A wonderful 1961 Corvette ‘270’ restored to top NCRS Second Flight Driven Show standards with exacting engine numbers, frame, body, suspension, and instruments finished in beautiful Tuxedo Black with Silver Coves, the following narrative must be read to understand the quality of this fantastic and correct 1961 Corvette, this is completed with top mechanicals along with outstanding underchassis, suspension and frame to complement the cosmetics, full professional build of the fresh 283cid dated and stamped correctly with matching numbers, initially rated at 270 horsepower now rebuilt to better than factory internal standards not available in 1961, valuable Carter WCFB 2x4s carberators restored, correct dated heads, proper numbered GM intake, fresh engine rebuild by famous professional for top performance, proper air cleaner, heat shields, 4-speed T10 transmission with proper shifter, this 1961 Corvette has been prepared for the investor and collector who demands their vehicle drives outstandingly and to be enjoyed, parts of the trim are left from original to show how well this fine 1961 ‘270’ Corvette was maintained in its life, the beautiful colors of Tuxedo Black with Silver Coves on a most sensational looking body, the body man who blocked and finished the paint work for Summer 2010 stated “this is the finest 1961 Corvette body I have even seen”, exceptional original frame and chassis, the contrast coves makes this one of the most desirable of all the Corvettes, a true Landmark vehicle, end of an era for investment purposes, has the black interior, full dash pod, 6500 rpm tachometer, restored dated Wonderbar radio, white top, note the NUMBER SHEET and many LINKS attached is most important to the authenticity of this documented work on a gorgeous Corvette, the underchassis, frame and floors are sensational and painted in all colors as par the NCRS book, all signs show this to be a real 58,640 vehicle and believed low miles from history, recent full NCRS 2nd Flight quality was the goal completed, the restoration work mechanically is completed for those collectors who insist on driving their period cars and enjoying them with top performance along with the detailing accomplished, PLEASE VIEW ALL THE LINKS regarding this fine 1961 Corvette to establish its condition and value,
History: care of this correct and valuable body and chassis VIN#10867S102375 are evidenced with the previous NCRS sticker came with the car, the owner for many years kept this car in his collection and had cared for this Corvette extremely well, then the estate out of Alabama sold in the 2009 period, then another tremendous effort is completed for the ultimate in this design as the last year of 1) the famous 283cid engine, 2) last year of the ‘contrast cove’ colored contrast styling, 3) last year of the wide whitewalls, 4) last year of the 2x4s, all of which yield a ‘classic look’ and large carbureted engines for Chevrolet, mileage is verified at only 58,640 from history on the title and previous bill of sales PLUS photos of the chassis and floors that substantiate this claim, properly equipped with a most desirable, rare and expensive 2x4 Carter WCFB carburetors just rebuilt, correct progressive linkage, original 270 horsepower with proper ‘notched’ pistons when found, period correct 283cid engine, proper GM aluminum intake, 4 speed with factory shifter this is a gorgeous, highly desirable 1961 Corvette, with the beautiful front chrome grill and bumpers, this year car is one of the most dynamic of all the collector cars, this is perhaps the most collectable investment vehicle in the USA is the Corvette, the solid axle cars from 1956 through 1962 are deemed by true car people as the best investment with the '58 to '61 being especially beautiful and the epitome of the run, some call it the greatest American classic sports car ever built, authentic models are made for a wide audience to enjoy these works of art, many of them are used in advertising, the flowing car body is a product of the need to impress the public with new rear end styling,
The underchassis is exceptional! as this mechanical, suspension work was finished for Summer 2010, note in the black paint that was on the floors for years is carefully removed with extensive hand effort showing the wonderful natural floors being prepared to NCRS standards (SEE LINK), the floors have been stripped to the bare fiberglass, this took hours and hours of hand work that is documented with these photos, then the natural floors were clear coated to protect, the frame is almost near perfect with it being stripped to the bare metal, extremely solid, primed and painted as factory colors as shown by the NCRS Guide, photo documentation shows the extensive hand work with the frame now painted in the proper black to contrast the NATURAL FLOORS, (FRAME LINK), the Chevrolet Factory Manual