Shelby Corvair

[tesgt350]

What ever happened to the two Corvair's that Shelby played with?

https://www.motortrend.com/uploads/f/168448984.jpg?fbclid=IwAR1kfli8H4v4jr6NXWdsLlqGYLlkLDvAU4K8fJVvd6Yd_IBh-vMmz4cMykM

[98SVT - was 06GT]

I'd guess supplied by GM and probably went back to them. It's pre Cobra. https://www.motortrend.com/features/1962-corvair-endurance-test/

The plate looks like Transport rather than Dealer or Manufacturer - I wonder if Petersen had their own plates for testing unregistered cars at that time? ...a transporter plate authorizing the limited operation of a motor vehicle ...... must have proof of financial responsibility. DMV was strict on who could use plates. Manufacturer and Dealer had to be used by owners and employees only. 

Now the real question - did Gurney drive in the rain?

In November 1961, editors from several Petersen Publishing magazines, including Hot Rod, Motor Trend, Sports Car Graphic, Car Craft, and Rod & Custom, plus some pretty heavy hitters in the racing community, gathered at Riverside International Raceway for what Hot Rod described as a "24-hour high-speed economy run" using two bright-red '62 Corvairs. And we do mean heavy hitters: It speaks to the power of Petersen's empire that guys named Unser, Gurney, and Shelby were on hand to help shepherd these two little coupes around Riverside's winding 2.7-mile road course for what would be a "grueling 1,549.1-mile ordeal."

Carroll Shelby conducted the test, acting as "sports car racing expert," and in his capacity as the chief of the high-performance driving school, he hosted at the track.

[ChicagoChris]

Never knew! Very interesting and maybe where he made the contacts to request Chevy engines for Cobras before approaching Ford?

[98SVT - was 06GT]

Never knew! Very interesting and maybe where he made the contacts to request Chevy engines for Cobras before approaching Ford?

I wondered that too - Bill Thomas was a GM insider - In 1956 Thomas commenced work tuning and modifying Chevrolet Corvettes for racing for C S Mead Motors Co. By 1960, Thomas had started his own company, Bill Thomas Race Cars. At that time General Motors approached him to undertake performance work on the new Chevrolet Corvair. The secret to where the Corvairs are may lie within the Thomas history.

On the other hand CS had already dropped a Chevy V-8 into a Ferrari so he knew the potential. It was a pretty tight knit group of friends at the upper echelons of the SoCal hot rod scene - that group I'd describe as those making a living from it. You can see it in those that were gathered for this test. Mobil Oil was also a well known company for it's economy runs. They ran them on a cross country national level with factories supplying cars and drivers in different classes. They had 100 mile high school events where they measured ton mileage to make everyone equal (won that with my 59 Ford wagon). There were 3 day events sponsored by the police advisory council for car clubs - Dealer supplied cars - 2 drivers and a observer. (won that one in the Luxury class with a 300 Chrysler).

Chevy may have regretted not giving engines to CS and decided they needed a Cobra beater: In 1963 Thomas gained covert support from General Motors Performance Product Group head Vince Piggins to develop the Cheetah as a concept vehicle. It was designed by Thomas and Don Edmunds, his lead fabricator. ....Thomas arranged for material assistance from Chevrolet for the major components - the Corvette 327 engine, Muncie transmission, and independent rear-end assemblies. Other components were stocked from the larger GM parts bin, such as Chevrolet passenger car spindles, and NASCAR spec Chevrolet drum brakes. - - - - In 1964, race car rules changed from 100 cars needed for homologation to 1000 cars. This prompted Chevrolet to advise Thomas that they would no longer support the Cheetah project.