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A Guide to Motor Scooters
Motor scooters are vehicles with small wheels and a low-powered gasoline engine geared to the rear wheel. The first patents for “foot powered” scooters date back to 1921. Up to that time there were no motors attached to the scooter. They were...
Kawasaki motorcycles and motorcycle parts
Kawasaki motorcycles and motorcycle parts
Time and time again Kawasaki has given the world world-class motorcycles.
They are absolutely passionate about motorcycles. If high performance sports bikes are what you love then Kawasaki offers the...
Save Money on Used Motorcycle Parts
For every motorcycle enthusiast, it is indeed very taxing to maintain bikes as good as new – its engine running and all its other parts functioning. We know for a fact that it’s not only for the sake of transportation but also for a little...
She’s Hot in the Road…
Every bystander that saw you wishes that they could also have a girl like yours and they exclaimed “She’s definitely hot on the road…” and then you smile and said “Wish on brothers…this girl is mine…”
Have you ever wondered why most men refer...
What Matters Most in MOTORCYCLES?
Many motorcycle owners spend countless of dollars just to increase the engine performance of their bikes. And some of these engine performance parts include exhaust, fuel injection, mapping system and many more. Aside from that, countless...
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Learn how the Corvette was born
Ok guys lets talk a little about the driving force behind the
restoration business; it happens to be T. V. With all of the
shows running on Discovery and the other channels the
restoration business is on the rise in this country, and it's
about time, we need to pay more attention to our old American
cars they are an American icon. I realize that restoration is
not cheap, but neither is a new car, and will it be with you for
thirty years or more, or just a fart in the wind with in five
years or less. I'm not bashing on the new stuff, I'm just making
a point, people will go out and spend 50K or more on a BMW, but
whine when it come time to fix up a piece of American history,
and why, it cost too much WA, it's worth it. But if your
building your car just to sell it, don't, you'll never make a
profit, if you want to sell them, sell them as project cars, or
buy cars that have already been restored to sell. You should
restore a car because you love it, and it hold memories of the
fun times in life, it should be a part of you, it's not just a
car, it's your car, and that makes it special. It couldn't
matter less what kind of car it is, as long as you love it and
it's special to you, everybody likes different cars, and they
are all cool to the person that owns them. I know this is a
little off the normal subject, but it deserves a mentioning.
We'll get back to the norm next month. I feel that Mr. Duntov
has given so much to the car world that he should be paid some
homage, respect if you will, after all he did design one of the
biggest baddest meanest cars ever built by man kind. You may be
a Ford freak or a Mopar freak, but I'm here to tell you this car
on any given day could roast any Ford or Mopar that you care to
mention, an L-88 Corvette was truly an American icon in the car
world. If you were to go out to race in the 1960's and you just
happened to run in to one of these, and you were racing stock
for stock, then you probably know what it feels like to lose a
race, they didn't always win, but I'd say it's a good bet that
most of the time you'd lose to one of these. Being as how
Chevrolet is the most winning engine in all of racing, if you
don't believe me, then spend a little time searching the net,
and you'll most certainly learn something new today. Since
Chevrolet is the most winning engine in racing history, and with
out question the Corvette is their most winning car, well you
add it up, a Corvette was nothing to laugh at, and if you did,
you may be laughing out the other side of your mouth very soon.
The Corvette is one of the most beautiful cars ever built by
Chevrolet, or any car company as far as I'm concerned, since
it's inception in 1953 it has been one of the most highly sought
after cars ever built. The Corvette has without a doubt had it's
bad moments, but the good far out weighs the bad, as a matter of
fact the Ford Cobra was built to put the Corvette down, but as
you see it never did. The Corvette commands respect where ever
it goes, don't be thinking in the you infinite wisdom that you
stock muscle car can put the Vette down to rest, this is a very
stupid idea, as not very many cars could do it, including the
Hemi Mopar's, a Corvette is a truly wicked sports / muscle car
and should never be taken lightly. This car would put its mark
on the world forever. I'm going to add a little history on the
Corvette that I have borrowed from the Corvette action Center;
all rights to this article belong to them.