is used to make sure that colors and materials are correct, this features the correct factory axel straps (SEE PHOTO), that are virtually impossible to get today, these are cleaned and attachments detailed, the suspension as received is believed to be very original including the proper rear upper factory traction bars that were believed never off the car, taken to bare metal, then detailed and brought to the correct gray natural metal color, clear coated, rear sway bar, note that the DRIVESHAFT was taken to be balanced with new ‘U’ joints to insure vibration free solid performance (SEE LINK), then new bushings were installed by Fraser Dante, brand new rear sway bar bushings along with the traction bar bushings, four (4) new AC Delco shocks installed, these are painted black and were chosen since the original ‘spiral’ shocks look good for NCRS Concours Trailered but not good to drive, when the front ‘A’ arms were taken off for fresh bushings, it took a torch to take off the ORIGINAL bushings that had never been off the car, a full complete front end bushing kit is installed, (SEE LINK), work include the king pins and other front suspension (SEE LINK), this means all these bushings are changed in a most expensive effort to make this car handle as well as it looks, only the top right front original upper bushing was left since it was not only in fine condition but to get to it would have the body raised to get there, all these parts are expensive and took expert work to install, excellent coil springs, (LINK), these pieces will make the car handle very well, then the whole car is aligned with specsthis underchassis and suspension work has taken many, many hours to produce outstanding results with final road test for Summer 2010, CONDITION: the fully restored Corvette is being done to NCRS Second Flight Driven show standards with is great effort in the frame and suspension area, the rear end is #3725898 GM2, J130, not sure of the gear ratio, full lube, detailed, road tested on all type roadways, it is hard to find the very nice inner fenders that are virtually clean when one runs the hands under them in this exceptional body, the beautiful dash and gauges look sensational and are fully done, with proper 6500 rpm tach that is just redone with great expertise (SEE LINK), the rear bumpers have the believed original chrome with some very minor imperfections, these are kept to show how well this has been kept, final body and paint working and buffing have just been completed, (SEE LINK), the paint is perhaps the top, top #2, ie., one could find some very minor imperfections but to go to the next level would to be to take the car off the road,
Interior: the Wonderbar factory radio is restored and working, this is most expensive and the work completed by a top restorer, Robert Curran, here is his quote about how proud he is of the restoration “I hope they enjoy the "Wonder Bar" search tune, it adjusted nicely and works great”, this restoration of a dated unit that is difficult to accomplish, photos document finished work that has a value of some $1500 today (SEE LINK), full black bucket seated interior is in excellent condition, possibly original, new black carpet, clock has been repaired, (SEE LINK), correct seat belts, the side ‘hammered’ factory door panels show slight wear but certainly are factory original, again, these are original, Engine: sales of this car were brisk with a production of 2827 units on this 283/270 high performance engine, to make sure the original 270 horsepower engine is how it should be, (SEE ATTACHED NUMBER SHEET), the full engine is completely rebuilt by perhaps the final GM Chevrolet builder in the USA, Lamar Walden, the correct dated heads solid lifter heads are redone to modern specs, these along with the aluminum intake manifold that is plained, extensively prepared, stainless bolts used to insure solid fit to block, then the carbs and linkage are set and a full run is done this is exceptional work to add to the value…
Lamar Walden has completely rebuilt the correct solid lifter engine, has the dated heads, these heads are both #8774692, dated G 130 16 and F130 13, complete Magnafluxing to check condition, (milling machine), then full polishing with full build of valve system, lifters, includes the brass lined valve guides, new roller rocker lifters and cam, new heavy duty springs, keepers, all completely redone, bored +.040 over, should be 292cid, special high performance Clevite connecting rods only for the higher horsepower engines (SEE LINK), then the engine is chassis tuned for top performance to better than factory specs, Lamar feels that this 292cid with new pistons will produce 310 reliable horsepower with modern internals and stock block, intake and heads, see SPEC LINKS from Lamar Walden, (LINK TO PHOTOS OF FINISHED ENGINE, PRIOR TO INSTALLATION), (ENGINE RE-INSTALLATION PHOTOS),
