OLD Modified Corvettes

[lynn engels]

you heard it here first, im calling you out rex turner youve got from now till indy to get that corvette tuned up i,ll be bringing my car and i expect a race, so dont run and hide, lets give the fans what they want to see two old modified cars going at it. oh and this wont be for free im thinking whoever loses has to by ice cream. see ya there. lynn::

[Rick Brown]

Since I know you Lynn, and met Rex at the Geezer's lunch when they were working on the car and met Bill Sheets, know Dave Thomas and Jerry Ault and also RonP that asked the question on the engine in a previous post I hope I get a chance to drive one of those screaming machines one day..................HAHA, I know bring the checkbook!


Funny, but while wearing one of the t shirts my friend Randy did for the Ault & James crew at Dallas last year David Reher stopped me and wondered where I got the shirt. Said he spent a lot of time in the Dayton Ohio area with those guys. They were all definitely trend setters in those days! had the chance to meet Jerry's Dad, he was a great person to meet in the 70's.


A lot of history in that town with Dave Layer, Fred Hurst, Keith Ferrell, Paul Frost, George Montgomery, Billy Stepp and a lot more. It's a great group to have lunch with those that are still living telling of the great times they had.

They all inspired me for sure!
Time to leave this story for others, take care guys hope to see y'all again! WE ALL NEED TO STAY HEALTHY! Sad to see all those we have lost this past year..........................RB

[lynn engels]

rick, you nailed it in your post, that car of rex,s has inspired me my whole life but the car would be nothing with out all the people who have been apart of it including my friend angelo, i love the cars but all the friends ive made over the years is why i cant wait to get back to the races every year.

[Tim H]

Originally Posted by Shotgun 61

Hi Ron,

Thanks for your questions, Jerry ran mostly 277 engines but occasionally went up to a 287. He built his own engines and Batten did his heads. He said he left at 8500 and shifted at 10,500, 11K thru the lights. This was with a Dana 60 and 6.50 gear and Doug Nash 5 speed.

Thanks,
Rex

I've not really heard of the 277ci, was it a combo of 265 and 283 parts ? The 287 was a more popular displacement I believe .With the rather limited availability of components in the 1970's how was a 277 built ? Just curious, thanks.

[Terry Witzel]

Originally Posted by Shotgun 61

Here are a few pics........................... I'll post more if y'all want to see em. That's the man himself, Jerry Ault at 81 years young sitting in the car. He had not seen it since he sold it in 1978. This pic was at the Gathering of the Geezers event at Kilkare Dragstrip in Xenia Ohio in August 2020. It was an emotional day for all of us. Another pic is Dave Thomas, Jerry's good friend and crew chief, Jerry and yours truly. Thanks for allowing me to post this piece of drag racing history.
Rex

Dave Thomas had a pretty cool street Corvette back in the day, somewhere I have an old magazine, (Popular Hot Rodding I think) that had an article on it. Red with red anodized super tricks. If I remember right it was one of the Route 66 corvettes.

[Shotgun 61]

Originally Posted by lynn engels

you heard it here first, im calling you out rex turner youve got from now till indy to get that corvette tuned up i,ll be bringing my car and i expect a race, so dont run and hide, lets give the fans what they want to see two old modified cars going at it. oh and this wont be for free im thinking whoever loses has to by ice cream. see ya there. lynn::

Hope to see you there my friend............

[Shotgun 61]

Originally Posted by Terry Witzel

Dave Thomas had a pretty cool street Corvette back in the day, somewhere I have an old magazine, (Popular Hot Rodding I think) that had an article on it. Red with red anodized super tricks. If I remember right it was one of the Route 66 corvettes.

Yes, Dave had a maroon 62 327-340 with red anodized Super Tricks. I have a photo somewhere that Dave sent me. I'll post it when I find it. Don't know about the Route 66 history.

[Tom Broome]

Originally Posted by Tim H

I've not really heard of the 277ci, was it a combo of 265 and 283 parts ? The 287 was a more popular displacement I believe .With the rather limited availability of components in the 1970's how was a 277 built ? Just curious, thanks.

TLDR This is Modified Eliminator stuff, pretty off the path for Super Stock guys.

The 277 was a 283 block (307 sometimes) bored .030 (3.905) with a 2.900 stroke crankshaft. For a budget build you took a large journal 302 crankshaft and offset ground the rods to shorten the stroke one hundred thousandths. If you put that crank in a 4.030 block that got you 296 cubic inches, also a popular combination.

So, basically it was a destroked 287.

The 283 bore size was the smallest bore that could (barely) accept the 2.05/1.60 valve combination popular in the 23 degree heads of the time. If an engine builder wanted live on the edge, they could take a 350 block and offset sleeve all eight cylinders with chrome-moly sleeves and have greater clearance between the intake valve and cylinder wall. You might even then put a larger intake valve in the head. If that allowed the port to flow more air, you might find some power. They might even go to the trouble to make a deck plate to accurately locate the bores off the head dowel locations.

I wouldn't know anyone who would go through that much trouble....Would I?

[Shotgun 61]

Originally Posted by Tom Broome

TLDR

So, basically it was a destroked 287.

The 283 bore size was the smallest bore that could (barely) accept the 2.05/1.60 valve combination popular in the 23 degree heads of the time. If an engine builder wanted live on the edge, they could take a 350 block and offset sleeve all eight cylinders with chrome-moly sleeves and have greater clearance between the intake valve and cylinder wall. You might even then put a larger intake valve in the head. If that allowed the port to flow more air, you might find some power. They might even go to the trouble to make a deck plate to accurately locate the bores off the head dowel locations.

I wouldn't know anyone who would go through that much trouble....Would I?

I know somebody who did EXACTLY that......................and his name is Jerry Ault. A LOT of work. Jerry was a magician when it came to engine building. I actually found one of his old race engines last year and I "plan" to put it in the car this winter along with a Doug Nash 5 speed, but my back surgeon may have something to say about that.

[lynn engels]

i will come help if you let me sit in the car