Mecum at Bloomington Gold: Race-Ready Corvettes

Article contributed by Steve Burns

We continue our look at Mecum’s upcoming Bloomington Gold Corvette auction now by focusing on some of the race-ready cars being offered this weekend. Among the 400 or so cars for sale Friday and Saturday in St. Charles, IL are 4 rare birds that were born with the track in mind. These include a 1962 big brake fuelie, a 1970 ZR1, a 1971 ZR2, and 1990 R9G. You can check out all of them after the jump.

Corvettes with racing backgrounds are always in demand. The 4 examples below are certainly no different. If our money tree wasn’t already plucked bare, we’d definitely be in line to bid on these significant cars this weekend at Bloomington.

Lot #S84 1962 Corvette Roadster Big Brake Fuelie
This gorgeous Tuxedo Black on Fawn Beige car is equipped with 2 of the most desirable options for collectors. RPO 582 is the powerful 360hp fuelie 327. The heavy duty brakes and steering included in RPO 687 help keep this beast on the track. Only 246 (1.7%) of the 14,531 vehicles born in 1962 got the big brake option. Inside those finned brake drums are a set of RPO 386 metallic brakes. Couple all this with 15.5 inch wheels and the 4 speed and you’ve got one very highly prized car for collectors. They’ll get their chance to own this one about 2:20pm CST on Saturday.

Lot #S103 1970 Corvette ZR1 Convertible
Chevrolet first used option code ZR1 in 1970. The first iteration of the option package would run just three years and total only 53 units built. The 25 cars built in 1970 with that package received an LT-1 motor, M22 transmission, 4:11 rear gear, and heavy duty suspension among other special items. This stunning white on blue car is one of the 8 ZR1 convertibles built. It’s earned both Bloomington Gold and NCRS Top Flight awards. The auction listing also states that it’s fully documented and has had just 3 owners since new. Great colors, rarity, awards, and documentation all add up to make this a car that will quickly bid into the 6 figure range.

Lot #S99 1971 Corvette ZR2 Convertible
The ZR2 package was the big block equivalent of the ZR1 package for small blocks. By checking the RPO ZR2 box owner the received the 425hp LS6 454, M22 transmission, heavy duty brakes, transistor ignition, and heavy duty springs and shocks. Like the ZR1, the ZR2 was built without a radio, air conditioning, or a fan shroud. This Ontario Orange on black example is one of just 3 convertibles known to exist. One of the others is green and the last one was delivered from the factory in primer. Lot S99 is documented with it’s original Corvette Order Copy (tank sticker) and has earned prestigious Bloomington honors such as Special Collection and Hall of Fame. This ride most recently sold at auction for $550k in June of 2008. It was bid to no sales of $500k and $345k in June and August of 2009 respectively. Even though this is a well documented car we don’t expect the seller to see anywhere near that $500k anytime soon.

Lot #L50 1990 R9G Corvette Coupe
When we think of C4 racecars we automatically flashback to the Corvette Challenge series of 1988 and 1989. By 1990 that series had run its course, but the Escort World Challenge was just taking off. In response GM offered up the RPO R9G option for would-be racers. It was available for 1 week. The option package included the ZR1’s brake booster, a cloth interior, convertible wind deflectors, and heavy duty suspension. Just twenty 23 cars were built and only about 1/3 of them were converted for race duty. This R9G is one of those unconverted cars and remains in its as-new state. Last year it achieved Bloomington Survivor, Gold, and Benchmark awards. This a very rare C4 option that probably not too many people know about, but you can learn more about it at: showyourcorvette.com. The blue racecar in-waiting will cross the block just before 1pm on Saturday.

Mecum’s Bloomington Auction begins at 11am central time both Friday and Saturday. If you can’t make to this event, be sure to watch all the action live on Mecum’s website.

The 39th annual Bloomington Gold event runs from Thursday, June 23rd – Sunday, June 26th 2011 at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Il. (about an west of Chicago). For complete show information check out www.BloomingtonGold.com.

Source:
Mecum.com
Bloomington Gold

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