ENGINE VALVE TRAIN: Walden Automotive used stock heads, dated and casting correct, magnafluxed, then reworked and fitted with Comp Cams hydraulic high performance camshaft, roller tip rocker arms and Comp lifters, yields almost the same ‘ticking’ solid lifter sound while yielding more very reliable horsepower, at the 2010 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, Ford announced their new 2011 Mustang 302R race car, Ford had a big Press Briefing with Parnelli Jones, when asked about engine power today versus the ‘60s to ’70, he said, "you can make more power today from the same cubic inches, greatly improved metals, specially areas like lightweight valves and the better valve springs" (SEE PARNELLI JONES), we can couple this to Lamar's statement of use of said parts to yield the 310 horsepower while keeping the valuable parts of the engine reliable and safe, uses 93o unleaded, the engine is tuned with correct 2x4 Carter WCFB 2613 front and 2614 rear carburetors with the progressive linkage, carberators are very, very correct, look good having had a previous rebuild when found, (SEE LINK), then sent to Carberator Specialists to make sure they worked as well as they presented, another full, very professional rebuild is just accomplished to make sure these carbs open with the hard to find secondary vacuums, took expert knowledge to find these very rare parts, then assemble the carberators so all 8v venturis open, according to Carberator Specialists, (SEE LINK), regarding build and authenticity, LINK, if one can find them, they are worth $5000 in this Concours restored condition, carberators are road tested to operate with the original progressive linkage and the correct air cleaner, the cooling system checked with rebuilt radiator making sure this drives exceptionally,
This CAR IS ONLY ONE OF 429 PRODUCED IN THIS COLOR AND THE CONTRASTING COVES, the engine bay is detailed, the radiator redone, this car is one of the best styling efforts ever done, interesting and gorgeous styling with the first Vette without the “front teeth” on the grill, all chrome on car is really fabulous restored or new, again, the dash is also redone with all proper instruments, the gray color is beautiful, the dash with faces and chrome are extremely correct, the trunk is as factory with rubber mat and proper stamping, has the correct jack and full spare tire, proper rear trunk cover, the T10 transmission shifts has it should, the stock linkage is hard to do, the clutch is just checked for Spring 2010 to work correctly, from careful examination, all body panels and floors could be original with perhaps some minor work but it is very hard to be sure today, in outstanding condition, brakes are checked with new wheel cylinders, this has the proper 5.5” wheels and hubcaps, the wheels are date coded K.9 and stamped ‘GM’ that are shown on the LINK with believe that these are the factory correct wheels, painted correct black, the brakes with all new the hardware are fully detailed inside, SEE PHOTO DOCUMENTATION, these tires are the last year of the ‘widewhites’ with the correct 6.60x15 Silvertown's, again, the new fuel tank is just installed, new sending unit, fresh 93o gas is used as the heads are worked to use modern ‘clean’ fuel,
The family of the estate simply did not know the full history of ‘Dad’s Corvette’, note the 1994 Calendar from ‘Trans Mart’, a big parts supplier from Florence, Alabama along with the license plate still with the car shows how long with was in the South, (LINK), this shows the history, dated rear end chunk, all of these signs of the excellent frame and very, very original floors of the underside of the car substantiate the belief this is a true 58,640 mile Corvette, all statements are made to the best information available after careful examination but originality or genuineness of any parts of said vehicle can not be authenticated due to age, photos shown to all verify what can be seen,
Work on the chrome and trim throughout the car has just been completed, most pieces are believed original and some left as very authentic, even the right side glass has the proper ‘U’, a professional ‘finisher’ brought out the luster after the final paint work, (LINK), really outstanding fenders and body, the chassis is nicely done with terrific effort, again, this has the original proper axel straps that we there for years that makes so authentic, the detailing work just completed to make top driven show not a trailered car that looks pretty but does not work, the really top final work fully checked for performance and enjoyment, a drivable, collectable work of art growing in value for Summer 2010, $85,000
* MANY ‘NUMBERS’ DOCUMENT
* CAR READY FOR SHOW-SPRING 2010
* ONE OF THE GREAT DESIGNS FOR CORVETTES
* A LANDMARK CORVETTE, PERFORMANCE AND DESIGN OF THE CLASSIC AMERICAN SPORTS CAR