1974 Corvette "T" top coupe, this car was used to develop the "Larson Turbo Kit" it is 1 of 1 and was used as a test car only and never driven year round. The car was on the cover of November 1979 "Corvettes" magazine as a "Twin Turbo" car and it had a article written about Bob Larson and photos of the car in "Super Stock" magazine in March of 1980. This was Larson's test car that he would built and drag race, blow up and try again, (11.60s @132 best) this car has been sitting inside the Larson engineering shop for 20 years, with the last engine on a stand. I had the pleasure of helping Bob clean up the shop and dispose of his tubing fab business and as part payment ended up with the car. I had a 1977 350 standard bore 4 bolt main engine built with new pistons, rings, new mild hyd. cam, lifters, double timing chain and gear set, bearings, windage tray with fresh 1.94 heads, new HEI dist., aluminum Offy intake and a 650 Holley. These external engine parts are all from the original car (T04 turbo) and the car has original checked paint, scallops and pin stripping, it looks like the front end and back bumper have been altered (newer) it has a gold 25th ann. emblem on the nose. The turbo is a "blow thru" system with the turbo making 12 lbs of boost and it is mounted on the custom cast exhaust manifold and a pressurized carb, Bob's theory was the shortest distance to the carb the less lag, he made his own bonnet and finned covers you see in the photos. I also had the original 400 turbo rebuilt with all new internals and a shift kit. The car has 4 new stainless lined calipers and new pads and master cylinder. It also has new brass plated side exhaust that was part of the "Larson" conversion, Bob loved brass and gold so on his car the oil pan, timing cover, rims, Knock-offs, side pipes and some moldings and emblems were brass plated, it also has a one piece gold tinted glass top. The car is in the single turbo configuration today as it was last. The car only has 10,000 miles on it and has spend all of it's time indoors and mostly apart. I just got it finished today and it has 0 miles on it, but it runs, stops and shifts good and all of the lights turn signals, wipers etc. work as they should. There may be some minor repairs to be done later as with all new builds. This is as close to a period perfect 70s drag car that I've ever had. A rare opportunity to own a piece of history that you can drive and not worry that you will see another car like it!
Any questions call Clyde 734-658-1052
The last photo is at the detail shop, the interior came out great, the paint on the hood is tacky and there are some nicks, dings and minor paint loss, but all in all it's a cool looking car with a lot of history. The magazines go with the car. If anyone wants more photos of it cleaned up or any photos of the hood etc. email me at clydescooltoys at aol dot com
Larson Engineering was a famous name in the Detroit area in the 1960s-90s. Some of the most famous drag cars and boats had Larson headers on them, Walt's Puffers, Joe Liberty's cars, Antieau's, Hatton's, Doug Nash, etc. Bob made custom headers for everything, he was on the Ford Indy team in the mid 1960s and invented the "Basket of Snakes" exhaust on the Ford powered Indy cars, he also built the original Nascar headers in the 60s that were flat and all came out on the right side, he said the first time he built them Ford was the only car that had them, the next race all the cars had copied his design. Bob also made aluminum intakes for the Indy cars and in the 1970s he got interested in turbos, but of his own design. Bob is still with us at 78 years old. He still has a header collector machine that he invented when he had the "Smooth Flow" header system. It will be sold this spring, anyone interested??
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