Tag Archives: Pollack

FI = 1 H.P. per CU. IN. x 283 – Chevrolet Corvette C1

With the arrival of the enthusiastic Zora Arkus-Duntov in GM’s engineering department, the famous Chevrolet small block in the engine bay and some competition in the form of the Ford Thunderbird, Chevrolet ramped up it’s commitment to building and American sports car in 1956 by replacing the first iteration of the Corvette which was considered low on performance, high on water leaks into the cockpit and less than a true sports car.

Chevrolet Corvette, Avenue Drivers Club, Bristol

Banished for ever in 1956 was the 155 hp triple carburetor Blue Flame six cylinder engine, the Corvette from 1956 on was strictly a V8 powered vehicle.

Chevrolet Corvette, Avenue Drivers Club, Bristol

For ’56 there was all new bodywork, replacing the first generations body that was close to the original concept Corvette first seen in 1953.

Chevrolet Corvette, Avenue Drivers Club, Bristol

The bold sculpted sides behind the front wheels really helped the second iteration two tone Corvette stand out from the crowd.

Chevrolet Corvette, Avenue Drivers Club, Bristol

As did the faux air scoops on the front wing/fender.

Chevrolet Corvette, Avenue Drivers Club, Bristol

There was a hard top hood option and the much improved soft top had a power assisted option as did the roll up glass window’s.

Chevrolet Corvette, Avenue Drivers Club, Bristol

The three speed manual transmission became standard but the, inferior performance wise, Powerglide automatic remained an option. The cockpit controls fittings and instrumentation of the ’56 and ’57 ‘vettes remained similar to the original Corvette cockpit.

Chevrolet Corvette, Avenue Drivers Club, Bristol

Following in the footsteps of 1953 Gutbrod and the 1954 Mercedes Benz 300SL in 1957 the GM Rochester constant flow fuel injection was an option for the Corvettes small block V8. This innovation while not widely taken up, 1040 FI units were sold, took the power up to 290 hp, however for marketing purposes the car was said to have 1 hp for every one of of the small block V8’s 283 cubic inches.

Chevrolet Corvette, Avenue Drivers Club, Bristol

Thanks to Zora Arkus-Duntov ’57 Corvettes could be ordered with ready to race options including the fuel injection, heavy duty suspension and if the advertising is to be believed even the power windows were said to be lighter than the manual window mechanisms.

Among the race outright Corvette winners in 1956 were Bob Stonedale, Mansfield, Bark Henry, Road America, Bill Pollack, Buchanan Field, Robert Bennet, Mansfield and most successful of all in ’56 was Dick Thompson who won at Beverly, Seafair, Thompson CT, and Palm Springs.

In 1957 Corvette drivers winning outright are known to have included Ruben Ciriacks and Peter Talbot at Hawaii, Ned Yarter at Willow Springs and Bakersfield, Jerry Parsons at Smartt Field, Bob Drake, Santa Barbra, Dick Thompson, Cumberland, Eagle Mountain, Marlboro, Viginia, Road America, Bob Byrd, John Masterson and Lloyd Gray at Cotati, Jim Jeffords, Milwaukee, Lloyd Porter at Bakersfield, Bark Henry, Lime Rock and Montgomery, Dean McCarthy, Watkins Glen, Jerry Austin, Pomona, Santa Barbra, Riverside, Palm Springs and Paramount Ranch, Bob Bent Cotati and Arcata, Leonard Butscher, Thompson CT, Fred Windridge, Watkins Glen and Bridgehampton, Dan Gurney at Riverside, John Wood, Willow Springs, H. C. Hoppe (Ladies Races) Bakersfield, Willow Springs and Orange County, Hugh Woods and Cal Bailey at Hourglass Field, Jack Bates and Frank Cairns at Pomona, John Voevodsky and Bill Moore at Phoenix and finally Elgin Holmes who won at Willow Springs and Orange County.

