Bobby Sanford owns our feature Corvette. It was on display at the 2018 Corvette Chevy Expo held at the Galveston Island Convention Center. Bobby took 1st in the C4 Class with his 1996 Corvette Grand Sport. Bobby is currently serving in Afghanistan, so we wanted to pay tribute to him and thank him for his service by sharing his Corvette.
1996 was the end of the C4 generation. Due to this Chevy decided to make a very special Corvette to commemorate the end of this highly successful generation.
The run was to be limited. The final production totals were 1,000. Of those, 810 coupes were produced and 190 convertibles. The car was named after the famous Grand Sport Corvette race cars from the early 60s.
According to the Corvette Black Book, the option code was RPO Z51 for an additional cost of $3,200 ($2,330 w/convertible). The base Corvettes that year was $37,225 for the sport coupe and $45,060 for the convertible.
The Grand Sport option (RPO Z16) had the LT4 engine and was only available with the 6-speed manual transmission. This one-year-only LT4 engine was conservatively rated at 330 HP
To commemorate the 1963 Grand Sport Corvettes, they came with a special Admiral Blue paint and Arctic White racing stripe that ran down the center of the car and two red hash marks on the left front fender.
Special Grand Sport badging was placed on each side of the hood above the side fender vents as well as a unique chrome-plated Corvette emblem on the nose and gas lid. Special chrome badging and the ZR1-style wheels were black spoked.
The cars have their own unique VIN sequence that is distinct from the other 1996 Corvettes.
The Grand Sport Coupes were outfitted with P275/40ZR-17 tires on 17×9.5″ wheels in front and P315/35ZR-17 tires on 17×11″ wheels in the rear. Grand Sport Convertibles were furnished with P255/45ZR-17 tires on 17×8.5″ wheels in the front and the rear P285/40ZR-17 tires on 17×9.5″ wheels.
There were two Interior color choices for the Grand Sport. It was limited to all black, or a special Torch Red and Black combination . . .red seats and trim but with black carpeting. The headrests were embroidered with the words “Grand Sport.” There were 593 coupes with black interior and 217 with the Red/Black. Of the convertibles, 137 had the Black, and 53 convertibles had the Red/Black.
The Grand Sports were produced from April 3rd, 1995 for GS VIN #0001 and ended with GS VIN #1000 on June 14th, 1996.
Thank you and come home safe! Also, thanks to all our veterans! Thank you for sacrificing time, family, friends, and health to serve.
This 2018 Corvette Chevy Expo Coverage appeared in the September 2018 issues of Vette Vues Magazine.
Congratulations to the winners at the 40th Corvette Chevy Expo. The awards took place Sunday, March 11, 2018, in the Yacht room at the Galveston Island Convention Center at the San Luis Resort in Galveston, Texas.
BEST OF SHOW DISPLAY | Eddie Harvey, 1964 Corvette Custom | ||
BEST OF SHOW CORVETTE | Guy Mabee, 1969 Corvette Stock Tri-Power Award | ||
BEST OF SHOW CAMARO | Doyle & Beverly Vinson, 1969 Camaro Stock | ||
BEST OF SHOW CHEVY | Mary Jane Vaught, 1955 Chevy Modified Full Size | ||
PEOPLES CHOICE – | Carla Comer, 2015 Corvette Custom |
Awards Ceremony at the Chevrolet Show Cars, held at the Galveston Island Convention Center March 11, 2018. BEST OF SHOW DISPLAY went to Eddie Harvey with his 1964 Corvette Custom.
Awards Ceremony at the Chevrolet Show Cars, held at the Galveston Island Convention Center March 11, 2018. BEST OF SHOW CORVETTE went to Guy Mabee with his 1969 Corvette Stock.
Awards Ceremony at the Chevrolet Show Cars, held at the Galveston Island Convention Center March 11, 2018. BEST OF SHOW CAMARO went to Doyle & Beverly Vinson with their 1969 Camaro Stock.
Awards Ceremony at the Chevrolet Show Cars, held at the Galveston Island Convention Center March 11, 2018. BEST OF SHOW CHEVY went to Mary Jane Vaught, 1955 Chevy Modified Full Size. The builder accepted the award for Mary Jane.
Awards Ceremony at the Chevrolet Show Cars, held at the Galveston Island Convention Center March 11, 2018. PEOPLE’S CHOICE went to Carla Comer with her 2015 Corvette Custom.
Awards Ceremony at the Chevrolet Show Cars, held at the Galveston Island Convention Center March 11, 2018. MINI CAR AWARD went to Steve Henderson with his 1958 Speedway quarter Midget resto mod.
