Reasons Why One Should Build a Grand Sport Tribute

Historic Sighting

For fans of muscle cars, the late 1960's to early 1970's are generally considered the golden years, but for many sports car nuts the gilded age started in the ‘50s and came to an end sometime in the ‘60s. Two key ingredients that reached their peak during that era were the first two things mentioned by Peter J. when asked about his love for his tribute ‘63 Grand Sport: raceability and true variety. “In that era, there was a stronger connection between road cars and race cars. You could drive to the track, race, win, and drive home in the same car. There also were a wide variety of ideas being tried and the cars were very distinctive in terms of engineering and styling," stated Peter. "The Grand Sport was a real standout in terms of performance potential and styling."

Witnessing the real thing, Grand Sport chassis number 003, compete at the Monterey Historic Races in the 1980s, a seed was planted that came to fruition for Peter some 30 years later. “The more I learned about the car's history, the more I became convinced that it was the car I should replicate,” he told our sister site Corvette Forum.  

Recreating History

Inspired by the sight and sound of 003 thundering around Laguna Seca, Peter started down the road to recreating a Grand Sport of his own, or should we say the Grand Sport because he was specifically after the iteration of car 003 as driven by AJ Foyt and John Cannon at Sebring in 1964. After shopping around, and rejecting other builders, Peter picked Mid America Industries in Milan, Illinois, to do the work. “At the time (2005 to 2007), they were the only ones I could find producing Grand Sport replicas. D&M had gone under or was about to go under. Superformance, Mongoose, and Duntov had not started production of their cars,” he explained. 

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Body

Mid America found a non-drivable ‘63 Corvette donor car for Peter. He believes the body may have originally been manufactured by D&M, incorporating input from Jeff Leach at Mid America, but, “With all the bodywork that Mid America ended up doing, it eventually became a Mid America body.” The main departure from original Grand Sport racing exterior specification was the omission of the oil cooler that rode piggyback just aft of the rear window on the racing cars. In 2015, when the car was complete, Peter posted the donor car’s VIN to a Corvette ‘63 registry maintained by a Corvette Forum member. The registry indicated the donor car was originally a blue-on-blue Coupe, had received a replacement engine somewhere along the line, was converted into a Grand Sport, and “possibly wrecked.” 

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Chassis

The condition of the original frame was of little importance though because Peter’s Corvette was set to receive a fresh chassis. The car’s tubular Grand Sport replica frame features 4-inch round main tubes and supports a full C4 ‘Vette suspension. The initial idea was to run 15-inch wheels, but when they found 15-inchers wouldn’t clear the larger brakes the decision was made to go with 17 x 8s in front and 18 x 10s in the rear, allowing a wider range of tire options and giving the car a more aggressive stance. The Team Three five-lug wheels sport replica spinners and wear Continental Contisport Contact tires (235/45 R17 front and 275/45 R18 rear). 

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Drivetrain

When Peter took delivery of the donor Corvette in 2008 it had a 350 ci small-block Chevy “of unknown origin”. That was replaced with a fuel-injected Blueprint Engines 427 ci ProSeries stroker engine, producing a dyno-tested 625 hp and 565 lb-ft of torque. The GM LS3-based 427 is bolted to a TKO 600 transmission and utilizes a RAM Powergrip 11" heavy duty clutch. From there power goes to a Dana 44 rear end with 3.07 gears.  

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Inside Again

Inside, the coupe has a decidedly Grand Sport look and feel, though it’s definitely quieter and more comfortable than the ‘60s racers were. GTS Classics custom-fabricated leather seats that, despite their side bolsters and lumbar support, don’t take away from the ‘Vette’s vintage vibe. The car also boasts air conditioning, power steering, power breaks, and a tilt steering column—everything you need to make 12 hours at Sebring seem like only 11. 

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History Buff

The Grand Sport wasn’t Peter’s first Corvette, in the past he’s owned ‘99 Coupe he bought new and a ‘62 he didn’t, and he still owns a 2015 Z06 purchased new. “All were/are blue. I am a blue car guy.” He’s also a sports-racing car guy. He built a Factory Five Daytona Coupe but sold it because of what a pain in the neck it was to climb in and out of the car (He’s 6’2”). He still owns and races both a Factory Five Mk4-R Challenge Roadster and an RCR 70, Race Race Car Replica's version of a Lola T70 Coupe. Additionally, he owns and drives an Avanti SVO, a reproduction of a 1957 Lister Knobbly sports racing car (pictured above). 

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Nuts and Bolts

Mid America completed the seven-year Grand Sport tribute build in September of 2015, after which Peter upgraded the brakes to Wilwood units, added a skid plate to protect the 427’s oil pan, and installed a line lock to serve as a parking brake. All told he figures he has approximately $135,000 into the project. 

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Parting Comments

Peter was asked if the finished product differed from how he’d imagined it at the outset. “Very similar to what I imagined,” was his answer, which at first may seem like a mild response, but reaching for a piece of racing history and having it come out the way you'd hoped is not to be minimized. When asked what he loved about the car, Peter said: “I love the rumble of the engine, the flares that wrap around the rear tires, and the nose-down stance. It always looks and sounds like it is ready to pounce.”

While Peter has thoroughly enjoyed taking the Grand Sport for an occasional spin around the nearby Autobahn Country Club race course, or just cruising around town, he’s decided to part with the coupe. “I think it is time to pass it along to a new owner,” he informed us. With under 2,000 miles on the car, and a salvage 1963 Corvette VIN that enables the car to be easily registered in any state, that new owner is likely to be one happy 625hp-vintage-Corvette-race-car-driving customer. You can contact Peter via his post on Corvette Forum.

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