bloomington Gold Survivor Judging 
has a new twist for 2008!

April Showers bring May Flowers, and with June comes bloomington Gold. Yes it’s that time of year when CORVETTE enthusiasts gather together at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles Illinois to honor the Grand Daddy of all CORVETTE Shows and enjoy their passion for America’s Number 1 Sports Car. This year’s 35^th Anniversary event kicks off on Thursday June 26^th and will run through Sunday June 29^th with a new Judging category.

 As bloomington is known for its prestigious Gold Certification, Benchmark, and Survivor Awards for Corvettes only; David Burroughs and Staff has reached out to the Automotive Community to join in the Celebration with the first ever Survivor Collector Car Show event that will be held on Sunday June 29^th featuring all makes and models of cars, and not just our beloved CORVETTES. This should prove to be a nice addition to the camaraderie of our hobby.

 Vettester will be there with camera in hand taking pictures and interviewing participants as we do at all the Shows we attend. Look for us on Friday June 27^th where we will be spending some time in the SPECIAL COLLECTION Arena photographing the RARE L-88’s, and again on Sunday June 29^th during the closing Ceremonies. We welcome all our viewers to share their stories and take pictures with us and their CORVETTES to be posted on this site.

 WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THERE!

 Frank Pope

 Attention: For all our viewers who wish to submit a picture of your favorite CORVETTE; please e-mail us a picture with your name, the year of the car and all contact information. Our e-mail address is vettester@vettester.com

Shaun Dove’s 
1963 “Twin Sting” CORVETTE

Warning: This article is not for purists!

 If you are an all out Gear Head who appreciates modifications, Car crafting and customizing, then you will enjoy this most beautiful outrageous 1963 Twin-Turbo Corvette StingRay. For those of you that are fans of the T.V. show American Hot Rod, you would have to agree that this Corvette Built  for Shaun Dove by the late Boyd Coddington and his Crew,  is one of the finest looking Mid Year models ever to come out of his or anyone’s Shop.

NCRS SHOW Old Town Kissimmee Florida – 2008

If you live in Chicago in January, you know the weather isn’t the best our country has to offer; so a one day getaway was in order. On Friday January 11, 2008 my good friend and fellow CORVETTE ENTHUSIAST Kelley Sullivan and I took an early flight out of O’Hare and attended the NCRS Show in Kissimmee. Talk about a great time; it was CORVETTE paradise. The weather was a perfect 77 degrees, with the sun shining down on an array of beautiful CORVETTES of each generation; reminiscent of an August day in Chicago. Do you get the picture?  

 As we entered the Old Town Park we met up with Former CORVETTE Chief Engineer Dave McLellan whose enthusiasm still displays his passion for the CORVETTE and its related hobbies. We spoke with Frank Lastorino, proud owner of the 1969 CORVETTE, BF Goodrich Poster Car, the always enthusiastic CORVETTE Journalist Jerry Burton, Pro-Team’s Terry Michaelis, and CORVETTE Collector Gino Burelli with his outstanding 1969 L-88. As we continued walking around we came across Kirk Brooks and his beautiful 1967 Big Block Coupe, restored by Mark Kinler. We took pictures and interviewed each of these people mentioned, among other enthusiasts Barry Blocker, Robert Binder, John Simon, and Bill Chamberland with his restored 1972 454 Big Block.

 At 5:00 PM. The Show was over and it was time to get back to reality. We flew back home to Chicago, but brought with us a DAY TO REMEMBER. It will be at the top of my list of things to do for next year!

 Frank Pope    

Click here to view pictures

Tuesday October 30, 2007 VETTESTER attended what we would describe as the Best Show on Earth!  For those of you who are not familiar with SEMA, let’s set the record straight; this show is not for Purists, but for Enthusiasts who are fans of Outstanding Car Crafting, Modifying, and Custom Cars.  Every Major Company was in attendance marketing their latest products.

We visited with many of the industries leaders, such as Vic Edelbrock Jr.(Watch Video) (whose company is celebrating 70 years in business), Chip Foose and Carson Lev of FOOSE DESIGN (who informed us that they were working on a 1954 CORVETTE).  We also met Automotive Designer Dale Frye, John Wargo of the Custom Shop (Watch Video), Mike Lavallee of KILLER PAINT, and Troy Trepanier of Rad Rides by Troy, who invited VETTESTER to his shop to see his latest Rad Ride, a 1963 CORVETTE.  

 We also visited with COMP Cams’ Chris Douglas (Watch Video), MSD’s Silver Gomez, PROCHARGER’s Jeff Lacinda, BILLY BOAT Performance Exhaust’s Mark Fowler, HEDMAN HEDDERS’ Wes Fisher, and Classic Reflection Coachworks’ Carolyn Graf, just to name a few.  Mario Andretti and his grandson, Marco, Roy Hill “the General”, Ashley Force, Robert Hight, and another racing legend, Carroll Shelby were all in attendance, meeting and greeting fans.  Read More   

On Saturday October 20, 2007 the SUNBURST CORVETTE CLUB hosted a Corvette showdown at Byron Dragway in Byron Illinois.  The field of Gearhead Corvette Racers was represented mostly by C5 and C6 models with a few C4’s and one OUTSTANDING  and very FAST C3 sporting a Buick Grand National engine. That C3 SHARK owned by Mike Cambio of Barrington, Illinois, laid down a 10.82 at 123 MPH when his onboard computer malfunctioned.  There was also a showing of ZR1’s, Z06’s, Corvettes with Turbochargers,  Superchargers, and Nitrous Oxide that covered the ¼ Mile  in an Elapsed Time anywhere from 14’s to the 10’s.  Another standout example was an impressive looking Lingenfelter Supercharged C5.  You can check out this tire Shredding Beast and many other Corvettes in the Vettester Gallery!

Hope to see you at Chevy VetteFest! 

Frank Pope

Vettester Award: Kurt Sikora
Best Of Show: Shane Simon
Best Paint: Randy Hull 
Best Engine: Kurt Sikora 
 
Wayne Dyziek-Craig Hackenberg-Eric Goodman-Terry Naughtin-Ed De Franco--Frank Amstadt-Glenn Palumbo-Fred Haraf-Leroy Cox-David Gregory-John Alexander-Frank Demartino-Carol Mucha
Greg Belinsky-Vern Fagerberg Jr

Friday June 15^th, was a beautiful day in St. Charles Illinois ; And VETTESTER was there! We had the pleasure of talking with Corvette Hall of Fame inductees, Dick Guldstrand, Noland Adams, Terry McManmon and many of the vendors and fans who keep this hobby alive. The weather was great for judging and admiring the Corvettes of your dreams, while the Auction as always created lots of excitement and enthusiasm for many. The Special Collection of mostly 1957 Racers was outstanding with the addition of each car being critiqued by their owners.  I personally look forward to attending this event annually, and hope to meet and greet more VETTESTERS at the next event.  

Click here for Bloomington Gold photo gallery!!