Awards Ceremony at the Chevrolet Show Cars, held at the Galveston Island Convention Center March 11, 2018. PRESERVATION-AWARD went to Danny Reed with his 1971 & 1969 Corvettes – NASA Astronauts Cars.
There were four Tri-Power Awards presented this year:
TRI-POWER AWARD ® | DeBold, Tom | 1960 Corvette | Red |
TRI-POWER AWARD ® | Hudson, Richard | 1967 Corvette | Yellow |
TRI-POWER AWARD ® | Mabee, Guy | 1969 Corvette | Blue |
TRI-POWER AWARD ® | Folse, William | 1988 Corvette | Red |
Click on this link to see the award winners for the 2018 Corvette Chevy Expo President’s Award.
Guy & Helen MayBee received their Tri-Power Award for their 1969 Corvette.
Richard Hudson received his Tri-Power Award for their 1967 Corvette.
Corvette Chevy Expo features Chevrolet Show Cars, held at the Galveston Island Convention Center March 11, 2018.
William Folse received his Tri-Power Award for his 1988 Corvette.
CLASS | NAME | CAR Type | Color | AWARD |
SURVIVOR Corvette C3 | Diamante, Paul | 1974 Corvette | Maroon | Second |
SURVIVOR Corvette C3 | Tortorella, Vinnie | 1978 Corvette Pace | Black/Silver | First |
CORVETTE STOCK C1 | Fullerton, James | 1958 Corvette | Blue | First |
CORVETTE STOCK C2 | Cowart, Denise | 1964 Corvette | White | Third |
CORVETTE STOCK C2 | Hesterberg, Earl & Susan | 1966 Corvette | Nassau Blue | Second |
CORVETTE STOCK C2 | Tortorella, Vinnie | 1963 Corvette ZO6 | Blue | Second |
CORVETTE STOCK C2 | Bradley, Roger | 1965 Corvette Fuel | Green | First |
CORVETTE STOCK C3 | Cowart, Paul | 1977 Corvette | Black | Third |
CORVETTE STOCK C3 | Diamanti, Paul | 1974 Corvette | White | Second |
CORVETTE STOCK C3 | Richards, Linda | 1982 Corvette | Silver | first |
CORVETTE STOCK C4 | Meyer,Fred | 1994 Corvette | Red/Maroon | third |
CORVETTE STOCK C4 | Canary, Mike | 1991 Corvette | White | second |
CORVETTE STOCK C4 | Sanford, Bobby | 1996 Corvette | Blue | first |
CORVETTE STOCK C5 | Mohamed, Moe | 2003 Corvette | Red | third |
CORVETTE STOCK C5 | Canary, Mike | 2001 Corvette | White | third |
CORVETTE STOCK C5 | Munster, Herman | 2003 Corvette | Blue | second |
CORVETTE STOCK C5 | MacFarland, James | 2003 Corvette | Red/Burgundy | second |
CORVETTE STOCK C5 | Diamanti, Paul | 2003 Corvette | Silver | first |
CORVETTE STOCK C6 | Foley Sr., David & Josetta | 2011 Corvette | Black | third |
CORVETTE STOCK C6 | Doggett, Gary | 2010 Grand Sport | Red | second |
CORVETTE STOCK C6 | Diamanti, Paul | 2013 Corvette ZR1 | Orange | first |
CORVETTE STOCK C7 | Timmons, JT | 2014 Corvette | Black | third |
CORVETTE STOCK C7 | Rodriquez, Jerry | 2017 Corvette | Red | second |
CORVETTE STOCK C7 | Steptoe, Herbert | 2018 Grand Sport | Blue | first |
CORVETTE MODIFIED C3 | Dixon, Michael | 1981 Corvette | Blue | second |
CORVETTE MODIFIED C3 | Goldberg, Harold | 1973 Corvette L6 | Dk Blue | first |
CORVETTE MODIFIED C5 | Adams, Cindy | 2003 Corvette | Maroon | first |
CORVETTE MODIFIED C6 | Adams, David | 2012 Corvette Grandsport | White | first |
CORVETTE MODIFIED C6 | Leeds, Michael | 2005 Corvette | Orange | first |
CORVETTE MODIFIED C7 | Martinez, Jessie | 2014 Corvette | White | third |
CORVETTE MODIFIED C7 | Bradley, John | 2016 Corvette | Maroon | third |
CORVETTE MODIFIED C7 | Hovey, Larry | 2016 Corvette | Red | second |
CORVETTE MODIFIED C7 | Shaw, Melba | 2016 Corvette | Black | second |
CORVETTE MODIFIED C7 | Weidman, Kirk | 2016 Corvette | Maroon | first |
none | ||||
CORVETTE CUSTOM C2 | Harvey, Eddie | 1964 Corvette | Silver | first |
