Friday, July 07, 2017

'62 Corvette "Gulf Oil" race car originally bought from the Yenko dealership and raced by Dick Thompson, the famous Corvette racing dentist, sold for 1.65 million in 2015


In 14 races, the Gulf Oil ’62 Corvette finished first in class 12 times including wins at Daytona and Sebring and captured the 1962 A-Production Championship.

Following the end of the 1962 season, the Corvette returned to Yenko Chevrolet and was purchased by Tony Denman, who continued to campaign the car. It returned to Daytona for the 250-mile race, as well as the 3 Hours of Daytona, placing 6th and 22nd overall, respectively, which translated to a 2nd in class on both occasions.

 In 1963 was converted to street specifications and sold at the end of the season and then the Corvette was driven as a street car, repainted green, and then red, and then passed through just four owners before being purchased by a Corvette expert, who found the car being used as a daily driver by a college student who was completely unaware of its racing history.

Although a number of the car’s racing components were missing, Ernst was able to track down the missing parts through Denman, who had kept the components in his parents’ garage before selling them in 1979. Ernst was able to buy the missing parts back in May 1985, reuniting the Corvette with its original engine block, cylinder heads, exhaust manifold, Yenko heavy-duty suspension, Stewart Warner gauges, and roll bar, amongst other original components.





http://www.rmsothebys.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1071914
http://www.thegentlemanracer.com/2015/01/1962-corvette-gulf-oil-race-car.html

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