1973 Chevrolet Corvette C3 Coupe

This Corvette was given to American road racer Bill Morrison for conversion into an SCCA racing entry via Morrison's fried Tony DeLorenzo, who had strong connections at Chevrolet. Along with Chuck West, Morrison built the Corvette with a number of racing-specific parts and supplies provided by Tony De Lorenzo. Some of the parts were even sourced from the Budd Corporation-sponsored Corvette that De Lorenzo campaigned in period until it was lost in a fire at a Pontiac, Michigan street-circuit race.

The Corvette was very effective on tracks where its speed was able to be realized, such as at Road America, Daytona and Sebring. The Big-Block C3 Corvettes were very fast and enjoyed a very competitive chapter in American road racing (SCCA and IMSA) throughout the 1970s and well into the 1980s.

The Bill Morrison Corvette entered 23 SCCA Trans-Am races and chalked up several Top-10 finishes, culminating in the 1977 SCCA Central Division A-Production National Championship. It also won the 1977 June Sprints with Bill Morrison driving and held the Road America A-Production lap record until the end of the 1978 season.

After its racing career was over, it was entered in vintage races, even winning the BRIC Group 6 race at Road America in 1998. It won its class on the show field at both the 2000 and 2010 editions of Road & Track Concours d'Elegance. On June 22, 2001, the Corvette received the Bloomington Gold Historic Award.

The car is powered by a 468 cubic-inch Chevrolet dry-sump L-88 racing engine with aluminum open-chamber cylinder heads and intake, and custom-modified racing carburetor. There is a Muncie M-22 close-ratio four-speed manual transmission and four-wheel hydraulic disc brakes with dual master cylinders.

In 2011, this car was offered for sale at the Monterey, CA auction presented by RM Auctions. It was estimated to sell for $150,000-$250,000 and offered without reserve. As bidding came to a close, the car had been sold for the sum of $88,000, including buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2011