Now inspired to build a replica, Gary began looking for a donor car. Within six months he found a Milano Maroon '65 coupe behind a gas station in Marco Island, Florida. "The car was smashed all the way up to the doors," Gary says. "The frame was bent, and the entire back end was missing. The engine had been yanked to go in an El Camino.
"I tried to buy it, but the owner kept turning me down," Gary says. Finally, he asked what it would take to buy the car. Incredibly, the owner said, "a torch set." That and $500 bought the Corvette. Gary towed it out on August 11, 1985 and took it to his shop.
Gary went to Bloomington Gold in 1986 to look at the No. 4 GS and get as many pictures and measurements as he could. Not much had been written about the Grand Sports at that time, but there was one book, Karl Ludvigsen's Star Spangled Sportscar, he was able to use for reference. "It had a lot of pictures that just drove me wild," Gary laughs.
Gary spent considerable time measuring the original tube-frame chassis. His intention was to build an identical replica, right down to the big front crossmember. "I ordered the tubing and began bending it to the patterns I had drawn based on my measurements," Gary says. "I got the real critical measurements from Grand Sport No. 5, and a lot of the other measurements are from the factory."
Gary fabricated the front control arms to duplicate the originals. "I drilled holes in the rear trailing arms, like [on] the original Grand Sports to reduce weight," he says. The steering box is stock but refinished in silver and safety-wired to make it look aluminum.
The appearance of some components required a degree of creative trickery, but Gary tried to come as close to original as possible. "I didn't have big bucks to go out and buy a lot of the hardware," Gary says, "much of which wasn't around anyway, so I had to do it myself." For example, he drilled the holes and then counted the chain links (there are five) to hold the side pipes in place. "I kept the battery up front and modified the master cylinder to clear the Webers like [on] the original Grand Sports. I had to change the location of the fuse box over to the right side and rework the main harness so it would route the same."
For power, Gary chose to go the practical (and more affordable) route. "The 327 engine came out of an old Chris Craft boat," he says. "I didn't want to make the engine radical because I wanted to drive the car." Gary took the engine to Lamont Johnson for a cleanup bore, a mild camshaft, and some valve and port work. "I couldn't swing the cost of a set of Webers," Gary adds. "Besides, the car wouldn't be as streetable with the finicky Webers."
The gearing is a set of 2.72:1 cogs that came out of a '69 Vette. "That was the rear that was in the car when I got it," Gary says, "and I never changed it." While at Bloomington, Gary also noticed that Grand Sport No. 4 had an aluminum radiator. He was able to find a similar aftermarket piece from Modine, which he paired with a Fiero electric fan.
Gary planned on fabricating his own body panels until he learned that Mid America was doing replica pieces. "So, instead of me trying to make the body panels myself, I was able to get the correct front and rear panels, roof, and 'Sebring-style' hood," he says. Gary did retain the doors from the '65 donor, in which he installed Plexiglas windows. The back window is also Plexiglas.
To recreate the Grand Sport's 36-gallon fuel tank, Gary made a pattern from cardboard, then had a friend construct a replica tank out of aluminum. "I never measured it to see if it will actually hold 36 gallons," Gary says.
He had the replica shot in '87 IROC Blue lacquer. "We tried to match it up to the original Grand Sports," Gary says, "but it came out a little bit lighter. We made a mistake, but it seems everyone liked our color better."
One of the real treasures on the car is an original Mecom Racing Team decal. Also on the replica's flanks are decals from Firestone, Perfect Circle, Wynn's Friction Proofing, and Esso. Gary fabricated the Grand Sport emblems from fiberglass himself. Why did he choose the number 5 for the car's "meatball"? "Because there were five original Grand Sports," Gary tells us, "so I put the number five on the car in tribute."
Gary's GS isn't a "snapshot in time," like most race-car restorations, nor does it precisely mirror any of the five originals. "I didn't really go out to copy the appearance of any one Grand Sport." he says. "[But] believe it or not, a lot of people thought it was one of the originals. I just built it to make me happy."
Gary's desire to duplicate as faithfully as possible is reflected in the interior. "I wanted to copy the seats, the material, the color, the way the Plexiglas windows go up and down on the straps, and even the little covers that go over the inside door-release knobs." The seats themselves are from a Porsche 914, cut down to resemble real Grand Sport units. Gary found the correct seat upholstery, bought a sewing machine, and did the work himself. "I also did the carpeting, based on pictures of the originals showing how they were cut and bound," he says. The door panels duplicate the appearance of the originals when the cars were first built in late 1962.