none | ||||
CORVETTE CUSTOM C5 | Lopez, Gil | 2004 Corvette | Orange | third |
CORVETTE CUSTOM C5 | Fluellen, Tony | 2001 Corvette | Burgendy | second |
CORVETTE CUSTOM C5 | Rodgers, Michael & Swoney | 2001 Corvette | Red | first |
CORVETTE CUSTOM C7 | Comer, Carla | 2015 Corvette | Blue | second |
CORVETTE CUSTOM C7 | Pond, Steve & LouAnn | 2014 Corvette | White | first |
RETRO ROD | Woods, Ronald | 1965 Corvette | Red | first |
RATROD | Henderson, Steve | 1934 Chevy PU | Green | first |
CHEVY MODIFIED FULL SIZE | Sikes, Buddy & Christina | 1957 Chevy | Red | second |
CHEVY MODIFIED FULL SIZE | Vaught, Mary Jane | 1955 Chevy | Coral | first |
CHEVY CUSTOM FULL SIZE | Jewell, Homer | 1957 Chevy | Red | third |
CHEVY CUSTOM FULL SIZE | Novelli, Ross | 1955 Belair | Yellow | second |
CHEVY CUSTOM FULL SIZE | McDaniel, Kathy | 1962 Impala | Maroon | second |
CHEVY CUSTOM FULL SIZE | Wagoner, Mike & Ruby | 55 Chevy | Coral/gray | first |
CHEVY CUSTOM FULL SIZE | Vaught, Ken | 1957 Chevy | Purple | first |
CHEVY CUSTOM FULL SIZE -2000+ | Tropea, Frank | 2015 Chevy SS | Black | first |
CHEVELLE, MODIFIED | Schipon, Nick | 1972 Chevelle | Silver | second |
CHEVELLE, MODIFIED | Paul, Bill | 1969 Chevelle | DK Green | first |
STREET COUPE, Chevy STOCK | Smith, Skylar | 1934 Chevy Sreetrod | Blue | first |
STREET COUPE, Chevy CUSTOM | Glines, Billy | 1935 Chevy Coupe | Red | first |
STREET ROD, FORD | Gardner, Rollin | 1930 Model A Ford | Black | first |
TRUCK, Custom | Hyatt, Bobby | 1956 Chevy truck | Blue/Red | third |
TRUCK, Custom | Hensen, Jackie | 1969 Chevy truck C10 | Red | second |
TRUCK, Custom | Meyer, Steve | 1969 El Camino | Atomic Orange | first |
TRUCK, MODIFIED | Todd, Charles | 1950 Chevy | Blue | first |
NOVA CUSTOM | Fish, Jeff | 1966 Nova | Red | second |
NOVA CUSTOM | Countcil, Randy | 1965 Nova | Silver | first |
NOVA MODIFIED | Frank, Robert | 1972 Nova | Orange | first |
CAMARO STOCK GEN1 | Wuertz, Clifford | 1968 Camaro | Blue | third |
CAMARO STOCK GEN1 | Wright, Bob | 1967 Camaro | Red | second |
CAMARO STOCK GEN 1 | Vinson, Doyle & Beverly | 1969 Camaro | Silver | first |
CAMARO STOCK GEN 5 | Hoffman, Joe | 2015 Camaro | Black | first |
CAMARO STOCK GEN 6 | Adams , Taylor | 2016 Camaro | White | first |
CAMARO MODIFIED | Mondrick, David | 1969 Camaro | Red | first |
CAMARO, RESTO MOD | Crawford, Richard | 1968 Camaro | Blue | first |
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE 2018 CORVETTE CHEVY EXPO AWARDS GALLERY
To see the 2017 Corvette Chevy Expo Winners CLICK HERE
We are excited to add this year the Hagerty Youth Judging Program. Designed primarily for youth ages 8 to 14, the Youth Judging Program brings the world of classics to a kid-friendly level. I am sure the kids are going to have a lot of fun participating in this new event!
Saturday, March 10th from 10 am – 3 pm, children who are interested need to register at the Hagerty Insurance booth. Angelica Brothers will instruct the children and give them their judging kits.
The Young Judges will judge pre-selected show cars and interact with owners, allowing the judges to learn details, history and fun facts about each vehicle. They will be using a simplified scorecard that highlights five basic categories and they will rate the cars on a scale of 1-to-5.
The Youth Judging program is sponsored by Hagerty Insurance. There is no fee to participate and the Youth Judging program is open to children 8 to 14.
