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Here's
the story:
Illustrated Corvette Series No. 6 1956 SR-2 Racing Corvette
It
was as if the Gods of
Fortune had smiled upon the Corvette! The 1956 Corvette was so well
received
that GM executives felt comfortable enough to indulge themselves with
special
"racer" versions of their new darling. Thus, the SR-2 was born. "SR"
had several meanings: "Special Racing," "Sports Racing" or
"Sebring Racer." These terms referred to the '56 Sebring effort that
got so much attention. Three SR-2 Corvettes were built.
The first SR-1 was built for then president of GM, Harlow Curtice. This
was a styling
exercise over a 265, 3-speed Corvette off the assembly line. The car
was never
intended to be a real racer. Its distinguishing feature was the
symmetrical low
fin in the middle of its decklid. The extra trim made it look more like
a
showcar than a race car.
The second SR-2 was built for GM vice president Harley Earl's son
Jerry! But
this SR-2 had real teeth. Under the hood was a 265 with a 3-speed
manual
gearbox. The running gear and chassis featured quick ratio steering,
stiff
springs and shocks, a limited slip rear, oversized brakes with cooling
scoops
and Halibrand knock-off wheels on racing tires. Dual exhausts exited
just in
front of the rear wheels.
The interior had extra instruments, power windows and stock seats.
There also
was a fire extinguisher, a wood-trimmed steering wheel and a radio! The
body of
the SR-2 had some interesting changes. The nose had been extended and
louvers
were added to the hood. The side coves had functioning scoops to cool
the
brakes. Two short windscreens replaced the stock windshield. Centered
on the
trunklid was a short single fin. This was later replaced with the tall
"Mitchell-style" high fin and roll bar.
Bill
Mitchell, GM chief of
styling, had the third SR-2 built. Although the second and third cars
look the
same other than the fin, the Mitchell car is three inches wider! The
car was
also made lighter by removing nearly all frills and using racing bucket
seats.
On the race track, Earl's SR-2 was the most successful of the three.
While
sponsored by Nickey Chevrolet, the SR-2 won the SCCA B-Production
national
title in 1958. Happily, all three SR-2 Corvettes have been fully
restored and
are accounted for.
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