Building and vintage racing a 1969 Corvette L88 Race Car
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- Опубликовано: 4 сен 2021
- Rebuilding a burnt-out 1969 Corvette L88 race car & vintage racing it at Watkins Glen
The L88 we saw on SPEED took more than 2,300 hours to build, but the results spoke for themselves: a 2:04 time at Watkins Glen-a track record for a Group 6 car. Peter recorded the fastest lap in every session, took the pole for the various races, and recorded both a win in the pre-final and an overall win in the feature race.
The L88 replica Corvette was built from a '69 Corvette that had burned. Once the donor car was stripped down, the frame was cleaned and placed on the surface plate. Everything was squared, and the centerline was established. Peter didn't say much about the other techniques used to strengthen the frame, but we assume his chassis expert has read the Chevy Power book at least once. (The book is now out of print, but in its day it was the definitive reference for modifying a C3 Corvette for the track.) Peter's chassis man has also been working on road and race cars for more than 30 years, so he's seen it all and even made up some of his own inventions.
The rollcage was made of 1.75-inch chrome-moly steel, which is stronger and lighter than regular steel tube. In fact, almost everything on the car was designed with weight reduction in mind. By the time it was finished, the car was 400 pounds under its prescribed weight limit, and the team was free to place lead weights wherever necessary to achieve a 50-50 front-to-rear and side-to-side balance. Talk about attention to detail-they even made special molds that would allow the weights to be put into the recesses that would achieve the best weight distribution.
Two important factors in getting a race car to handle properly are ride height and roll center. The lower the roll center, the better. Ride height should be as low as possible without bottoming out. In this case, ride height was going to be 1.5 to 2 inches lower than stock (measured at the frame). The critical factor was the headers. Back in the day, GM used OK Kustom side pipes, but custom manufacturing is usually required these days. To avoid running the headers under the framerail, Peter's group fabricated special one-off headers that go over the top instead. Like magic, the primary technical restriction to lowering was overcome.
Ohlins shocks were also specially designed for the car. Legendary sent the company a full set of operational parameters, including vehicle weight and intended use. The shocks were critical to controlling the massive toe change that can result from the relatively short rear control arms. The correct shocks can control these movements and greatly improve handling. The first shocks were initially tested at the Watkins Glen event, then sent back for further updates. Once these were dialed in, the problems inherent to the C3 Corvette's suspension design were fairly well controlled.
The brakes are Corvette "HD" pieces, friction material is race-quality, and the tires are period-correct bias-ply. Peter has two sets of 15-inch wheels-in Torq-Thrust D and Minilite patterns-both of which were sourced from Phil Schmidt at PS Engineering. Unfortunately, available brake upgrades are severely restricted by the SVRA rulebook. With a Traqmate-confirmed top speed of 166 mph at the Glen, even a twin-pin J56 caliper setup can be a weak link.
At this point, transmission selection became important. By choosing a Tex Racing SR1 unit, the seat-and, more important, driver weight-could be moved 4 inches closer to the center line. The top-loading transmission not only saves valuable space, but it also permits a larger side-crush zone. The drawback? This new-generation trans comes at a cost of about $8,500, and exacts a 150-pound weight penalty. Still, these custom-built pieces permit the best alignment of seat, steering wheel, transmission, and pedals so as to ensure driver comfort. In the long run, this is really the critical factor.
Active Engines in Mississauga, Ontario, built the engine. Many of the engine details are proprietary, but the brand names Comp Cams, Air Flow Research, Diamond Pistons, Peterson Fluid Systems, Tilton, and Fuel Safe are all clearly visible on the car. Photos provided by Legendary show the mockup engine and transmission, using a ZL1 block with cast-iron oval-port heads and a triple-disc hydraulic clutch. The radiator comes from CNR, while American Custom Industries built the Vette's one-piece front and rear clips. Smoothline Manufacturing crafted the lightweight removable hardtops, and the headlight buckets and covers are from F. Gregg Racing.