Here are some photos of Youth Judges at Amelia Island:
Youth Judging – Amelia Island 2017 – Aston Martin
Youth Judging
Hagerty Youth Judging Program is open to children 8 to 14 at the Corvette Chevy Expo this year.
If you are a model and would like to enter the Swimsuit USA International Model Search and Swimsuit Contest at the Corvette Chevy Expo March 11 at the Galveston Island Convention Center here is the contact information… Good Luck Ladies!
Swimsuit Contest at the Corvette Chevy Expo
You might recall the coverage of Alan Bean’s Corvette in the September issue of Vette Vues Magazine. In that article, we learned about the unique program from Chevrolet for the Astronauts.
It started with a man named Jim Rathmann. Some of you might remember him from winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1960. When he retired he owned and operated a Chevrolet-Cadillac dealership in Melbourne, Florida. Melbourne is about fifty miles south of the John F. Kennedy Space Center and a launch site for NASA.
Jim Rathmann became friends with many of the astronauts. He negotiated a particular lease arrangement with Chevrolet to put the astronauts into Chevrolet cars. For $1 a year, the astronauts could lease a car. They could choose any Chevrolet they wanted. We learn that six of the first group of astronauts picked Corvettes.
For a quick look back at Alan Bean’s 1969 Apollo XII Corvette, we learned that Alan Bean said in an exclusive interview in 1969 that the Apollo 12 lunar team – Bean, Pete Conrad, and Dick Gordon asked Rathmann for three identically prepared Riverside Gold Corvette coupes. They had 427/390 and were customized with a unique two-tone design dreamed up by Bean. The men were photographed with their cars for a story and published in Life magazine.
Year’s later, Al Bean’s Corvette was discovered by Danny Reed from Austin, Texas. You can read more about Alan Bean’s Corvette on our blog https://vette-vues.com/alan-l-beans-1969-chevrolet-astrovette/
Our feature Corvette was once again discovered by Danny Reed in Austin, Texas and who believed it to be another “special lease” astronaut car. What are the odds of finding Alan Bean’s 1969 Apollo XII Corvette, then 46 years later, Alfred Worden’s 1971 Apollo XV Corvette on used car lots in Austin, TX?
For a little history on the car, the Apollo 15 lunar-mission crewmembers Commander Dave Scott, Command Module Pilot Alfred Worden, Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin, chose a more-patriotic theme for their 1971 Corvettes, once again provided through Rathmann.
The cars were Mille Miglia Red, Classic White, and Bridgehampton Blue. They and their Corvettes were also photographed for a story in Life magazine in the red, white and blue order, representing the colors of the American flag.
Danny tells Vette Vues Magazine, “In 1971, I bought Alan Bean’s Gold & Black 1969 Corvette in a closed bid from General Motors. I found it on a GMAC car lot in Austin. Now, 46 years later and thanks to my Corvette friend Carl Sanger, it seems I’ve stumbled across Astronaut Al Worden’s 1971 (CMP) Apollo XV Corvette, once again on a used car lot in Austin, Texas.”
While Danny and his Alan Bean AstroVette were doing the Corvette Invasion show, he received a text from Carl Sanger telling him that there was a Corvette posted on Craigslist and it was once owned by an Astronaut.
Danny says, “I checked the location, and it was located in a small camper & used car lot, three houses past the turnoff to the event – about a mile away. I called, set up an appointment, left a deposit and bought the car July 20th, the 48th Anniversary of Apollo 11 and the first man on the moon.”
Danny learned that this astronaut Corvette, basically a “barn find,” was kept in an open field for years.
“The good news – is it is ‘Numbers Matching!’ The crew had requested their cars to be equipped with the 454 cubic inch, 390 horsepower, 500 ft torque engines.”
The Apollo XV Corvette is currently in Danny’s warehouse with “Stretch,” a rare 1971 Chevy truck once owned by his Boat Racing friend, John Annin.
What are Danny’s plans for this historical Corvette? “I plan to get Al Worden’s Corvette drivable.”
Many of you noticed that the Corvette had aftermarket valve covers and air cleaner, Danny is replacing them with original stock parts.
Danny will be revealing his “Barn Find” at the Corvette Chevy Expo in Galveston Island Texas this March 10 & 11, 2018. Interestingly enough, Galveston Island is just thirty miles south of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. We are also excited that Danny will be bringing Alan Bean’s Astrovette to display alongside Alfred Worden’s 1971 Apollo XV Corvette.
If any of our readers are familiar with the car or have photos or information about its history, please let us know, and we will pass it on to Danny as he documents its history. Email info@corvettechevyexpo.com