 1989.

Fast Facts – The Corvette Challenge Race Cars

When the C4 Corvette was released in 1984 it was quickly entered into SCCA Showroom Stock racing. A series that forced all cars to be kept showroom stock, with the exception of safety items like roll cages and fire extinguishers.
From 1985 to 1987 the C4 Corvettes were unstoppable, they weren’t just winning practically every race, they were often taking out the first five to eight places. Instead of making faster cars the manufacturers complained bitterly, the SCCA dropped the C4 from the series and started its own series – the Corvette Challenge.
Much like the Showroom Stock series, the Corvette Challenge series demanded that all cars be kept as close to stock as possible. Safety gear was fitted of course, along with sports exhausts and racing seats with harnesses.
The car you see here is from the 1989 season, it’s one of 60 made, it carries its original livery, and unlike many of the others it still has its factory-sealed engine fitted.

The (Underrated) C4 Corvette

The C4 Corvette is perhaps one of the most underrated of the 1980s-era American sports cars, they’re still remarkably cheap in the United States, and for the performance they offer, its hard to argue that they don’t offer a lot of bang for their buck.

Above Video: This Chevrolet film covers a race in this 1988 Corvette Challenge season, in some of the highlights reels you can see the full-contact nature of the racing that this series became famous for.

Detractors will tell you that the chassis isn’t rigid enough, that the fit and finish isn’t as good as comparable European cars, and that the early C4s came with weird 4+3 manual transmissions.

The truth is that if you want a stiffer chassis there are $500 bolt-on kits for that very purpose, the fit and finish isn’t that bad once you remember that this is an 80s car, and that odd 4+3 transmission – with 4-speeds and overdrive on the top three gears – was replaced with a proper ZF 6-speed in 1989.

Sure the C4 will never be the most desirable of the eight Corvette generations but given the growing popularity of Radwood and 80s-era modern classics, it’s surely just a matter of time before the C4 gets its dues.

The Corvette Challenge

Between 1988 and 1989 a racing series named the Corvette Challenge was broadcast into American homes via the SpeedVision channel on cable. The series had been founded as a consolation prize of sorts for the C4 getting dropped from the SCCA Showroom Stock series – a decision that is still being panned decades after it was made.

This Corvette Challenge car remains in remarkably original condition, its engine is still factory sealed, its safety equipment is all in place, as its its racing livery.

For the 1988 season there were 56 Corvettes built for the series, with the 4+3 Doug Nash manual transmission, the Z51 high-performance suspension package, and a low-restriction Desert Driveline exhaust.

A full gamut of safety gear was fitted including a roll cage, fire extinguishing system, and racing seats with harnesses.

The Corvette Challenge series quickly won a loyal fanbase thanks to the rough and tumble nature of the racing, with all cars being as close to identical as possible the races were a real test of driver skill and bravery – in many cases it was the most aggressive driver who would come out on top.

The promise of $1 million dollars in price money attracted a lot of up and coming drivers to the series, and it ensured that everyone was properly motivated to win.

The 1989 Season

It would be the 1989 season of the Corvette Challenge where things got really interesting. There had been some complaints during the ’88 season that not all of the cars had equal power levels, rumors abounded that some had applied performance upgrades to their cars.

As a result of this, and to ensure a level playing field, the 1989 cars would all have their engines removed and replaced with identical engines that had been prepared (and certified) by Chevrolet’s chosen race shop.

1989 season cars had full roll cages fitted for safety, with double welded side intrusion bars.

The ’89 cars also had full roll cages, fire extinguisher systems, racing seats with harnesses, and now for the first time, they had straight-through exhausts.

The 1989 season was just as hard-fought as the season before it, the series had developed a strong fanbase by this time and it was frequently a support series for CART or Trans-Am races.

Ultimately the series became too expensive to be viable long term, and 1989 would be the final season. The surviving Corvette Challenge C4s are now considered highly collectible by Corvette aficionados.

The 1989 Corvette Challenge Car Shown Here

The car you see here is the number 89 car from the 1989 series, and unlike many of its contemporaries who had their racing engines removed at the end of the season, this car still has its fitted with the factory seals in place.

It was originally sponsored by Hutchings Chevrolet of Alaskaa and it comes with all the original racing equipment including a roll cage, fire suppression system, Corvette Challenge car seats and harnesses, brake ducts, a straight through exhaust system, an oil cooler, and magnesium Dymag wheels, and Goodyear Z-rated radial tires.

It has just 3,144 miles on the odometer and it’s now due to roll across the auction block with Mecum in May with no reserve price. If you’d like to read more or register to bid you can see the listing here.

Images courtesy of Mecum

The post There’s An Original 1989 Corvette Challenge Race Car For Sale appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/corvette-challenge-car/
via gqrds

Project Car: A 1968 Fiat Dino Spider – The Car A Ferrari Formula 2 Engine

The Fiat Dino would be the first and only Fiat ever fitted with a Ferrari-designed engine from the factory. The car was developed to homologate the Ferrari V6 for use in Formula 2 racing – the Fiat Dino was powered by the same engine as the Ferrari Dino.