The car made its debut on Labor Day 2005 at the Watkins Glen historic races
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#Corvette #VintageRacing #RaceCar #L88Corvette #L89Corvette #L88 #L89 #WatkinsGlen #Restoration #Restomod #Racing #Race 
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Happy Labor Day! Here's a throwback to Watkins Glen on Labor Day, 17 years ago
Dont eat too much yall. ;)
@@genemounce8302
Don't worry, i will.
Really enjoyed!!!!!
'speed channel' was glorious. damn you fox for ruining it.
This is one of my favorite cars
I sure miss Speed Channel. Much better shows than most of the garbage on MotorTrend Channel today.
Excellent, thanks. Beautiful car. I especially appreciate the explanation of the C2/C3 rear suspension issue. I've known for decades that these cars had some fundamental flaw. You could tell by watching them from outside, and also from in-car footage of their _very_ busy drivers. Now I get it.
That challenge makes it a bit of a ballsy move to go ahead and build one of these. But, I certainly do understand it, and Peter is clearly up to the task of driving the thing. A victory the first time out is a rock-solid performance, for sure. Well done.
I've been looking for replays of this for at least 10 years. I remember watching this Dream car Garage story about this car and racing it. Love it. Thanks for posting it.
Excellent car and work done on one of my favorite cars made 👍 American Muscle to the core
Seriously, thanks for putting this up. I remember watching this on TV back when it aired originally. I was enthralled ... and now I have a '69 vintage Corvette which will soon be racing too. :-)
Love that you guys are posting old videos! I used to religiously watch these back in high school/college!
I was there for that weekend, Peter was trotting up to the podium and I yelled out a triumphant "PETER" and he turned gave me a nod, Made my day!!
See this car at the shop all the time and it driving around sounds so good one thing I love is watching track cars being built
My buddy Dave Herlinger on the West Coast built some very fast L-88's out of his shop Corvette Repair in Mountain View California and helped advise racers in the 70's on how to get their cars running fast...His Brother Jim Herlinger campaigned the James Garner AIR L-88 in the early 70's (Coke soft drink sponsorship) the car was always a contender for an AP win at any event. Dave advised and provided parts and drivetrain rebuilding on many Nor-Cal Corvettes...Including the last SCCA A production championship winner that Elliot Forbes Robinson shoed. The EFR L-88 was once Herb Kaplan's car earlier on....Car sold cheap at a West Coast auction and is in the Mid America Collection now I think....Sadly Dave lost his shop after Google bought the industrial park it was located in....He has the 1st AIR Garner car sitting in his back yard garage and has always wanted to get it finished....Pretty sad that will probably never happen.
Seen Peter race this Vette at Watkins Glen 2019. Haven't seen him race in the years since. This was definitely my favorite Vette out there that weekend.
My favorite episodes! Happy Labor Day!
*Legendary Motorcar* That was epic, thank-you so much for taking the time to bring us along. God Bless.
I race an 85 and do pretty well with it. I love its shape. However THIS is a corvette. And I wish mine had half the preparation that is done to this. Watched it twice so far and I'm sure I will again. Its inspiring. Thank you soo much for putting the video up for our pleasure. It hit the bullseye.
AWESOME JOB GUYS
Great video!
Thanks for the visit
Cars simply don’t get any cooler than this.
Having owned my 1969L-71 for over 52 years, there isn't that much difference between my car and an L-88. Yes, it's a bit slower but just a bit. As for racing, I'm the first one to admit these cars are not the best on the track. They have plenty of power but trying to keep the car on the pavement is another story. Of the two, I do prefer my car. There's just something about having a car you can drive every single day on public roads and is as much fun in 2022 as it was when I was a kid in 1970. Adding Borgeson Power Steering and GM HEI ignition has made the car even more enjoyable.
Most underated channel on the planet!
I love watching the content on this channel, it's nice to see this stuff again. It's also nice to see Tom as well, he was great....
Super cool car Peter. My dream car, where's the keys Peter. Thanks for sharing this video.🏁😎💰
Happy Labor Day Weekend & thanks for sharing another exciting video!! 👍👍😎
Great video, really enjoyed!! 👍👍👍
One of these engines was imported into a super modified (precursor to a sprintcar) back in the end of the 60's, in Australia. It won everything, nothing could touch it! It still lives to this day as a historic racer.
