By Brett Hickman

​Most of us dream of how proud we’d be to own a Corvette, no matter what year it was. Imagine your pride if you owned not one but three ... and each was a different generation. 

Mike Bell is one such proud owner of three Corvettes. When looking at his cars, not only are you eyeing three different decades of America’s most famous sports car, you’re looking at more than $250,000 of high-performance sports car muscle.

The generations represented are a 1996 Grand Sport coupe, a 2015 ZO-6 and a 1963 Stingray Cobra Killer. 
Mike has owned the Grand Sport for 18 years, the Stingray five years, and he purchased the ZO-6 brand-new last year. He is a 38-year member of the National Council of Corvette Clubs, the SCCA Corvette Club of America, Hoosier Corvette Club and the Murat Shriners Corvette Club.  
 
The Grand Sport is rare C4 fourth-generation Corvette, and Mike’s is even rarer. There were only 1,000 produced, his was No. 723. The car featured the LT4 engine and an Admiral Blue paint job with white stripes and red hash marks on the front fender. It also included black five-spoke wheels. Of those 1,000, 90 were convertibles – all with Torch Red interior. 

Only 80 coupes like Mike’s came with a Torch Red interior. 1996 was the first year for Chevrolet’s new 330 horsepower LT4 350 cubic-inch engine, and it only came with a six-speed manual transmission. It came with every available option and is in all-original condition. He’s displayed it at several car shows, winning two Best of Shows.

The ZO-6 is a C7  seventh- and current generation Corvette. It has the new LT4 supercharged 6.2 liter (378 cubic inches) V-8 engine, which is certified at 650 horsepower. Mike has installed a Granatelli supercharger cooler, which boosts his horsepower to 700. 

The ZO-6 is the most powerful production car ever from General Motors. It has a seven-speed manual transmission and accelerates from 0-60 mph in 3.2 seconds and slows from 60-0 mph in 99 feet, the best of any production car by GM. Mike installed ground effects and a front spoiler.

The Stingray is a C2 second-generation Corvette, and Mike’s is a replica of the Cobra Killer – Miss Blue Bell – of which only five were built. Mike calls it “old-school, modern tech.” It’s an authentic 1963 Stingray body on an all-tube chassis frame. The car was totally gutted and rebuilt from the frame up. 

It has a 1989 Corvette ZR-1 active-hydraulic suspension and an 18-point roll cage and hydraulic adjustable air-brakes with the adjustment knob on the center console. The cars came with two available racing hoods, one called the European, which featured a raised hood with louvers; or the Daytona hood, like Mike’s, with the raised hood and air-induction scoops. It has a DART SB big block 427 Stroker engine with Hogan sidetrack fuel-injection intake. It has a Merrimack six-speed transmission with DANA 3:73:1 rear gear. It’s street legal but race-ready and runs on 93 octane gasoline. This car has won numerous awards in several categories.

Mike regularly displays his cars at shows and cruise-ins throughout central Indiana, and he drives all three on a regular basis … just as they were meant to be. 

By Bill Thorpe 

On Feb. 12, 2014, the National Corvette Museum, the Holy Grail for all things Corvette, received the most shocking news in its 20- year history. On-site security cameras caught the opening of a 60-by-45-foot sinkhole more than three stories deep. Eight historic cars – several being one of a kind – were sucked into the huge cavern; five were destroyed.

Geologists said they believe that underground caves had been forming over the years and opened, thus swallowing the cars. 

It was a mixed blessing that the cave-in took place when the museum was closed and no visitors were in the building. The story of destroyed cars could easily have turned into tragedies for tourists.

News of the sinkhole turned into extensive curiosity on the Internet, while the videos posted on YouTube generated 8.5 million hits. The story captured worldwide attention. The museum’s Facebook followers jumped from 50,000 to more than 250,000. 

The amount of visitors to the Bowling Green, Ky., museum has jumped 70 percent over the past two years, which has resulted in additional staff being hired.

To mark the second anniversary of the sinkhole, the museum opened an exhibit showing the videos – complete with sound effects and commentary – of the hole opening up and consuming the Corvettes. 

Also covered are the recovery operations of lifting cranes. The story of the $5 million in repairs to the building and General Motors’ efforts to save three of the cars are proudly recounted here. The other five classics were a total loss and remain on display for the curious to see. 

First devastated by the news, museum officials now have a different attitude. The publicity has brought a great resurgence and interest to the museum and its future. 
Until next time, happy cruising!