Chevy Vettefest

You don't need much of a reason to visit vibrant Chicago, especially during the Midwest doldrums starting in late fall and continuing through early spring. The cold air that moves in, invariably with moisture in either liquid or solid form (snow), saps the energy of most enthusiasts.

The expansive (and recently expanded) McCormick Place just south of Chicago's skyline is the traditional host to around 300 Chevys and Corvettes twice a year-once in the fall and again in the spring. The tangerine-flavored Vette in the foreground has color-coordinated fuelrail covers and twin nitrous bottles. Nice detail!

Most park their Vettes by late fall, but some put them on a trailer and head to Chi-Town's McCormick Place for the twice-yearly Chevy Vettefest.

Here's a rare piece of aftermarket indulgence: This Stingray wears the Spyder one-piece nose (with tunneled headlights) offered through Motion Performance in the '70s. The Spyder graphics were from the short-lived Chevy Monza model of the same name and were part of the Motion kit. Though not as brash as Eckler's Can Am kit, it nonetheless reflected the customization craze of the time.

Held in the fall and again in the spring, the indoor events give weather-challenged car nuts an excuse to ditch their spouses for one more weekend-that is, until the next summer's show season starts.

One of the Chevy Vettefest's recent events brought together a terrific collection of competition cars billed as the "Corvettes of the triple crown of racing." These historic racers at Le Mans, Sebring, and Daytona included everything from the '60 Briggs Cunningham Corvette raced at Le Mans and Sebring to one of the iconic '02 C5-R Pratt and Miller factory racecars. Another favorite was the '68 L88 Heinz-Johnson Rebel Le Mans car, now owned by Mid America Designs' Mike Yager.

Gorgeous big-block '67 roadster was one of many mid-year Vettes on display.

LS1 powerplant.

Sedate looking C5 packs a Vortech blower beneath the hood.

For the production-based cars, their were plenty of great entries vying for Gold Spinner awards, as well as dozens of nicely polished drivers displayed by other enthusiasts.

Of course, no foray to Chicago is complete without a trip to a blues club and one of the seemingly hundreds of deep-dish pizza joints. Add it all together and you've got Vettes, music, and great pizza set against the bustling backdrop of one of the country's most vibrant urban centers. We never even noticed the snowflakes twirling outside.

Editor's note: For information on upcoming Chevy Vettefest events, visit www.midamericapromotions.com.

This vintage Vette hugs the ground with modern rubber and rims and is powered by an LS1 powerplant.	SRIII Motorsports showed off this exquisite, LS1-powered rolling chassis, which demonstrated a late-model based platform for '53-62 bodies. The round-tube steel chassis mounts C4 suspension gear. For more info, call (815) 462-4138.	Car No. 5 was one of five factory-backed Vettes entered at Sebring in 1962 and was the only West Coast entry. It is owned by Seattle's Don Campbell and sponsored by Bardahl Oil Company. The car at the right of the photo is the '60 Briggs Cunningham Vette.
A swap meet is part of Chevy Vettefest's fun, too. This custom, one-piece nose already has a hole in it to fit around a 6-71 blower. From the look of the candy-style paint, we bet this hood's donor car was a heckuva' show stopper in the '70s.	Another significant Vette at the show was this unbelievable '69 Motion Phase III car with just 14,900 miles. Its 600hp rat engine is backed by a four-speed trans and Hone overdrive unit, which is activated by a second shift lever mounted on the right-hand side of the center console. Wow!	As with any concourse, judging was thorough and forthright. Some paint jobs were knocked for being too good, while the expert judges scoured every nook and cranny for original-spec features.
Although not uncommon, we don't see too as many twin-carb'd 283 cars as we'd like. This Louisiana-based '57 is one of 3,666 total 2x4-inducted Vettes built that year.	Another one of the vintage racers on hand was this '67 that has the distinction of being the only mid-year Vette to compete at Le Mans. It's one of twenty L88-equipped cars that year and was restored back in 1988. It's currently owned by Harry Yeaggy of Cincinnati, Ohio.	We loved this '69 L88 Stingray, which belongs to Illinois resident James Smith. The interestingly optioned Vette has all the heavy-duty go-fast goodies and is a radio-delete car, to boot.
Fuel injection is always a welcome sight beneath an early Vette's hood.	Of the 5,285 454-powered Vettes built in 1971, 5,097 were the 365hp LS5 versions. That means a mere 188 were 425hp LS6 cars.	The collection of vintage Corvette racecars inside Chicago's McCormick Place warmed the chilly souls of every Vette enthusiast in the Windy City.