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llustrated Corvette Series No.
48 - 1972 Heinz & Johnson Racing Corvette
One
of the most important aspects of the Corvette story is its racing
heritage. Corvette fans have Zora Arkus-Duntov to thank for that. Zora
started offering go-fast parts for the Corvette in 1956. "For Racing
Purposes Only" option RPO449 (Special High-Lift Camshaft) was only
available with RPO469, the dual four-barrel carburetor engine. This was
the beginning of a long line of over-the-counter racing parts for the
Corvette.
Over the years, Corvettes have not done well at the 24 Hours of Le
Mans. It's a tough race and most cars don't finish. Until recently, the
only Corvette to actually finish the Le Mans race was the Rebel Red
big-block, '68 Corvette driven by Bob Johnson and Dave Heinz. The car
was owned by Toye English and was built and worked on by his son, Dave.
After taking first in GT class at the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12
Hours of Sebring, the team decided to race the car at Le Mans.
When they arrived at the race, they almost weren't able to race because
they did not have an invitation! Luigi Chinetti, an importer of
Ferraris, had entered only two cars and agreed to let the team use his
third invitation, as long as they repainted the car to look like
Chinetti's Ferraris: red with a blue and white stripe, and wearing the
N.A.R.T. decal. A small price to pay after going all the way to Le Mans.
The car could not have performed better. For the entire 24 hours all
the car needed was a driver change every hour, gas, tires, and oil. On
the very long Mulsanne Straight, the car topped out at 210 mph! Only
the prototype cars were faster.
The Corvettes were the biggest and heaviest cars in the GT Class,
prompting many to ask, "What's in that dinosaur?" Just good, strong,
Chevy parts, thanks to Duntov and crew. The car is basically a '68 L88
model. Under the hood, the L88 was balanced and blueprinted. An 850
Holley carb sat on an aluminum high-rise manifold, and header-side
exhausts helped crank out over 560 horsepower. The suspension used
heavy-duty L88 parts, along with solid suspension bushings, heavy-duty
springs, anti-roll bars, and double- adjustable Koni shocks. A standard
M22 transmission and heavy-duty Posi unit were used as well as.
Additional body work included factory fender flairs, L88 hood with the
cowl-induction, plexi headlight covers, and the factory hardtop. A
front spoiler helped keep the front end down on the Mulsanne. The
interior had a full compliment of gauges, a bolt-on eight-point roll-
cage and a Vega steering wheel. American Torque- Thrust aluminum wheels
and Goodyear racing tires gave the car a distinctly American musclecar,
tough guy look.
This is exactly what Zora had in mind with his "for racing only" parts
program. With the right parts, carefully assembled, the average guy had
a chance. Completing the 24 Hours of Le Mans is an amazing achievement
for any car, let alone a production car with over-the-counter, bolt-on
factory parts. Thanks Zora!
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