Classic Cars, Tech Center News, October 23, 2000

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TOP HAT JOHN-CLASSIC CARS COLUMN - Tech Center News, October 23, 2000

IF you are a lover of the ‘plastic fantastics’ more commonly referenced as a Corvette and, you would like to obtain serious records that document the validity of your Corvette by way of a factory authorized buildsheet-heres how you get one. The never before released documents, have been donated by the factory to the National Corvette Museum and are now available to Corvette owners listing options for each VIN Corvette produced … at the Bowling Green factory. RATS!!! This leaves out all those great mid-year ‘Big Block’ cars that nobody can really document and absolutely authenticate. Thats because only 1981 through 2000+ were ‘born’ in Bowling Green. Keep the faith though, who knows what may become available in the future-and will cause some of those monster motor Corvette cars to hit the stratosphere in value and others … to just be another cloned zoomer. So, for your 1981 through 2000 Corvette documentation, just contact the National Corvette Museum online at: http://www.corvettemuseum.com/library-archives/build sheets/index.htm or by calling the museum at: 800-53-VETTE. Cost for the info is $30 for museum members and $40 for non-members. Copies of original window stickers are also available for around $35 and can be laminated by the museum for an extra cost. Sounds right to me.

I sure bet reading this at first made some people nervous thinking, oh no there goes my retirement if my Corvette ain’t real. Like I wrote above, and it says so in the info I have, additional Corvette information and documentation will be made available through the Museum’s Library and Archives at a later date. Things about Corvette documenting history could get real interesting here. If you contact the National Corvette Museum, tell ‘em you read it in Top Hats Column.

SOME of you old time Buick lovers may recall a name from the past-Kenne Bell. This was the team of ‘Pop’ Kennedy and Jim Bell who raced Buick cars in the late ‘50s, through the ‘60s and well into, how about still today. They set an NHRA national record with a white over cocoa brown 1961 Buick Invicta two door-back then-and did the development work for Stage I Buick GS engines. They also had a hand in casting the infamous Buick GS Stage II all out race heads that never really went into production-only something like 11 sets got ‘did’. ‘Pop’ Kennedy hisself is in the great beyond probably weaving stories with St Peter on how to get the devil into a drag race and whip him good. Jim Bell is with us and keeps the name Kenne Bell alive and well. If you have an interest in the Buick name-you know of Kenne Bell stuff. For the Darth Vadaresque Turbo-Intercooled V6 Buick Regal models of the ‘80s, which by the way were the quickest and fastest cars of that decade, Kenne Bell aftermarket was the way to go for added power. As if those cars even needed it. And they are still at it with more turbo add ons for the new century and other vehicles.

They are now offering a Kenne Bell Twin Screw Supercharger and advertise the finished product as the largest, most powerful, positive displacement street legal supercharger on the market. This new supercharger is available for installation on the full line of new Chevrolet V8 engines including the 4.8, 5.3, 6.0, and 8.1 liter engines. For the Dodge Dakota and Jeep Grand Cherokee it is available for the 4.7 OHC-V8. Full boost for these systems comes in at 2000 rpm and that has got to give these vehicles bunches of low end torque.

Last year I drove a new SVT Ford Lightning pick up for a week. Believe me, a supercharger puts whack in your back when you call for it with just a flick of the ‘loud pedal’ to the metal. And when your hauling around steel that has the girth of Grants tomb, a supercharger ‘do give it the Wheaties for breakfast treatment’. When you consider that the Kenne Bell supercharger package is 50 state legal, hmmm, new car dealers may even start offering it as an option. Nitrous oxide is frowned upon by insurance companies and, might be cause for policy cancellation. But a supercharger on the other hand, doesn’t even seem to raise an eyebrow to underwriters. And its instant applied torque right when you want it. Interesting to note a little supercharger history here. In the early ‘50s, the Kaiser Manhattan F-Head inline six cylinder used a supercharger, Studebaker V8 Golden Hawk and Packard Golden Hawk models used them and the Avanti of ‘63-’64 had ‘em too. The Avanti with Andy Granatelli ‘boosting’ them, broke literally hundreds of land speed records back then. Even Ford offered a McCullough-Paxton ‘puffer’ in 1957 for its F model Y-block engine and made over 300 horsepower. Yep. Look under the hood of many a high line new intermediate GM car-and you will see the results of Buick’s blower technology development from the last century. Those Grand National six cylinder cars sure were fun, fast and got over 20 miles per gallon too.