1966 NART Corvette Development L88 Cold Start, Revs, Idle
L88 with aluminum heads dated to January 1966.
Below is some history of this car, according to the owner:
This "purpose built" Corvette is the first known built for Luigi Chinetti of the North American Racing Team (NART). One of Zora Arkus-Duntov's specially designated "A" projects, built in coordination with the Chevrolet Engineering Center, it was to be piloted by Chinetti's ace drivers; Pedro Rodriguez and Mario Andretti. Produced with factory aluminum heads, PPN 3904392, the engine spent 20 hours in CEC's dyno meter room for break-in. With the “seasoned engine” sitting beneath a specially designed 1966 “Fresh Air Hood” and ready for racing, Zora Arkus- Duntov performed a Sunday afternoon “shakedown run” on the GM-TC track. With Zora’s satisfaction from the track test, the “Pedro Rodriguez L-88” was loaded for shipping to New York to board the NART transporter for the trip to Florida. While the car was at CEC, weight saving measures were undertaken...as exotic as structural features and as simplistic as factory production without utilizing sound deadening material. Upon arrival at Sebring, the car never left the transporter. An unknown, behind the scenes event, occurred and Luigi abruptly made the decision to change his plan for the race. This change placed the NART drivers, Rodriguez and Andretti, in the Ferrari 365 P2 they had raced in the 1966 Daytona 24-Hour race.
Known as one of the "Four Kings", according to "Mr. Corvette, Dick Guldstrand, in a conversation we had in 2010, with a follow-up interview in 2011, the car was "purpose built to do one thing... TO WIN RACES"! Dick picked up a somewhat similar car at the St. Louis production plant in January 1966 for Roger Penske in anticipation of the Daytona 24-Hour race.
After the 12-Hour Sebring race, and no longer needing this car, Chinetti approached Zora to buy the car back. With these activities flying "under the radar" at GM due to the AMA racing ban, Zora had no ability to repurchase the car. Wanting to help his friend, Zora approached Don Yenko to get the car sold to a deserving racer. Enter Harold Whims... car owner and co-driver at Sebring 12-Hour with Don and Dave Morgan. After Sebring, Harold had an unfortunate accident with his car they had raced at Sebring and was in need of another. Timing is everything!
With sponsorship secured from Union 76, Harold Whims raced this special Corvette at numerous race tracks in the Eastern part of the country. A noted race car its entire life, it was set up for SCCA Road Racing, FIA Road Racing and Hill Climb Racing. The car held the Chimney Rock Hill Climb record, in its class, for numerous years in the late 1970’s to the mid-1980’s, piloted by John “Sam” Henderson.
Some of the many race tracks where the car appeared include; Virginia International Raceway (VIR), Charlotte Motor Speedway, Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Road Atlanta, Marlboro, Huntsville, Cumberland and Summit Point. Don Yenko raced the car in the late 1960’s at the Cumberland race track. Having numerous successful owners/racers during its racing history, this car achieved many 1 st Place victories in SCCA/FIA sanctioned racing.
Restoration of the car was completed in 2013 with the help of original photos from various sources, most notably Harold Whims. I have completed thousands of hours of research into the history of this Corvette race car…fully documenting its past with tape recorded prior owner interviews, “Affidavits of Authenticity” and DVD recorded interviews with Harold Whims, Dick Guldstrand, Jim Gessner and other racers. A complete set of SCCA Log Books, and a very extensive ownership history, further document this car’s racing past.
I owe a sincere debt of gratitude to Harold Whims for his unselfish sharing of time and information during this monumental effort. Initially, Harold shared his time with me because of his love of racing and the cars of his past. Through numerous conversations and personal visits with Harold…I am proud to now be able to call him my friend.
