Tag Archives: Greenwood

Greenwoods Last Customer C3 – Chevrolet Corvette C3 Greenwood #12

The last in this series of Americana Thursday blogs celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Chevrolet Corvettes features the last of the 12 customer Corvette racer built by John Greenwood as seen in these photo’s taken by Geoffrey Horton at the recent Rolex Reunion meeting run at Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca.

Chevrolet Corvette C3, Rolex Reunion, Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca

Chassis #12 appears to have been built for Albert DeLeo from a Greenwood stock 1976 chassis for the 1982 season when Albert ran the car just once in the Lime Rock 1 hour Coca Cola 400 race for which he qualified 18th and was classified as a non runner in 24th place.

Chevrolet Corvette C3, Rolex Reunion, Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca

Changes in the IMSA GTO regulations which favoured tube frame chassis over full frame cars meant the car was never raced again in period. The all aluminium 7.8 litre / 478 cui motor was fitted with Kinsler fuel injection and produced around 730 hp with a red line at 6,400 ear busting rpm.

Chevrolet Corvette C3, Rolex Reunion, Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca

The car known as a wide body has coil over rear suspension to help transmit the fearsome horsepower through the 15″ wide rear tyres to the road. The front wheels are 12″ wide 15″ diameter made as are the rears by Jongbloed.

Chevrolet Corvette C3, Rolex Reunion, Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca

Lance Smith found the pristine car at Albert’s in 1989 and since then it has undergone minor restoration.

Chevrolet Corvette C3, Rolex Reunion, Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca

French sports, GT and former Galles IRL driver Didier André car bought chassis #12 through Bonhams last year. It appears that Didier plans to bring the car up to the same specification as Greenwoods famous Spirit of ’76 #007 specification so that it can take part in historic event’s in Europe.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing today’s photograph’s.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Greenwoods Last Customer C3′ edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now.

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Three Engineers From Detroit – Wolverine LD65 #LD65/1

The story of the Wolverine Chevrlolet LD65 according to one of it’s former owners, began at a race where Jerry Hansen was driving his successful McKee Chevette and was blown into the weeds by a front engined car. When Jerry approached the team in the pits after the race and asked who they were they responded “three engineers from Detroit”. One of the engineers was Lee Dykstra who would make a name for himself with the Jaguar XJR5 IMSA car and a number of Indy Cars.

When Jerry asked why the three engineers did not build a rear engined car they replied they did not have the money so Jerry wrote them a cheque and asked the three engineers from Detroit to build him one.

The Wolverine designed by Lee Dykstra and George Anderson first appeared in a national SCCA race at Greenwood which Jerry Hansen won, Jerry then recorded a did not finish at Mid-Ohio before appearing at the inaugural Can Am Challenge at St Jovite in September 1966. Jerry qualified 25th and finished 20th.

Wolverine LD65, Goodwood Revival

Jerry never raced the Wolverine again, it would appear that the week before St Jovite Jerry was due to share a McLaren Elva Mk II with Charlie Hays in the Road America 500. However, after his friend and fellow Minneapolis/St Paul, Minn., resident Don Skogmo was killed driving a Lola T70 Mk II, in an accident during practice for the same race, Jerry withdrew from the event handing his ride in the Hayes McLaren to Earl Jones.

It is thought Jerry raced the Wolverine at St Jovite before sitting out the remainder of the year due to pressure from his family to retire from driving. The following year Jerry returned to racing and did not retire permanently until 1986, by which time he had clocked up a record 27 National Sports Car Club of America titles. Today the Hansen name is still connected to racing through his daughter Courtney an actress, author and presenter of motoring related television shows including Powerblock.

Jerry sold the Wolverine to Owen Rutherford who bought the car for Frank Opalka. In 1968 Frank recorded a DNF in the Road America 500 miles with Bob Lyon, and by Franks account scored many more DNF’s before the bugs were sorted out in “SCCA and USRRC” events. Frank relates how once the car was reliable he would be congratulated for finishing.

Wolverine LD65, Goodwood Revival

Frank also tells a good tale about a sponsor “Miami Serpenterium” who required that the car be painted all over with snakes. At Road America Owen turned up with a “station wagon loaded with poisonous snakes” one of which, a cobra, escaped and bit sponsor Bud Severens who required Buds hospitalisation, a story which made the local news. Apparently Bud never did work out how the cobra came to be in Wisconsin.

