Say what you want about the Chevrolet Corvettes of the early generations, but they are almost always the highlights of auction and other sales events taking place all over America around the clock. But even among their own ranks some examples are so special they make collectors go nuts in anticipation and blind to how much they end up spending.
Later this month auction house Mecum will be holding its annual sale in Monterey, California. The lot of cars expected to be sold there is quite rich, and it includes a fair share of Corvettes. None of them however is as special as the one we have here.
The car you’re looking at is not only special, but also unique. It is the only 1966 Corvette to have even been raced by a team called Alan Green Chevrolet in the SCCA AP Class series, under the control of driver Gary Gove.
Like many such cars of that period, the racer was born as a result of a not exactly official and rather discreet collaboration between Chevrolet’s engineers and privateers racing in the series – that’s because the carmaker was not providing direct factory support to them back then.
Wrapped in yellow with green stripes and Alan Green graphics, the car is powered by a 427ci engine of the L88 variety, in its turn controlled by means of a Muncie 4-speed transmission.
With this setup the car was raced by Gove to a number of wins at Spokane, Deer Park, Newton, Shelton and Kent. It did so while taking on the giants of the racing tracks of that period, including cars like the mighty Shelby Cobras.
The Corvette helped its initial driver become the point leader for the Northeast region, and also played a major part in the racing exploits of its subsequent handler, Dale Samuelson, which raced it until the 1970s in the SCCA NE championships.
The car is presently in restored condition, showing the exact specs it had back in its Alan Green glory days, including when it comes to its black interior. In the time that has passed since it last saw action on a race track it even won the MCRS American Heritage Award.