Rebuilding a burnt-out 1969 Corvette L88 race car & vintage racing it at Watkins Glen

The L88 we saw on SPEED took more than 2,300 hours to build, but the results spoke for themselves: a 2:04 time at Watkins Glen-a track record for a Group 6 car. Peter recorded the fastest lap in every session, took the pole for the various races, and recorded both a win in the pre-final and an overall win in the feature race.

The L88 replica Corvette was built from a '69 Corvette that had burned. Once the donor car was stripped down, the frame was cleaned and placed on the surface plate. Everything was squared, and the centerline was established. Peter didn't say much about the other techniques used to strengthen the frame, but we assume his chassis expert has read the Chevy Power book at least once. (The book is now out of print, but in its day it was the definitive reference for modifying a C3 Corvette for the track.) Peter's chassis man has also been working on road and race cars for more than 30 years, so he's seen it all and even made up some of his own inventions.

The rollcage was made of 1.75-inch chrome-moly steel, which is stronger and lighter than regular steel tube. In fact, almost everything on the car was designed with weight reduction in mind. By the time it was finished, the car was 400 pounds under its prescribed weight limit, and the team was free to place lead weights wherever necessary to achieve a 50-50 front-to-rear and side-to-side balance. Talk about attention to detail-they even made special molds that would allow the weights to be put into the recesses that would achieve the best weight distribution.

Two important factors in getting a race car to handle properly are ride height and roll center. The lower the roll center, the better. Ride height should be as low as possible without bottoming out. In this case, ride height was going to be 1.5 to 2 inches lower than stock (measured at the frame). The critical factor was the headers. Back in the day, GM used OK Kustom side pipes, but custom manufacturing is usually required these days. To avoid running the headers under the framerail, Peter's group fabricated special one-off headers that go over the top instead. Like magic, the primary technical restriction to lowering was overcome.


Ohlins shocks were also specially designed for the car. Legendary sent the company a full set of operational parameters, including vehicle weight and intended use. The shocks were critical to controlling the massive toe change that can result from the relatively short rear control arms. The correct shocks can control these movements and greatly improve handling. The first shocks were initially tested at the Watkins Glen event, then sent back for further updates. Once these were dialed in, the problems inherent to the C3 Corvette's suspension design were fairly well controlled.

The brakes are Corvette "HD" pieces, friction material is race-quality, and the tires are period-correct bias-ply. Peter has two sets of 15-inch wheels-in Torq-Thrust D and Minilite patterns-both of which were sourced from Phil Schmidt at PS Engineering. Unfortunately, available brake upgrades are severely restricted by the SVRA rulebook. With a Traqmate-confirmed top speed of 166 mph at the Glen, even a twin-pin J56 caliper setup can be a weak link.


At this point, transmission selection became important. By choosing a Tex Racing SR1 unit, the seat-and, more important, driver weight-could be moved 4 inches closer to the center line. The top-loading transmission not only saves valuable space, but it also permits a larger side-crush zone. The drawback? This new-generation trans comes at a cost of about $8,500, and exacts a 150-pound weight penalty. Still, these custom-built pieces permit the best alignment of seat, steering wheel, transmission, and pedals so as to ensure driver comfort. In the long run, this is really the critical factor.

Active Engines in Mississauga, Ontario, built the engine. Many of the engine details are proprietary, but the brand names Comp Cams, Air Flow Research, Diamond Pistons, Peterson Fluid Systems, Tilton, and Fuel Safe are all clearly visible on the car. Photos provided by Legendary show the mockup engine and transmission, using a ZL1 block with cast-iron oval-port heads and a triple-disc hydraulic clutch. The radiator comes from CNR, while American Custom Industries built the Vette's one-piece front and rear clips. Smoothline Manufacturing crafted the lightweight removable hardtops, and the headlight buckets and covers are from F. Gregg Racing.

The car made its debut on Labor Day 2005 at the Watkins Glen historic races

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