In the March, 1962 issue of Hot Rod is an interesting article about Bill Thomas in southern CA. This article describes his installation of a 360hp Corvette fuel injected crate engine in a new Chevy II using a GM over-the-counter V-8 parts "kit". The article predicts that Chevrolet dealers across the U.S. will be doing such V-8 installations very soon.
One of the pre-installation photos shows a new Corvette engine on a rolling stand. It has a bellhousing, front motor mount, water pump, FI unit w/distributor, spark plugs, and exhaust manifolds on it. However, it is missing the plug wires, starter, and fuel pump. A paper i.d. tag is wired to one of the motor mount holes.
The July, 1963 issue of Hot Rod has a similar article. In this one Thomas has built a new Chevy II called "Bad Bascom" for GT road racing. It has a new '63 Corvette injection unit on a custom 380" long block. He's also stripped the Chevy II interior and substituted fiberglass / plexiglass body components to get the car weight down to 2,200 pounds. There is a photo showing a complete '63 Corvette IRS set-up installed under the Chevy II body. The article says this Chevy II is for sale since Thomas doesn't "have the time" to race it. (He couldn't see that becoming an issue while he was building it?)
My question is this: what happened to these two cars and any other Chevy II's that Thomas built with new '62 and '63 Corvette injection units/engines? I never heard another word about them in any magazine after those two articles.
One of the pre-installation photos shows a new Corvette engine on a rolling stand. It has a bellhousing, front motor mount, water pump, FI unit w/distributor, spark plugs, and exhaust manifolds on it. However, it is missing the plug wires, starter, and fuel pump. A paper i.d. tag is wired to one of the motor mount holes.
The July, 1963 issue of Hot Rod has a similar article. In this one Thomas has built a new Chevy II called "Bad Bascom" for GT road racing. It has a new '63 Corvette injection unit on a custom 380" long block. He's also stripped the Chevy II interior and substituted fiberglass / plexiglass body components to get the car weight down to 2,200 pounds. There is a photo showing a complete '63 Corvette IRS set-up installed under the Chevy II body. The article says this Chevy II is for sale since Thomas doesn't "have the time" to race it. (He couldn't see that becoming an issue while he was building it?)
My question is this: what happened to these two cars and any other Chevy II's that Thomas built with new '62 and '63 Corvette injection units/engines? I never heard another word about them in any magazine after those two articles.
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