With Duntov’s vision the American sports car had finally arrived.

Thanks for joining me on this “FI = 1 H.P. per CU. IN. x 283” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me tomorrow for Ferrari Friday. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Stovebolt Special – HWM Chevrolet #49 ?

HWM Stovebolt Special, Pebble Beach, Carlyle Blackwell

Photo Carlyle Blackwell, Publised Courtesy Blackwell Archive, for sales enquiry’s please e-mail infoATpsychoontyres.co.uk and your contact details will be forwarded to the Blackwell Archive.

On Wednesday when I started today’s blog I thought lovely black car rare make, probably not too much history. As you’ll see below I could not have been more wrong in my assessment of the task ahead.

Hersham and Walton Motors (HWM) acquired an Aston Martin Dealership in 1951 reputedly making it the oldest such franchise.

Racing drivers & HWM owners George Abecassis and John Heath first built a streamlined body on an Alta sports car chassis in 1948.

The first proper HWM’s were also 4 cylinder Alta powered and built for the second tier European open wheel series called Formula 2 in 1950.

This is one of those 1950 open wheel cars allegedly driven by none other than Sir Stirling Moss at the start of his career.

Thanks to information passed on by David McKinney, it appears that this vehicle still fitted with an Alta engine was purchased in 1953 by 20th Century Fox and used in the film ‘The Racers‘ staring Kirk Douglas and Bella Darvi, this film was also known as ‘Such Men Are Dangerous’ in some countries.

During filming the car was heavily damaged, later Tom Carsten purchased all the vehicles from the film, selling most of them on, but keeping the HWM because it had independent suspension and fitting it with a 302cui /4900 cc Chevrolet V8 which was then bored out to 4994 cc / 305 cui by Edelbrock.

The car was also fitted with a quick change rear axle and experimental disc brakes by Hallibrand.

Bill Pollack, seen in this photograph by Carlyle Blackwell, confirmed as having to be at Pebble Beach by Bill himself, is known to have driven the at least twice in 1956 during which time chassis acquired the nome de course ‘Stovebolt Special’.

Bill was a regular winner at events such as Pebble Beach (two times), Golden Gate Park, Reno, Torrey Pines, Stockton, Madera, Willow Springs, Palm Springs, and the Santa Barbara road races, the most famous of which was in an Allard J2 at Pebble Beach from which his book ‘Red Wheels and White Sidewalls‘ takes it’s title.

JB Miltonian informs me that a version of this photo with the driver in an obviously retouched red shirt appeared on the cover of Sports Car Illustrated in September 1956 with the caption “Rounding the last turn at Pebble Beach is Bill Pollack in the latest Carstens bomb, the HWM-Chev V8. A complete breakdown of the car starts on p12. Ektachrome is by Carlyle Blackwell.”

The Stovebolt Special is known to have been raced until at least 1963.

In 1980 John Matherson restored the car which appeared in the Pebble Beach Concours in 2003.

HWM Stovebolt Special, Alan Raine

As seen in this photo by Alan Raine most recently the Stovebolt Special has reappeared in the UK driven by Simon Taylor.

According to one source Simon’s car is now listed as having a 5737 cc / 347 cui motor.

There is some disagreement as to the chassis number of the Stovebolt Special with options including #49 – 001 ,49/02 and even FB 102, should Simon Taylor get in touch I’ll ask him and add a post script.

My thanks to Carlyle Blackwell for the photo, Ed and Steve Arnaudin who kindly sent it on to me and TNFers David McKinney, Alan Raine, fnqvmuch, Tim Murray, Roger Lund, Mark Godfrey, JB Miltonian, and Vince H, who helped reveal the story behind the ‘Stovebolt Special’.

Please keep the Arnaudin family in your thoughts and prayers at this time.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s Stovebolt Special edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you’ll join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

28 07 12 PS My thanks to Pamela Blackwell who has kindly retrospectively given me permission to post the photo’s her father took.

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