Solid Axle Corvette Club 25th Anniversary – 2019 Convention
This year the Solid Axle Corvette Club held its convention in Detroit on August 13-16, 2019. The event was hosted by the Michigan Solid Axle Corvette Chapter. Photos of the 25th-anniversary by Jan Hyde.
For those of you that are new to the Corvette hobby, let’s first explain what a solid axle is and tell you about the club that enjoys them.
There are “generations” of Corvettes, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, and now the C8. By now you probably know that Corvette started in the 1953 model year. These are called C1s or first-generation Corvettes.
The first-generation Corvettes had solid axles. “These are often referred to as Solid Axle Corvettes (1953-1962). The rear axle housing on all 1953 to 1962 Corvettes was a one-piece shell. The rear differential (rear gears) and the axles were mounted within this rear axle housing. (The rear axle housing is sometimes called a solid [or straight] axle housing.) They shared many suspension and power train (engine, transmission, and brake) components with Chevrolet passenger cars. With a fiberglass body, all the body parts and exterior trim were Corvette-only items.” (Source: http://www.solidaxle.org/ )
There is a club that is dedicated to enjoying and preserving these cars, and it is called the Solid Axle Corvette Club (SACC).
1953, 1954, and 1955 Corvettes were crude. One of the founders of the club, Noland Adams, writes ” GM was learning about fiberglass car body construction, and the Corvette improved greatly for 1956. Corvettes got better every year. With a favorable power to weight ratio, 1957 Corvettes were very good performers. By 1962 body fit was good, as was exterior finish, and the mechanical components were refined and dependable. Powered by a 327 cid engine, the ’62 has become a favorite.”
Well, the enthusiasm of this first generation of Corvette owners started a club 25 years ago. You guessed it, and they call themselves the Solid Axle Corvette Club.
These men and women get together once a year at different locations across the country for their annual convention.
This year the Solid Axle Corvette Club held their convention in Detroit – Motor City – on August 13-16, 2019. The event was hosted by the Michigan Solid Axle Corvette Chapter.
The 2019 SACC National Convention included visits to Lingenfelter Collection, Pratt & Miller Racing, the GM Heritage Center, a Detroit River cruise, The Henry Ford complex including Greenfield Village, the Rouge Plant tour & the Automotive Hall of Fame, and concluded with a banquet with Josh Holder, Corvette Program Manager and “Assistant Chief Engineer” who provided an outstanding firsthand experience based on his knowledge of the design of the C8, including its many unique features.
They had three different C8 Corvettes at the SACC convention, a white one at Pratt & Miller, another white one at the GM Heritage Center, and a beautiful Long Beach Red example at the Banquet.
(You can read more about the C8 Corvette on our blog. The new Corvette does zero to 60 in 3.6 seconds with the top speed of 194 mph, and the driver has moved forward 18” based on C7, the collision collapse zone is reinforced with high strength castings.)
Like most Corvette events, there were awards given. Here are a few of those award winners:
- Bob Brown – Greatest distance drove in his 1959
- Fred Hamilton – Longest distance trailered
- Don and Denice Eckert – One of three C1s driven from Texas
- Kathy Ilowiecki – Dad’s 1959 driven from Massachusetts
- Chuck Stika – President’s Award for the outstanding 1958
- Bill Huffman – Chairman’s Award for the outstanding 2019 SACC Convention
The 2020 convention will be held at Allenberry Resort in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania August 26-29. This works well because members can also enjoy Corvettes at Carlisle, which is August 27-30, 2020. You can get more details on their website http://www.solidaxle.org/ on membership as well as convention details.
If you enjoy Corvette history, you are sure to enjoy our series of Corvette Overviews by generation:
- Chevrolet Corvette C1 Overview
- Chevrolet Corvette C2 Overview
- Chevrolet Corvette C3 Overview
- Chevrolet Corvette C4 Overview
- Chevrolet Corvette C5 Overview
- Chevrolet Corvette C6 Overview
- Chevrolet Corvette C7 Overview
Check out our Latest Corvette Blog Post for more interesting reading…
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