The Dino V6 was an advanced engine for the time, it’s a 65º V6 with double overhead cams per bank, an aluminum-alloy block and heads, a displacement (originally) of 2.0 liters, and power output of 158 bhp, 120 lb ft of torque, and an 8,000 rpm redline.

Fast Facts – The Fiat Dino Spider

Fiat would build two variations of the Dino, a convertible Spider and a tin-top Coupe. Interestingly each car had a body designed and built by a different company – the Spider was built by Pininfarina and the coupe was built by Bertone.
A deal had been struck to build and sell the Fiat Dino by Enzo Ferrari and senior executives at Fiat. Formula 2 homologation requirements called for a minimum of 500 vehicles with the engine fitted to be sold, and Ferrari simply couldn’t manage that volume.
The engines were all designed in-house at Ferrari but manufactured by Fiat, the engines fitted to the Fiat Dino and the Ferrari Dino were essentially identical.
The 1968 Fiat Dino Spider is being offered for sale in barn find condition, it clearly needs a full restoration but the good news is that the original numbers matching drivetrain is all there, and the engine turns over by hand.

The Original Dino V6

The V6 isn’t an engine that many people associate with classic Ferraris, the company was almost far more famous for their beautifully balanced V12s and the occasional fire-breathing V8.

This is the Ferrari-designed 2.0 liter V6, it has a 65º V-angle, an aluminum-alloy block and heads, and double overhead cams per bank.

The company’s first V6 was developed in 1956, the concept was credited to Enzo Ferrari’s son Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari – a talented Italian automotive engineer in his own right. The engine was taken from concept to functional power unit by Alfredo Ferrari and Aurelio Lampredi, and it would be used to power the company’s Formula 2 race cars.

Tragically, Alfredo Ferrari would die at just 24 years old. He was struck down by Duchenne muscular dystrophy but he was so dedicated to his engine design that he was working out the technical details of the V6 with Ferrari engineers while he lay dying in hospital.

Alfredo would die shortly before the engine was completed, and it would be named “Dino” in his honor by his grief-stricken father Enzo Ferrari.

The Fiat Dino Spider

The Fiat Dino Spider is one of those cars that exists solely because of a homologation requirement, Enzo Ferrari needed to sell 500 cars containing a version of his new Formula 2 V6 engine, and he simply didn’t have the production ability for it.

It’s clear that this car needs a nut and bolt rebuild. The good news is that it’s believed the steel bodywork has never been welded, and it has the correct matching-numbers drivetrain still in place.

A deal was struck with Fiat in which they could produce both convertible and coupe versions of a new range-topping sports car with the new engine, Ferrari could build their own Dino sports car with it, and together they would easily surpass the required number of units to go racing in F2.

This new V6 engine wasn’t directly related to the mid-1950s V6 that had been co-designed by Alfredo Ferrari, however they were both DOHC all-alloy engines with a 65º V-angle.

Fiat worked with both Pininfarina and Bertone on the new car, the Spider (convertible) was designed by Filippo Sapino at Pininfarina and the Coupe was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone. The styling of the cars was quite different, in fact to see them you likely wouldn’t know they were closely related.

Both the Fiat Dino Spider and Coupe were powered by the same 2.0 liter Ferrari-designed V6 producing 158 bhp and 120 lb ft of torque, with a relatively high (for the era) redline of 8,000 rpm – thanks in no small part to those double overhead cams.

Even in its current dilapidated state the beautiful design work by Filippo Sapino at Pininfarina shines through.

Power was sent to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual transmission, and the car rode on independent front suspension with a live axle on leaf springs in the rear.

Though not cheap the Fiat Dinos were vastly less expensive than any Ferrari, and they offered many Italians access to that prestigious Ferrari engine experience for the first time.

Later Dinos would get bigger engines, updated suspension, and other changes, but many purists prefer the simpler experience of the original 2.0 liter cars.

The 1968 Fiat Dino Spider Shown Here

The car you see here is a first generation 1968 Fiat Dino Spider, this means it’s fitted with the 2.0 liter V6 that was used in both the original Fiat Dino variants and the Ferrari Dino 206 GT.

In its day, the Fiat Dino offered the taste of Ferrari ownership to many who could never afford a fully fledged prancing horse, and it remains a popular classic as a result.

Technically the Ferrari Dino 206 GT didn’t officially have the Ferrari name or badging applied to it, Dino was intended solely as a new marque by Ferrari to compete with the likes of the Porsche 911. Many still refer to these cars as the “Ferrari Dino” to distinguish it from the Fiat Dinos.

With its beautiful styling, sports car handling, and Ferrari engine, the Fiat Dino Spider was an incredibly desirable car at the time of its release – arguably one of the most longed-for European roadsters in its price range.

The example you see here has obviously seen better days, it’s spent many years sitting in a barn but the good news is that it still has its matching-numbers engine, and the Dino specialists at 24 Hundred of Kent believe that the car has never been welded before – potentially making it an excellent restoration candidate.

