oops

Jim's the expert on everything Grand Sport. Mid America did build GS replica's at one time. In fact, I believe that one of Jim's two cars began life as a Mid America car.
I believe that these cars all had the full wrap-around rear fender flares...and there were also apparently some that were done with a slight droop to the nose.
From a factual standpoint, the only real Grand Sport that sported full flares in the rear was the Sevdajian car running the big block at Sebring in 1965. The front section of the flares didn't make it to the end of the race.
When the Grand Sports were modified by GM prior to Nassua 1963, all of them used the partial flares and none had drooping noses.
 
I'm not really following here. So there are 2 companies out there selling GS replicas that are advertised as correct but aren't? Drooping noses and drooping rears?
 
mrvette said:
Mid America reproduces old vette race cars?? new to me.....what next...
Click to expand...

Mid America Industries is not the Mid America parts supplier. Two different entities entirely. MAI is in Milan Illinois, owned and operated by Jeff Leech. Jeff has been converting Sting Rays into Grand Sport look-a-likes since about 1983.

The body and frame of the Grand Sport that is my vintage racer (and which appears in my avatar) is from MAI, but is highly modified for racing and improved historic accuracy.

Jim
 
Twin_Turbo said:
I'm not really following here. So there are 2 companies out there selling GS replicas that are advertised as correct but aren't? Drooping noses and drooping rears?
Click to expand...

There are currently three companies that profess to make Grand Sports:

Mid America Industries
Mongoose Motorsports
Duntov Motors

In the past there was also D&D Corvette, ERA (the Cobra replica maker), and Timeless Replicas.

Of the three that are going concerns, only Duntov Motors claims to produce cars that are authentic. Neither of the other two make that claim.

However, despite the claims made by Duntov Motors, their vehicles are not completely faithful to the original cars....different body lines, different suspension geometry, different frame dimensions, and so on.

Regarding body lines, the Duntov cars (there may be two or three in existence) are well known for and generally criticized for the drooping front ends (that bear a curious similarity to the wrecked C3 at the beginning of this thread).

Jim
 
Isn`t the MAI/Jeff Leech GS more of a body kit he sells and/or installs onto an existing C-2 ? I believe by not building complete cars he keeps GM and the TX cry babies off his back (not to mention the GM restoration license whores errr I mean lawyers out of his pockets)...........
 
redvetracr said:
Isn`t the MAI/Jeff Leech GS more of a body kit he sells and/or installs onto an existing C-2 ? I believe by not building complete cars he keeps GM and the TX cry babies off his back (not to mention the GM restoration license whores errr I mean lawyers out of his pockets)...........
Click to expand...

Jeff's bodies can go on stock frames or on 4" tubular frames that he also manufactures. My car is on one of his tube frames.

Jeff starts with a Sting Ray birdcage and VIN plate. To this he adds his fiberglass. He'll sell you whatever you want, from individual pieces, to an assembled roller, all the way to a turn-key automobile.

His cars, because they start life as Sting Rays are still considered to be Sting Rays when it's time to register them. As far as I know, Jeff is viewed as a customizer, not a manufacturer, and that is why GM has left him alone all these years.

My criticism of Jeff is that he is glacially slow and (in my opinion) chases the next paycheck. To do business with him, my suggestion would be to withhold a substantial % of the payment until he has delivered all he has promised.

Jim
 
UMMM....I"m old retarred contractor, and I know the drill....1/3, 1/3, 1/3


most I ever got burnt was for 850 bux about 22 years ago....the bastard was a millionaire too....

:hunter::suicide:
 
redvetracr said:
......he keeps GM and the TX cry babies off his back (not to mention the GM restoration license whores errr I mean lawyers out of his pockets)...........
Click to expand...

One of the things that frosts me (among many) is that GM knew about the replica Grand Sport market 10 years ago and, AFAIK, looked the other way after a brief dust-up over whether a replica could be called a Corvette.

So why get bent out of shape now?

Jim
 
jim lockwood said:
redvetracr said:
......he keeps GM and the TX cry babies off his back (not to mention the GM restoration license whores errr I mean lawyers out of his pockets)...........
Click to expand...

One of the things that frosts me (among many) is that GM knew about the replica Grand Sport market 10 years ago and, AFAIK, looked the other way after a brief dust-up over whether a replica could be called a Corvette.

So why get bent out of shape now?

Jim
Click to expand...

Don't get me started about lawyers, that's why the country is falling apart....fucking professional crybabies over every damn thing....can't even piss in my back yard without some satellite handing me a ticket over it....

:club::hunter::sos:
 
Gary and his crew at Mongoose have done GM a great service by providing high quality cars at reasonable prices. Their cars are much more sophisticated than a direct copy of an original because they use modern suspension and brakes.
I should also mention that their customer service is also excellent. When I visited their shop last year (a few days after visiting Duntov), the choice of who to do business with was easy.
My story to date is here: http://www.theoldone.com/grandsport/article/grandsport.htm

Larry
 
jim lockwood said:
redvetracr said:
......he keeps GM and the TX cry babies off his back (not to mention the GM restoration license whores errr I mean lawyers out of his pockets)...........
Click to expand...

One of the things that frosts me (among many) is that GM knew about the replica Grand Sport market 10 years ago and, AFAIK, looked the other way after a brief dust-up over whether a replica could be called a Corvette.

So why get bent out of shape now?

Jim
Click to expand...

