1967 GT Class-Winning Corvette Returns to 2015 Sebring in Gallery of Legends Display

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1967 GT Class-Winning Corvette Returns to 2015 Sebring in Gallery of Legends Display

Sebring International Raceway is one of the oldest continuously operating racetracks in the U.S., holding the country’s first endurance race way back in 1950. The initial 6-hour race format was expanded to 12 hours in 1952 and now, some 63 years later, it remains as one of the world’s top sports car endurance races. The latest Twelve Hours of Sebring begins at 10:40 a.m. on March 21, 2015 when 47 cars will take the green flag for 12 hours of non-stop, door-to-door racing.

Sebring Gallery of Legends

If you go, not only will you be able to cheer Corvette Racing on to victory, but you’ll get to see the GT class winner of the 1967 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the Sunray DX Corvette L88. The Sunray DX Corvette will be making a special appearance at Sebring’s Gallery of Legends during race weekend, in the company of such cars as the 1965 winning Chaparral, the 1999 winning BMW LMR, the 2004 winning Penske Porsche RS Spyder P2 and many other great racecars.

1967 Sunray DX Corvette L88

The Sunray DX Corvette finished first in the over five-liter GT class and tenth overall, marking a successful debut of Chevrolet’s famed L88 engine in international endurance racing. Driven by Don Yenko and Dave Morgan, the fire-breathing L88 propelled the coupe to a fastest lap of 3 minutes and 14 seconds, and proved reliable enough to move the Corvette up to first from its 24th starting position, completing the 12 hours without any mechanical drama.

Without the special connections of Chevrolet dealer and Corvette racer Don Yenko, the car may not have made the starting grid. The Sunray Oil Company consulted Don around the beginning of March in 1967 about their racing plans for the year, which included racing a Corvette. Don knew of the impending release of the special racing L88 engine, which was not supposed to happen until after the Sebring race on April 1, 1967. Don made calls to Ed Cole, then Chevrolet Division Manager, and Zora Duntov, Corvette Chief Engineer, and a new L88 was hurriedly made available. Co-driver Dave Morgan went to Corvette’s St. Louis assembly plant and personally drove it back to Yenko Chevrolet in Canonsburg, Pa.

1967 GT Class-Winning Corvette Returns to 2015 Sebring in Gallery of Legends Display

In the three short weeks until Sebring, the coupe was race prepped including adding a 42-gallon fuel tank and installing one of only 10 sets of L88 specific headers that were ever made by Chevrolet Engineering. It helps to have friends in high places!

We all know now that the L88 was a superlative racing engine, but at Sebring in 1967 it was untested in actual endurance racing competition. The L88 was a 427 cu. in. V8 with a mind-bending 12.5:1 compression ratio, an 850 CFM Holley carburetor and cold air induction. In production trim, it was estimated that the engine produced between 550 and 570 hp. For racing, the output could be bumped up to 600+ hp at 6,500 rpm.

1967 GT Class-Winning Corvette Returns to 2015 Sebring in Gallery of Legends Display

Sunray DX Corvette Continues Winning After Sebring

Following the success at Sebring, Dave Morgan campaigned the car throughout the Midwest and won the SCCA Midwest Division title in 1967. As if that wasn’t enough, the Corvette refused to retire gracefully when the Sunray DX team moved on to new 1968 Corvettes. At the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1968, Sunray entered two ’68 L88s along with our ’67. Once again, the ’67 finished first in the GT class driven by Dave Morgan and Jerry Grant. Dave Morgan summed it up best when he said of the Sunray car, “That was one of the most reliable race cars I’ve ever driven.”

The ’67 retired from international competition and, as is typical of old racecars, passed through a series of owners and was actively raced until 1987 when it was registered for street use for the first time in its life.

Epilogue

1968 marked the end of Sunray DX racing when Sunray Oil Company merged with Sun Oil Company at the end of the year.

1967 GT Class-Winning Corvette Returns to 2015 Sebring in Gallery of Legends Display

Noted Corvette and racing enthusiast Richard Prince bought the ’67 racer in 1990 and after substantial research into the car’s history had it meticulously restored as it was for Sebring in 1967. This year’s Sebring will be your chance to visit with a racing legend—a Corvette that was exclusively raced at all levels for twenty years and survived to retire to a pampered life. We think that fits anyone’s definition of a legend.

For tickets, events schedule and more information, please visit the Sebring website.


Sources:
Sebring International Raceway
Racing Sports Cars
95customs.com
Hemmings

Related:
[VIDEO] Historic Le Mans Corvette Racers at Laguna Seca
1967 Corvette Le Mans Racer Serves as Inspiration for Monterey Reunion Poster
Corvette World Tribute to Showcase Famous Corvettes and Drivers at Road America

 



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