There’s something about old race cars that just suits my fancy, and I think it’s because ever since I tried autocross for the first time, I’ve been convinced that all cars should be driven fast. Whatever the case may be, a find like this, even though the posting body consists of only 17 words, 2 numbers, and 4 pictures, is still very interesting. You can find the ad here on craigslist where this Corvette is offered for $12,000 in Buffalo, New York.
The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) was founded in 1944 and is one of the most widely known racing clubs in America, according to na-motorsports. Given the SCCA “solo” decals on this car, it’s likely this Corvette competed in autocross, time trials, and/or hill climb events. As previously mentioned, the article is sparse on pictures and details, but this Corvette supposedly has a 383 stroked small block and 4-speed manual transmission putting power to the ground. According to the seller, the car runs and drives, which is an excellent sign. Big side pipes, wide American racing wheels, and lots of decals adorn the car, giving it an aggressive and period look. The rear fenders are taped over, and I could only assume that this was to protect the paint on the aggressive rear fender flares from chips caused by rocks or debris.
The presence of the Car is far from stock with a roll cage replacing most of the corvette’s factory roof and a front bumper from a later car in place of what would have been the factory front bumper cover. Hood pins are on all four hood corners and a pair of buckets, one of which appears to have a five-point harness, are further additions to the modification list, adding to the racing purpose of this Corvette.
Rearward visibility comes from a full-width rearview mirror and the factory dashboard has been traded out for a much lighter and simpler metal unit. This picture shows just how wide the fenders and tires are, certainly far beyond the stock proportions. The body looks to be in good condition, and I would dare to say that the car would clean up well with a wash and a good buffing job. What are your thoughts on this corvette? Is the $12,000 price tag too steep?
I guess the price depends on the condition of the car and how well the modifications were done. It may be just an old, clapped-out race car needing a full rebuild, hence why it was parked away in a barn.
If the buyer plans to take the ‘Vette racing, he or she will need to ensure that the roll cage is up to current spec, as well as the likes of seatbelts, seat anchors and fire extinguishing system. I’m not sure if SCCA – or any other sanctioning body – still accepts a ‘Purple K’ extinguisher as being sufficient (I’m showing my age).
It would be interesting to see what chassis mods have been done, as these Stingrays (along with the earlier Sting Ray) had a tendency to rear-wheel steer, due to the softness of the suspension bushes in the IRS system.
Someone should fly in, go through the fuel and brake systems, swap the godawful sawblade wheels for a fat set of slot mags, zip-tie a lexan windshield in place, and attempt a gnarly road trip back home. No lights, no registration, no sense, no problem.
The listing says it’s a 1969 but the front end says 1973. Curious to know why.
The doors look like 1968 doors too.
I’m going to assume because “plastic racecar” and “that one will work.”
The front end is probably a 1-piece shell that lifts off? Just a guess.
It has a “SCCA Pro Solo” decal, so it was probably an autocross car. They run two mirror image courses at the same time and the first one back to the starting line wins. B/P is usually “B Production” so that explains why it has a bigger than usual small block. I’m not sure why it has that roll cage, usually autocross cars spin but don’t flip. But it’s better to have it and not need it . . . . .
As for why it was parked, it could need stuff rebuilt, safety systems upgraded, or the owner just parked it. Until you get to the top levels, racing takes a ton of your time and money. There’s nothing like loading everything, spending money on gas, making the 75 mile round trip, getting there, and it’s a rain out. I’m also showing my age, 20, 30 and 40 years ago you looked at the sky in the direction of the track to guess at the weather.
A lot of people build a car, race it, and eventually get tired of spending their time and money on just getting to the track, even if you don’t wreck or break the car. So it gets parked and ignored for a while.
Maybe somebody should suggest that “Roadkill” try to drive it home. That’s something they would try.
Gene, this thing is in Buffalo NY in early February. Last week there was a four foot snow storm with a “State of emergency, nobody drives anything anywhere” order, unless you have a snowmobile.
It’s not going to be Corvette weather for another couple months. It was 55 degrees yesterday, but tomorrow morning could be an ice storm. I’m not saying that the clowns from “Roadkill” wouldn’t try it, but it probably wouldn’t turn out well unless they can get “Garage Squad” to show up and put a 4 X 4 chassis under it.
We have been sending that bad stuff to you for awhile now. I will see if the weather man will give you guys a break over there. Stay Warm!