Zora Arkus-Duntov December 25, 1909 - April 21, 1996. "The
Corvette was no dog anymore." - Zora speaking about the Corvette
after setting a 150 mph top-speed record at Daytona, December
1955. Biography Born: "Zachary Arkus" on December 25, 1909 to
Russian parents near Brussels, Belgium. During his teens, Zora's
parents divorced and his mother later remarried, hence the name
"Arkus-Duntov". During his early years in Berlin, Germany, Zora
worked at a motorcycle shop and soon after, started racing
motorcycles. Due to the danger of motorcycle racing and his
parents' request, he stopped motorcycle racing and turned his
attention towards cars. In December of 1934, Zora graduated with
a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Institute of
Charlottenburg in Berlin where he specialized in engine
development and supercharging. Due to a paper he wrote on
supercharging and his many affiliations with auto racing teams,
he won a consulting contract with the Mercedes Grand Prix racing
team. In 1938, Zora wrote another paper, this time on the
benefits of four-wheel drive and steering for high performance
vehicles. The German Auto Club magazine published this
particular paper. In 1939, Zora married Elfi Wolff, a 17 year
old, German native and dancer in the Folies-Bergere in Paris. It
was also at this time that Zora joined the French Air Force and
served in the military through 1940. Zora eventually moved to
the United States with his brother "Yuri" and started a
successful manufacturing company called, "Ardun Power Products"
where they manufactured aluminum overhead valve heads for the
flathead Ford engine. These special aluminum heads enabled the
engine to produce 300+ horsepower. Several cars equipped with
these heads went on to set records and helped to establish
Zora's engineering capabilities in the U.S. # In early 1950,
Zora moved to England and helped Sydney Allard with his racing
operation and drove the Allard J2 in LeMans in 1952 and 1953. It
was also at this time that he worked for Daimler-Benz and
Porsche as a consultant. In 1952, Zora came back to the United
States and joined Fairchild Aviation. Shortly after his arrival
at F.A., he spotted the Corvette at the GM Motorama Show, which
was held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. # After
seeing the 1953 Corvette for the first time, Zora wrote a letter
to Chevrolet Chief Engineer, Ed Cole outlining his ideas for
improving the Corvette. Ed Cole and another engineer, Maurice
Olley, were so impressed with Zora's letter that they invited
him to meet with them in Detroit. He was hired on May 1, 1953 as
an assistant staff engineer. On December 16, 1953, he outlined a
letter entitled: "Thoughts Pertaining to Youth, Hot Rodders and
Chevrolet". In this letter, Duntov outlined the importance of
the V8 engine and the importance of promoting the Chevrolet
nameplate to the youth of America. (View this Memo) # Even
though the Corvette's styling was popular, the engineering that
went into the car was lacking. The Blue Flame 6-cylinder engine
and automatic transmission did not provide the performance that
owners and sports-car enthusiasts expected. As a result,
sales
gradually fell off and the fate of the Corvette was far from
promising. There were however, several people within Chevrolet
that wanted to see the Corvette succeed and Zora led the way as
seen in his now famous memo written to Ed Cole and Maurice Olley
on October 15, 1954. Zora's memo outlined what he saw wrong with
Corvette and Chevrolet's marketing and the changes he felt
necessary to turn the Corvette around and shape it into the
world-class sports car it was meant to be. As a result,
Chevrolet management agreed, Zora worked his magic, and Corvette
sales escalated. Accomplishments * The 1956 Corvette received a
210-hp, 265 ci V8, a 225-hp, dual 4-barrel 265ci engine and a
special 265ci engine sporting the infamous "Duntov Cam"
resulting in 240-hp. The 1957 Corvette received the 283 ci V8
and fuel injection. This marked the first year that fuel
injection was available on a Corvette. The idea of fuel
injection was Zora's and Zora was responsible for encouraging
Chevrolet management to undertake this costly joint venture with
Rochester Products, however, the system was ultimately designed
and built by John Dolza, another engineer. The 283-ci engine
combined with fuel injection now had an output of 283 hp. The
Corvette won the honors of being the first production-based
passenger vehicle in the world to sport one horsepower per cubic
inch. * Zora with the 1963 Corvette. Zora started to build the
Corvette SS (Project XP-64) around the end of 1957. After the SS
came the Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicles (CERV) I and
II, the legendary Grand Sport Corvettes which gave Carroll
Shelby's Cobra's a run for their money, the XP-880, XP-882 and
many others. Along with all of these special one-off creations,
Zora continued to push the Corvette's envelope of performance by
releasing various racing packages as Regular Production Options
(RPOs) for the Corvette. · The legendary 1963 Z06 Corvette was
born. This special performance equipment package consisted of a
327 ci, 360 hp fuel injected V8 with 4 speed manual
transmission, posi traction rear-end, 36-gallon fuel tank, heavy
duty shocks, springs, power brakes with finned drums and much
more. · Zora incessantly worked at convincing Chevrolet that in
order to keep the Corvette competitive in racing, greater
performance was necessary. This opened the door to bigger brakes
and more powerful engines. The 1967-1969 L88 Corvettes, the
ZL-1, 1970-1972 ZR-1 and ZR-2 were his eventual offspring.