This Dino Spider is now due to roll across the auction block with Historics Auctioneers on the 21st of May with no reserve. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.

Images courtesy of Historics Auctioneers

The post Project Car: A 1968 Fiat Dino Spider – The Car A Ferrari Formula 2 Engine appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/fiat-dino-spider/
via gqrds

The AC Ace Bristol: Probably The Most Misidentified Classic Car In The World

The AC Ace Bristol, and its its siblings in the AC Ace family, are perhaps the most misidentified classic cars in the world. This is because a version of this car would be fitted with a V8 by Carroll Shelby and become the Shelby Cobra – one of the most popular bedroom wall poster cars in history.

When it was released in 1956, the AC Ace Bristol with its BMW-derived 2.0 liter engine was the fastest version of the Ace built up until that time. This would be the model that resoundingly won its class at Le Mans in 1959, coming in seventh overall behind six 3.0 liter cars.

Fast Facts – The AC Ace Bristol

The post-WWII European landscape for sports cars was fast evolving. The automakers who had previously been busy with the war effort could now turn the effort of their workforce back to building quick motorcars, and they wasted no time doing so.
AC Cars, based in Thames Ditton, England, knew they needed an all-new car to compete in this market, so they used a new tubular steel chassis designed by John Tojeiro mated to a lightweight alloy roadster body.
The first engine used was the by then antiquated AC 2.0 liter unit making 100 bhp, this was replaced by the more advanced BMW-derived 2.0 liter engine from Bristol in 1956.
463 Bristol-engined cars would be built in total, making them far rarer than their Shelby Cobra siblings.

The AC Ace

The AC Ace was unveiled to the world at the 1953 London Motor Show, it proved an instant hit thanks to its beautiful alloy bodywork, tubular steel chassis, and independent front and rear suspension – an advanced feature for the time.

Understandably the interior of the car is almost indistinguishable from the Shelby Cobra that appeared a few years later.

Power was provided by the venerable AC straight-six 2.0 liter, an engine that had been in continuous development since 1919. It was capable of 100 bhp which was enough to get the Ace up over the 100 mph mark, but it was clear that a more modern, more powerful engine would be needed at some point.

As a relatively small automaker, AC Cars didn’t have the required budget to develop a new engine from scratch. Instead they managed to work out a deal with Bristol Cars to use their 2.0 liter straight-six coupled with their 4-speed gearbox.

This engine wasn’t actually a Bristol design, its origins lie in pre-WWII germany where it was developed by engineers at BMW for the BMW 328 sports car – a successful race car in its own right. Bristol got access to the design and tooling as war reparations and used it extensively in their vehicles until they turned to American V8s in the 1960s.

The AC Ace would be built in three major versions between 1953 and 1963. After this time it would become the foundation of the wildly popular Shelby Cobra which was built between 1962 and 1967.

Above Video: This short film from leBolide gives a good look over this car in a way that still photographs sometimes can’t.

Interestingly the AC Cars company is now in operation in Germany, and it’s now possible to buy a brand new electric version of the AC Ace.

The AC Ace Bristol

For AC Cars the new Bristol straight-six was a revelation, fitted with three downdraught carburettors it was producing 120 bhp in street trim, with 150 bhp or more available in racing trim.

The engine was relatively lightweight, it was reliable, and it transformed the Ace into one of the best British roadsters of the day.

The John Tojeiro-designed tubular steel chassis was fitted with independent front and rear suspension, just like the earlier AC-engined Ace, and power was fed to the rear differential through the slick Bristol 4-speed box.

In 1957, one year after the introduction of the Ace Bristol, the model was entered into the 24 Hours of Le Mans – one of the toughest endurance races on earth. The car made good, coming second in class and 10th overall with British drivers Ken Rudd and Peter Bolton behind the wheel.

in 1958 the Ace again came in second in class behind the dominant Porsche 718 RSK. 1959 would be the year that the AC Ace Bristol won its class, coming in seventh overall behind six much faster 3.0 liter cars.

The 2.0 liter straight-six Bristol engine was closely based on a pre-WWII design from the BMW 328. In full racing trim they can produce 150 bhp, the production cars were making 120 bhp.

Interestingly 1959 was also the year that Carroll Shelby won at Le Mans, alongside British co-driver Roy Salvadori, driving the Aston Martin DBR1. Shelby would have seen the Ace Bristol at this race, and this is where the kernel of the idea that became the Shelby Cobra likely originated.

The AC Ace Bristol Shown Here

The car you see here was delivered new in left-hand drive configuration in New York, it was registered for the road for the first time on the 16th of June 1960.

The early life of the car is a bit of a mystery, it is known that it was fitted with a V8 engine in the 1980s, almost certainly to pass as a Cobra, however the owner had the presence of mind to keep the original Bristol engine with the car.

As a result, the car was later restored back to original condition in the 1990s, with the correct numbers-matching engine under the hood.

It’s currently being auctioned live online with leBolide, and you can click here if you’d like to visit the listing to read more or register to bid.