Bp2 was an autocross class for modified corvettes that was discontinued. Some of the cars were modified to run a different class and some were parked like this one. It would not be suitable for roadracing and would cost a lot to return to the street so it’s kind of an orphan.
I have $12,000. I simply cannot decide between buying the two rare Mercedes Benz Superleggera Pontons or something which has the vague shape of a Corvette composite racecar. I am overwhelmed. Maybe I’ll just buy the hearse. It will eventually be useful.
For $12,000 I see no use for this car. No way it would pass any inspection to race or any inspection to drive on street — and would probably suck at autocross like every other front-heavy-front-engine hot rod. By the time you fixed it up to do either you’d of been better off just getting a different car to start with.
This obviously was never an SCCA legal road race car. The main hoop of the cage lacks a diagonal cross brace for starters. It is entirely possible it raced in hillclimbs with PHA as they ran to far lower safety rules back then.
It was and still is a legal SCCA autocross/SoloII race car. The BP stands for B Prepared. The road race class for small block Corvette’s was B Production. Autocross/SoloII rules were much more lax in regard to safety than road racing but what can be seen looks very period correct for late 80’s-early 90’s SoloII competition.
As for its use/value, with some updates on the safety side it could be a fun vintage race car. Where else are you going to buy a period correct Corvette that would be properly vintage legal for $12,000? The answer is you aren’t.
Think it’s more than enough to scare those import drift kids……….
Generally, SCCA Solo cars, were not interchangeable with SCCA A or B Production race cars, though they were similar. In the late 70’s, I crewed for a friend who was racing a BP 69 Corvette in Solo II. He was national champion once, and his wife was BPL national champion 2 or 3 times. In 81, when we decided to go SCCA road racing, he sold the BP Solo car, and built a new car from the ground up for GT1, since it was easier than converting the Solo car to meet the GT1 rules.
This car would be a good basis for a vintage race car. Most vintage race groups base their rules on the SCCA 1972 GCR (General Competition Rules book). Over the years, the Solo B Prepared rules have remained similar to the GCR’s 72 B Production rules, which were much more restrictive than the GT1 rules, which replaced the A & B Production classes around 79.
The biggest drawback to making it a competitive vintage racer is the 383. Vintage rules (like the SCCA GCR), limit engine displacement to .030″ over the stock engine. A 355 ls the largest engine “legally” allowed in a BP Corvette, so the 383 would put the car in AP, where it would be racing with 427 and 454 Corvettes. A & B cars run in the same race, and because of weight breaks given to smaller displacement cars, a BP car can be competitive with an AP car, but rarely beat them. I crew for a driver who vintage races a couple different BP Corvettes, and we win a few races, but the AP cars usually come out on top.
It’s certainly an interesting car with a possible racing history? Would the person buying it be doing so to race it again? If so best expect a full rebuild of chassis to conform to the rule changes since it last raced. The engine was already mentioned. If a person bought this to race it and paid 10k for it you will spend substantially more than that getting it into racing form. Interesting car I just don’t know where it fits?
For anyone to consider returning a race C3 back to stock, they would have to start being valued like a C2.
In other words, it ain’t gonna happen any time soon, if ever.
Yes I could not agree more, for the money you would be well into a new modern race car, that’s the part to me where I just could not see where this would fit into anything. Not sure what good it’s going to be to anybody?
As someone who’s been involved with Corvettes since the early 70’s, involved in road racing since the late 70’s, and involved in vintage racing for the last 11 years, I can see a lot of potential in this car. I’ve seen old race cars a lot worse than this one, brought back to life as competitive vintage racers. It’s a lot easier and cheaper to restore an old Corvette race car, than it is to do a restoration on a stock, original car.
One of the Corvettes we race, a 65, crashed heavily last year, bending the frame and requiring a new nose, left door, left rear quarter and rear panel, along with a lot of mechanical parts. That car will be racing again this spring.
The driver I crew for not only vintage races Corvettes, but has a business restoring, maintaining and selling vintage Corvette and Camaro race cars and Corvette and Camaro street cars. I told him about this car this morning, and he was going to call about it. Another driver we’re friends with, vintage races a 69 Corvette, and has been looking for a car to put together for his son to race. We think this car might be perfect for them to start with.
They were a nice sight racing at the Bridgehampton Race Track in NY.