Jim Place became the next owner of the car and it is in the colours that Jim painted the car that it appears today. Jim is known to have been on the entry list for at least two Can Am events he is recorded as not arriving at the race at Michigan International in September 1969. Jim qualified 24th at Road America in August 1970 but did not start the race which is the last of the Wolverines appearances known to me.

The car is now raced by Morgen Christensen who is seen at the wheel above at Goodwood a couple of years ago. The red car alongside Morgens is the Rolls Royce powered Marina driven by Mark Ashworth.

My thanks to all those including Frank Opalka who commented on the Wolverine thread at The Nostalgia Forum, and especially Tom “RA Hisotrian” Schultz who revealed why Jerry Hansen’s career with the Wolverine was so short lived.

Thanks for joining me on this “Three Engineers From Detroit” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be having a French sojourn. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Spirit Of ’76 – Chevrolet Corvette Greenwood #007

John and Burt Greenwood were the children of a WW2 fighter pilot who worked at the GM Tech Center. As a teenager John was working paper rounds so that he could build a Briggs Stratton powered kart. From there the Greenwood’s moved into street racing, preparing a car, racing it and then selling it to so that they could build up another.

Around 1968 the Greenwoods set up Auto Research Engineering to build engines and tune suspension and the following year started racing. John won back to back SCCA championships in 1970 and 1971. Over the following two years the Greenwood Corvettes had made trips to the Le Mans 24 hours where they had failed to finish having a best 16th place on the grid in ’72 to show for their efforts.

Chevrolet Corvette, Goodwood Festival of Speed

In 1976 John Greenwood was invited to return to Le Mans and this time he brought a wide bodied car to share with Bernard Darniche. Featuring a body that was developed the the aid of ‘Farther of the Corvette’ Zora Arkus-Duntov and aerodynamicist Randy Wittine that covered a 700 hp fuel injected 7 litre / 427 cui motor.

Chassis #007 had been built up for Rick Mancuso a racer from Illinois who entered the car in the ’76 Sebring 12 hours but crashed it in practice so that it did not start, #007 is not to be confused with John Greenwoods “Spirit of Sebring ’76” which started from pole in the same race, but retired after 36 laps with clutch failure.

Chevrolet Corvette, Goodwood Festival of Speed

At his third attempt John’s Corvette, which was timed at over 215 mph on Mulsanne straight, qualified 9th behind a the turbocharged BMW CSl driven by Brian Redman and Peter Gregg and was one of just 12 cars to get below 4 mins in qualifying beating his own previous best time by a clear 20 seconds.

Unfortunately it was not third time lucky in the race as the car was retired with a split fuel cell during the early hours bringing to an end John’s hugely popular presence at the La Sarthe circuit.

Thanks for joining me on this “Spirit of ’76” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for “Ferrari Friday”. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Ferrari For Hire – Ferrari 750 Monza Scaglietti Spider S1 #0504M

Today’s featured Ferrari 750 Monza chassis #0504M was purchased new in 1955 by S.A.I.P.A. Srl in Modena Italy in February 1955 and nine days latter it was rented out to Frenchman Michel Poberejsky who entered and won the Agadir Grand Prix for sport cars entered under the pseudonym “Mike Sparken”.

Ferrari 750 Monza, Goodwood Revival

After retiring, having started from pole, from the 1955 British Empire Trophy and then coming second, from pole again in the Easter meeting at Goodwood, Sparken was joined by Marsten Gregory at Le Mans where the pair retired with engine problems. Marsten Gregory then drove #0504M in two races in Portugal and one in Brazil scoring 2 2nd plce finished and a win at the Portuguese Monsanto track.

Ferrari 750 Monza, Goodwood Revival

The last known races for the car were in the United States with Donald Johnson driving to a 3rd and 2nd place finishes at Lawrenceville and Greenwood in 1963, Donaldson is credited with a final race appearance in 1964 at Mid America Raceway where he is believed to have started but his finishing result is unknown. Dudley Cunningham drove the car in the 1969 Mt Equinox Vintage hillclimb where he set a record time.

Ferrari 750 Monza, Goodwood Revival

In 1970’s the car returned to Europe and has been with its current owner Richard Frankel since 2000, #0504M is seen in these photographs competing in the Freddie March Memorial Trophy at the Goodwood Revival meeting last year where it’s owner retired with less than half an hour to go.

Thanks for joining me on this “Ferrari For Hire” edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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