· Zora at the GM Proving Grounds.As the early 1970's drew near,
so too did big government and insurance companies. Leaded gas
became a thing of the past as well as increased government
safety restrictions.
Along came the insurance companies, which drastically increased
premiums on high performance automobiles such as the Corvette.
In an attempt to keep the Corvette at the forefront of
performance, Zora continued to increase the size of the
Corvette's top engine option to 454 ci, but this too became a
thing of the past and the days of the roaring legendary 427 big
blocks were long gone. It was during this time that Zora kept
working on what he considered to be the ultimate Corvette; a
special four-wheel drive, mid-engined Corvette known as the
XP-882, which later became the four-rotor XP-895. However these
plans were not well received by Chevrolet corporate management
and were quickly squashed. Zora retired from Chevrolet in 1975.
Although Zora retired from his position in 1975, he remained as
a consultant to Chevrolet as well as many other companies such
as American Custom Industries and Holley. It was his work with
ACI, which ultimately led to the limited edition, "Duntov Turbo"
Corvette. This customized convertible came equipped with a turbo
charged 350 ci V8 and upgraded suspension. Unfortunately, like
the early 1970's Corvettes, Zora became disappointed in the poor
performance and sales figures of the car. · Zora with his wife,
Elfi.Gradually, Zora began to reduce his consulting jobs and
enjoy his many hobbies, one of which was flying. He owned a
small plane and enjoyed taking short trips from time to time. He
also began making more and more appearances at major Corvette
events around the country along with his wife, Elfi Duntov. It
was not uncommon to see Zora and Elfi spending hours signing
autographs and chatting with the long lines of admiring Corvette
owners and enthusiasts who would patiently wait to see and talk
to the man who was responsible for fostering their love affair
with the Corvette.
· * On Sunday, April 21, 1996, Zora Arkus-Duntov, quietly passed
away at St. John's Hospital in Grosse Pointe, MI at the age of
86 due to cancer-induced kidney failure. Below is the obituary
that appeared in The Detroit News on April 23, 1996: Zora
Arkus-Duntov, father of the Corvette, dies By Wes Raynal / The
Detroit News Zora Arkus-Duntov was called the "Father of the
Covette," a dream maker, and a Detroit legend. Duntov died
Sunday of natural causes at St. John Hospital in Detroit. He was
86 Duntov began his 22 years at Chevrolet in 1953. He was first
drawn to the division after seeing the XP-122 Corvette prototype
at a General Motors Corp. auto show.
· Duntov wrote to Ed Cole, then Chevrolet's chief designer,
appraising the XP-122. Cole was said to be impressed enough by
Duntov's letter that he asked him to join Chevrolet as a
research and development engineer. Duntov did in 1956. He was
named the Corvette's engineering coordinator just a year later,
and was also named director of high performance vehicles. In
1968, Duntov became chief engineer on the Corvette. He was
responsible for such advances as disc brakes, independent rear
suspension and limited-slip differentials, all of which were
found on production Corvettes.
· Outside of engineering circles, Duntov drove in major
automobile races, winning his class at Le Mans in 1954 and 1955,
and setting the Stock Car class record at the 1956 Pikes Peak
Hill climb. Duntov, born to Russian parents in Belgium, came to
America in 1941. He had graduated from the Institute of
Charlottenburg in Berlin in 1934 with a degree in mechanical
engineering. Duntov served as a consultant to Chevrolet after
retiring in 1975. Visitation is from 2-9 p.m. Wednesday at the
A.H. Peters funeral home, 20705 Mack Av., Grosse Point Woods.
Copyright 1996, The Detroit News Zora speaking at a Corvette
event. Zora with retired Corvette Chief Engineer, Dave McLellan
atop the 1,000,000th Corvette.
muscle car restoration
About the author:
None
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