NOT that GM is going to pay off their massive debt from what they get from the replica builders in TX but it`s all about the money GM gets from licensing fees.....as an old Doctor once told me:
"GM licensed only means a license fee was paid. It has nothing to do with anything regarding quality, accuracy or country of origin.
GM resto license scam is merely a marketing badge. Pay the fee and get the tag"
 
This is Doc. Thompson's Vette that was run in 1962. I can kick myself for not being able to find all the photos I had of the '62 Sebring race. They were done with a simple box camera, but some were half decent color shots.


1962 Gulf Oil SCCA Champion



Number 2, a 1962 model that was sponsored by Gulf Oil and driven by Dr. Dick Thompson.


Stone guards. I remember when MG Mitten advertised these cages in Road and Track magazine.


Another style flat stone guard.


Red lamp in the passengers side eye brow.


Blue lamp on the hardtop roof.



Goodyear Blue Streaks with American Flag emblem.


Early style locking gas cap.


I love these hood louvers.


Another view showing the supports.


The supports from the inside.


Uh oh. No overspray on the hood latches. Nice Fuelie.





Jul 28, 2010 05:19:02 PM, [email protected] wrote:

Larry, I hope you can see your way to add to some of the threads on this forum, with your experiences with Dr. Dick Thompson in Sebring?....back when....


and any comments from your memory.....


this thread has many links, including one that also needs reading really well.....




http://www.vettemod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6174



http://www.theoldone.com/grandsport/...grandsport.htm



Well, guess his pix are non existent anymore....so he included some from Doc Rebuild......

funny, same shit with me...no pix of any much cars previous to 25 years ago...

:suicide:
 
I've always loved Grand Sports. In the 1960's while in college, Road & Track and Car & Driver fulfilled my fantasy reading of these races and racers. Next to the stack of old 1963 vintage magazines, I have a stack just devoted to the GS's. More print devoted to them than you would think. Somewhere I still have an old 1970's R&T magazine where the amongst the small 1"x1 1/2" classified advertisements, Penske or Wintersteen (?) were selling a GS for less than $10K with or without a Traco. It's in a jpeg on my website somewhere, but I cannot remember where.

To reiterate: a GM license is merely a contract to send them (EMI/GMSPO) a minimum X dollars amount preciously agreed upon, per quarter, regardless whether your sales cover the minimum. If they do meet the minimum and beyond the minimum, it's a straight percentage of the gross sales. It's just a guaranteed quarterly royalty for the term of the contract.

PS: Gene you lost me on that last bit with lost pictures ?
 
Geoff Coenen said:
I've always loved Grand Sports. In the 1960's while in college, Road & Track and Car & Driver fulfilled my fantasy reading of these races and racers. Next to the stack of old 1963 vintage magazines, I have a stack just devoted to the GS's. More print devoted to them than you would think. Somewhere I still have an old 1970's R&T magazine where the amongst the small 1"x1 1/2" classified advertisements, Penske or Wintersteen (?) were selling a GS for less than $10K with or without a Traco. It's in a jpeg on my website somewhere, but I cannot remember where.

To reiterate: a GM license is merely a contract to send them (EMI/GMSPO) a minimum X dollars amount preciously agreed upon, per quarter, regardless whether your sales cover the minimum. If they do meet the minimum and beyond the minimum, it's a straight percentage of the gross sales. It's just a guaranteed quarterly royalty for the term of the contract.

PS: Gene you lost me on that last bit with lost pictures ?
Click to expand...

Yeh, he sent me some pix and thost disjointed sentences above were description of the pix that did not post....but they had your Dr. Rebuild logo on them, so I figgered they came from your site, and so I referenced to your operation and so to find which pix were sent....can't figger out how to get them here myself....not the sharpest computer in the world....:suicide:
 
I've met quite a few enthusiasts who passed up opportunities to buy one of the five original cars at one point or another. All of them are pretty sick about it today, but back then, the cars weren't really worth anything because they weren't competitive, and nobody had a clue that they would appreciate in value.
Hell, I remember (back in the late 60's) the Ford dealer in Dallas was trying to give away 427 Cobra's for $4500.00 each….and there weren't any takers! "If we only knew then what we know today"……….famous last words.
We're stuck in the midst of a string of 100+ degree days here in Cowtown, so I'll have get my Dad up early for our Sunday drive before the temps get too high. I'm sure the neighbors will appreciate the exhaust note as we're leaving! I'm still impressed with the lope the engine has with the GM "hot" cam that's in the 480HP engine, but I suppose I should have expected it from a cam that adds a full 50HP to the stock LS3 Corvette engine.
No other news to report, other than the fact that we still have way too much work to do at the business. I'm ready for a break in the near future so I can being the car back in for some updates.

Stay cool,

Larry
 
Those are some great clips.
I do recall the Mongoose as a matter of fact.
Speaking of hybrids....I have a very old friend who's brother bought a '58 Ferrari Testa Rossa from AJ Foyt back in 1962. AJ had at some point had blown the engine and decided he wasn't going to pay Enzo's price for a new one, so he installed a small-block Chevy with three deuces for carburetion!
The car rarely sees daylight these days and selling it has never been a consideration. I don't have any idea what it's worth, but it's certainly an interesting piece.
I think I have a picture of it sitting on the false grid with Delmo's GS next to it. I'll see if I can find it and post it anong with a few other related pics.
 
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