1987
VETTE started the year with a massive power-adders issue. Vol. 10, No. 6 (December 1986 / January 1987) featured a blown and squeezed '82 with 700-plus horsepower, and a blown, 850hp custom '63 done up GS-style. Other articles included installing a 150hp nitrous kit in an '85 coupe and a look at proper documentation of classic Corvettes. In the Why Bother category was a feature of a Bigfoot-type 4x4 C4.
The VETTE staff changed again in February/March (Vol. 11, No. 1), as Tony DeFeo moved into a second associate editor position and Bill Erdman became tech editor. The magazine included an excellent piece by Roger Huntington on why the '66 L-72 427 was done in by hood design, as well as a report that Bakeracing's Showroom Stock Corvettes were 1986 SCCA/Escort Endurance champs.
John Greenwood wrote his final Racing column, about a wild night in his '64 Vette on Woodward Avenue, in April/May. Highlights included a thorough ID guide to high-performance small-block aluminum heads, and a five-page look at "the best Corvette yet"-Dick Guldstrand's creation, the Grand Sport 80. Coverage of the 1986 Corvette Nationals at Indianapolis posed the question, "Is it the next Bloomington Gold?" Apparently not, but a photo captured Zora Arkus-Duntov slicing a giant Chevrolet 75th Anniversary cake.
June/July was the "Z" issue. It looked at "Zora's Racers": the '70-72 LT1-powered ZR1s and the '71 ZR2 with its LS6 454, plus the '63 Z06, and an introduction to the new "Z" speed-rated tires. Greenwood's column was replaced with Handling by Dick Guldstrand; Cliff Gromer got a first look at Corvette Group's new Active Suspension Project car; and American Sunroof's concept Vette C4, with a nose that's strikingly like the to-be C5, was featured.
August/September had a first-a "Silver Salute" that showcased the last solid-axle car, the '62. Over the rest of the year, Jim Koscs move up to managing editor, and VETTE did a long-term evaluation of an '87 convertible that was very positive. The editorial emphasis on extreme custom Vettes with weird bodies, blowers, turbos, and/or nitrous gradually receded to a 50:50 split with NCRS-type cars.
1988
A year of transition for VETTE. As of Vol. 11, No. 6, Vette would be published eight times annually. Columns were in flux, as Guldstrand's Handling went away, Readers' Rides returned, and Heasley's Pricing became Collecting. The collector car market, including Corvettes, saw prices escalate out of reach for mere mortals. VETTE gave readers a sneak preview of the 200-plus mph LT5 Super Vette that GM was really working on, plus coverage of the Monterey Historic Automobile Races at Laguna Seca, where Mr. Duntov piloted a '56 vintage racer-probably his last-ever laps behind the wheel on a track.
In March, the magazine expanded to 86 pages with even more color, and a new guy, D. Randy Riggs, joined the gang as feature editor. The issue features a look at Corvettes going GTP racing, and Vette collecting was seen as an alternative to stock market investing, compounding an era of high prices and garage queens. In April VETTE grew to 90 pages, and Jim Koscs bid farewell. Highlights include a '67 L88 resto racer, Chevrolet's '54 Vette/Nomad "sport wagon" show car, and the introduction of Corvette Challenge racing. By May, both associate editors were gone, and former copy editor Jeff Bauer became Assistant Editor. Six pages were given to an ultra-rare '69 ZL1 aluminum big-block coupe, and a '63 Z06 vintage racer was featured.
Major changes were brewing in July. Marty Schorr was retitled Founding Editor, Cliff Gromer remained Editor, but D. Randy Riggs moved up to Senior Editor and Peter Easton moved in as Managing Editor. The volume "cycle" was re-adjusted, so July was Vol. 12, No. 5. The first Reader Survey appeared in VETTE, but someone forgot to edit it when picking it up from sister publication High Performance Mopar. While proposing to form a VETTE Enthusiast Advisory Panel, the survey said, "manufacturers of aftermarket Mopar parts and accessories" will contact the members-oops! Other features included a shootout between a new Corvette ragtop and its archrival, the Porsche 944 Turbo, and Cliff Gromer's not-so-hard-hitting but humorous test drive of a C4 pedal car.