Classic ‘Budd’ Big
Block Bruiser (Part 1)
Meet Neil Merry’s Tony De Lorenzo ‘Budd ’Corvette replica
,a historic race car replica inspired by one of the hairier, scarier machines
of the Seventies…
Some
historic racing cars such as Lotus Elites and Alfa Romeo GTAs are small, light,
pretty and agile. They dance on tip toes around a race track and are very
controllable. However, the Corvette you see here is an intimidating, snarling,
brutish, bare knuckle fighter that looks as though it wants to tear your arms
off. It packs a mighty
punch and is highly effective, but it’s not exactly light on its feet. It is a
replica of the 454cu in big block that Corvette legend Tony De Lorenzo built
and raced in 1973 at Daytona, Sebring and elsewhere and is owned by Neil Merry
from Bournemouth who races it in the Masters Series. He has competed with it at
numerous British circuits and also at Dijon, Spa and Barcelona.
Some historic racing cars such as
Lotus Elites and Alfa Romeo GTAs are small, light, pretty and agile
So,
what was the story behind the original car and its driver? Tony De Lorenzo started
racing in 1965 in a Corvair and in ’67 switched to Corvettes, sponsored by
Hanley Dawson Chevrolet of Detroit. He soon proved his worth and started
winning races at national level. In August ’68 he secured sponsorship for his
Corvette team from Owens Corning Fiberglass. Together with co-racer Jerry
Thompson, during the ’69 and ’70 seasons, they put together an unprecedented
string of 22 consecutive wins in the A Production Class and FIA Endurance
races, including the GT class win at the ’70 Sebring 12 Hours. In 1971, Tony,
co-driving with Don Yenko, won the GT Class and was fourth overall in the
Daytona 24 Hours. During ’71 and ‘72 he also raced some seriously quick Mustangs
in IMSA and Trans-Am.
Tony De Lorenzo started racing in 1965
in a Corvair and in ’67 switched to Corvettes, sponsored by Hanley Dawson
Chevrolet of Detroit
For
1973 Tony set about building his fastest and most sophisticated Corvette yet, a
650 horsepower 454cu in big block, which he ran under race number 10 in SCCA
Trans-Am and number 11 in IMSA racing. He was sponsored by the Budd Automotive
Supply Company, based in Michigan. This successful firm was founded in 1912 by
Edward Budd and it made railway carriages and car components. In 1962 it
produced a concept car for AMC and in 1965 designed and manufactured a front
disc brake system which was used on Chryslers, Plymouths and Dodges. The other
main sponsor was Bill Wink Chevrolet in Dearborn.
Happy
memories
Tony,
speaking to me from his home in America recalls: “We had raced ex-factory
Mustangs in ’71 and ’72 and I inherited for the first time in my race career,
actual race engineers. They were Mitch Marchi and Lee Dykstra. They had worked
for Ford and Car Craft and they had worked on and developed the Mustang
Trans-Am cars. “Anyway, Mitch and Lee designed and built the Budd Corvette and
they went the whole nine yards. They did things to that car that I had never
heard of. The whole car was stiffer than any other Corvette had been. I learned
why racing is so expensive and we kept several machine shops busy. One of the
things we struggled with my whole Corvette career was brakes. On the Budd car
we adopted the brakes from the Mustang. We still met the rules, but they were
much stiffer, they were mounted differently and they actually worked. Combined
with that 454cu in engine, which they referred to as a torque monster, it was a
great car.”
Combined with that 454cu in engine,
which they referred to as a torque monster, it was a great car
The
Budd Corvette made its debut in February’s Daytona 24 Hours, the first time a
454cu in big block ’Vette had raced there, and promptly claimed the GT class
pole position (sixth overall). Tony shared the driving with Mo Carter and they
ran in the top five overall in the early stages but then, after 101 laps, the
motor went bang. He says: “That was our first use of that engine. Up to that
point we had been using the 427cu in. We outsmarted ourselves. We ran a longer
gear than we would normally run at Daytona. It moved the rpm range into a
harmonic area which we were unaware of and the engine broke a rod. “There was
no bearing failure, the rod just snapped. If we had run the gearing we normally
used at Daytona, which would have turned the engine 500rpm more through the
gears, we probably wouldn’t have had a problem. We didn’t know that so we
learnt the hard way.” At the following month’s Sebring 12 Hours, the Vette
claimed pole position overall, which was quite something. Tony says: “We led
for about four or five hours and were hounded by Hurley Hayward and Peter Gregg
(in their Porsche 911 RSR) but then a head gasket let go and I still can’t
explain why.” Tony retired and the Porsche went on to win. In April, Road Atlanta beckoned for a
500 kilometre race and the Corvette qualified second. Tony recalls: “I think I
was running second to Carl Schafer when I spun in turn one. Warren Tope was
behind in his Mustang and he ran into the back of me when I was stopped. He was
probably doing 70 or 80mph, so the car was severely damaged. We had a race
scheduled in two weeks’ time at Pocono. Mo Carter was my co-driver for that
race. I called him and told him that we got the car fixed but when we started
the motor we found out that the crank had broken, which was what precipitated
my spin. So he suggested we take his Camaro and we wound up winning that race.”
The Budd Corvette made its debut in
February’s Daytona 24 Hours, the first time a 454cu in big block ’Vette had
raced there, and promptly claimed the GT class pole position
The
Budd Vette was then entered at Daytona in July but more bad luck struck in
practice. Tony said: “We had some kind of a tyre failure and I was going back
to the pits. I thought I was going slow enough, but it turns out I wasn’t. I
was probably doing 100mph
but I thought I was almost stopped and I hit the wall in turn four. It was a
pretty big hit.” Tony was then in for a further shock as Budd announced that it
was pulling out of the sponsorship deal, leaving him high and dry. He owned the
car, but now had little money to run it. The ’Vette made one final appearance
that year, at Daytona in November where it ran in orange, dark blue and white
livery and was classified a lowly 55th. Tony says: “I made a deal with Leldon Blackwell
from Florida. That was a one-off paint job but then we adopted his colours
which were dreadful yellow and orange.”
