Duntov EX-87 1954 Corvette
by Dennis Hedberg
Title
Duntov EX-87 1954 Corvette
Artist
Dennis Hedberg
Medium
Photograph - Digital Photography
Description
Late in 1955, before the name �Corvette� became a household word signifying America�s sports car, a young Russian-born Chevrolet engineer named Duntov was toiling away almost anonymously in an effort to make his leftover factory mule into a record-breaker.
Over a year earlier, Chevrolet Chief Engineer and three-time Indy 500 winner Mauri Rose had Daytona legend Smokey Yunick install an experimental V-8 engine into a 1954 Corvette test mule, which was given the factory designation EX87. When its testing duties were completed, it was given to Zora Arkus Duntov at Chevrolet Engineering to prepare for a high-speed record run at Daytona Beach in January 1956. It was assigned a new tracking number, 5951.
Duntov modified the car by replacing the windshield with a curved plexiglass windscreen and fitting a fiberglass tonneau cover over the passenger side of the cockpit. Borrowing from recent Jaguar practice, Duntov also fabricated a fiberglass headrest-tailfin for high speed stability. Duntov increased the engine displacement from 283 to 307ci and ordered a special camshaft from Engineering before loading EX87/5951 onto a trailer and heading for GM�s Arizona Desert Proving Ground.
After initial resistance from Engineering, Duntov�s cam was delivered to the Proving Ground, where it earned lasting notoriety as the �Duntov cam� by helping the car blast off to a record 163 miles per hour, an astounding figure in 1955. That same engine was later installed in another famous Corvette, 6901, which set a new record at Daytona of 150.583 mph.
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January 10th, 2015
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