Great comment 👍
There is a lot to unpack here….let me try. As always, thank you! What a gorgeous car, what an incredible build by a great team. What skill in driving (just watching the heel/toe on the downshifts - that’s smooth). What a hilarious ride to the track and what a beautiful old truck to do it in. And finally, I don’t know why I don’t recall this one. Perhaps I somehow missed it, or my memory is failing, I prefer the former to the latter. In either event, this was a pleasure to watch.
Good I miss Tom on these shows, he was so good at this.
The engine really carried your goal. Fantastic job!!
Jeezum Petes they just JAMMED that cam on in. I was CRINGING at the sounds of the corners getting all nicked up!
Love this video especially with a happy ending!
Cool video!
What a fantastic story and killer race car. My background in professional motorsports, makes me truly appreciate what went into this program. Their team is top shelf and the win shows it. Except for that clown Tom. LOL
Seriously...miss him on TV and his commentary doing the announcing, for World Challenge.
JT: Orlando, FLA
Great looking car, sounds awesome too👍👍
CAN'T BELIEVE THEM OIL COOLERS FAILED . 80 PSI OIL PRESSURE TO MUCH FOR THE THIN GAUGE ALUMINUM OR BAD METAL USED IN MAKING THE COOLERS OR BAD WELDS . . NICE JOB DRIVING PETER .
COOL video!!! Thank you for sharing!
Being a rich guy must be tough .
Thanks
42:16 "Approaching" 300F oil temp!! What did the bearings look like upon tear down?
Long time ago, mid 70s, at Laguana Seca, I bought a race program. On the back, it had a guide to driving the track by Tony DeLorenzo (I think) in an A Prodution Corvette.
He described the rear suspension problems as you did. Basically stiffen it up so it doesn't move too much. Things haven't changed much in 50 years!
The awkward choice of a bad handling car or one that can't put the power down well.
Compromise compromise.
Dick Guldstrand and the crew @ AIR relocated the rear differentials higher on the crossmember....to help alleviate the toe-in problems then they found out with the reduced airflow the differentials burnt themselves up at a rapid pace @ Daytona 24hours in 1968....The begged borrowed and swapped out several differential units during the race......
1969 I had 67 Chevelle, that the original 396 engine was replaced with what I would call I guess, a mock up imposter, but a close facsimile of a legitimate factory L-88 engine. It was a street racer, set up for the 1/4 mile. And after watching the short preliminary video, that set the stage, for what I thought this video was going to be about, so I had some heightened anticipation. And it was a good video, with some interesting information, but had nothing to do with someone rebuilding the L-88 for the purpose of reliving their 1969 nostalgic past . And both these guys were obviously far too young to have been a part of that era of time, unless it’s an old video, or even been yet alive, the youngest of the two anyway, and the little older one, maybe just barely? And I know that the L-88 Corvette was used for that type of racing in 1969, the actor Jame Garner, owned the American international racing team, and he bought 3 new L-88 Vetts to race them at Daytona, and Sebring . And all three of them broke the one lap record, and earned 1st, 2nd, & 3rd pole starting position. But they really weren’t meant for that type of race, and when they got hot, they weren’t that dependable for a long race, and so he was disappointed. As was I with this video, that gave more information than I wanted to know about some things.
Will you be at the 2022 WATKINS GLEN SPEEDTOUR this year?
Damn, incredible.
Wow...
That was the good old days 🤪🥂✌️
cant believe you never put the side pipe all the way back
RIP Speedvision-Speed Channel
They burst two oil coolers in two days. Maybe the pump was putting out too much pressure. What was eventually figured out on this?
But the crew was great at thrashing out solutions at the race track to make it to the grid. Bypassing the oil cooler and running without was great. Peter drove smart by getting a lead, then keeping engine revs down and managing the gap to second place. But temperature at 300F is not a worry for the oil they were running. 50WT Redline can take the heat.
I saw this car race in 2006 at Road America. It did very well at that race too as I recall. DCG and other shows on Speedvision were the absolute high-water mark for car hobby type shows on cable TV. Most content now is pretty much unwatchable.
Is it logical to suppose,
if a 69 Z/28 is on the bumper of an L-88 Corvette,
It's because the Corvette just passed it?
My similar freak out on the way to work . My dodge 360 the radiator fitting fer the transmission line had a small crack and was sucking water an fluid back and forth . One of those bizarres tryin to kill ,kill ,kill. Another years ago 351windsor c6 automatic modulator leaking suck trans fluid into all cylinders intake vacuum.ya Satan has it in for my vehicles.
I think I have seen this car at COTA!
he inquired about head room lol! can you reach the pedals?
I SO want to build my '68 coupe into a resto T/A car... kinda hard to daily it though. :/
The really short side pipes do look Canadian
Thanks for taking the time to produce this video. Out of curiosity, what does it cost annually to campaign a car of this nature?
The video was originally produced for the Legendary Motorcars show on Speed Channel. It aired in 2005.
1:05 most people won’t know who these men are
How to they check displacement during the inspection?
Why is the pickup in park?!
Amazing you guys built such a badass car with oil cooler in the rad. That’s a bad design ex factory. I’ve never seen it on a race car. Is that common in the US?
Who’s banging that cam shaft while he’s putting it in the engine?
Saw Peter race this car the at New Jersey Motorsports Park the first year they opened. Does he still own the car?
Yeah it's right in the front of the showroom at Legendary!
Cool!!😎😎😎😎😎
@@legendarymotorcar very cool he still has the vette and he is a funny guy I thought only the brits called other drivers wankers 😂😂👍🏽
More trouble than it's worth.
children's book on Amazon: Hey Mon, Cool It
I have owned three C3 Corvettes. If there was one thing I always hated about them more than anything else, it was the rear suspension. I wish they had used a simple solid rear axle and leaf springs, just like the Camaro.
I really miss Tom.
"Boundless creativity and innovation"...yeah, I'll say...no birdcage, aluminum heads, and god knows what else. She's a beauty, but i believe SVRA has since cracked down on "mutant" race cars like this one...as the dude in tech said, it should be in group 10, as this is more like an IMSA AAGT car...all that's missing is a 5 link rear suspension.
5 link would Cure that rear toe-in problem....The big flaw with the C2/3 Corvettes....I have a Greenwood 5 link in my excess Vette Parts and the later 6 link designed by Dick Guldstrand....GM asked Dick Guldstrand to advise them on the C4 suspension design.....I had the honor of talking with Dick a few times in my life....He was a great innovator.
Aluminum heads came stock on L88's.
Is this just a reupload of VGG?
Damn just stand back and throw the cam at it. Nothing like being careful to not nick the bearings
Back in the day there was no replacement for Displacement
Yup.
Before turbo & superchargers were the norm.
Back in the day, furl injection is nice, but I would rather be blown.
29:00 Dude doesn't look a day over 60 hahah
my 69 corvette 350hp would later my 69 GT500 shelby 4 = speed
all it takes is money... Lots & Lots of $$$$$$$$ probably north of $150K for this build.
Federal law mandates that the factory sized rims and tires shall not be infringed. Violation of this statute will result in seizure of vehicle.
Is that in Canada or the USA?
Uh, at 8:36 you said " you can mig it or Tig it", No you can't. Rules specify Tig only for 4130. Uber fail. Also not all sanctioning bodies allow dropping a wall thickness for using 4130 over DOM. There isn't a practical way to verify what the tube is.
At 8:51 you talk about fit and finish while fitting an A pillar bar to the main hoop passeng side of the Vette. The halo is junk. Just above the junction the tube is deformed and caved it. Automatic failure.
11:55 taking about the rear suspension, your rear support tubes are bent at the frame. Might have been a thing in the 60s and NHRA but not in road racing. No bends, Why? People are gonna watch and thick it's ok. It's not, it's a fail.
The way dude says Radiator...smh
Now in 2021, the EPA is moving to eliminate racing cars. Speak up now while you can.
Samto Sam toy car j3248
Was that engine built by a one armed man!? Oh, it was .. sorry..
Seek Jesus! Time is running out! He’s the ONLY way! Repent for the kingdom is at hand!!!
i could have done w/o the fart jokes
Great video!