The Quest is Coming to Normal, Illinois During the Bloomington Gold Corvette Show
This Friday during the Bloomington Gold Corvette show in Normal, Illinois, at the local theater, people who haven’t seen the film The Quest will have the opportunity to see it. The 90-minute movie is not rated. In 1960, the first Corvettes appeared at Le Mans. The Quest, tells the story of a 1960 Le Mans class-winning #3 Corvette. It features the beginnings of Corvette Racing at the famous Le Mans 24 Hour Endurance Race in France. The film recollects the events of that race and what happened to both Corvettes and their drivers.
Chip Miller and the 1960 Le Mans Class-Winning #3 Corvette
Corvettes at Carlisle co-founder Chip Miller set out to find and purchase the 1960 Le Mans Class-Winning #3 Corvette and restore it. His ultimate vision was to take it back to Le Mans in 2010 and get a legend of the past, the great John Fitch, to be the driver to mark the 50th anniversary of its great victory.
Mr. Miller was deprived of fulfilling his vision. Tragically, a rare disease called Amyloidosis developed and left him unable to complete his goal, and take the car back to France for the 50th anniversary of the win.
To the thousands of fans who frequented the Carlisle Events at the PA Fairgrounds for car shows between 1974 and his death in 2004, Elliot Chip Miller was a fixture. He is one man that is well-remembered and recognized by many throughout the show’s duration.
With Chip’s passing, his son Lance and the Miller family carried out his lifelong dream of seeing the #3 Cunningham Corvette return to France. All the various sub-stories in the film’s plot tie into the emotional journey of a son’s commitment to fulfilling his father’s final wish.
Where can I see the 1960 Corvette Cunningham LeMans Racer?
You can see the 1960 Corvette Cunningham LeMans Racer on display in the Gold Collection, in the Illinois State University Bone Student Center at the Bloomington Gold Corvette show. The 1960 Le Mans class-winning #3 car was driven by John Fitch and Bob Grossman.
The 1960 #3 Cunningham Corvette racer had seven previous owners before Chip Miller purchased it. The car was painstakingly restored by Corvette Repair Inc of Valley Stream New York by Kevin Mackay.
Facts about the 1960 Le Mans Class-Winning #3 Corvette
- Date purchased by Chip Miller: Oct. 24, 2000
- Original owner: Briggs Cunningham
- Color: white with blue racing stripes & blue
- interior
- Engine: 290hp, 283ci
- Transmission: four-speed
Options:
- Heater
- Radio delete
- Windshield washers
- Temperature-controlled radiator fan
- Wheels 15” x 5.5”
- 290 hp (fuel injection) engine
- Four-speed transmission
- Positraction
- Heavy-duty brakes and steering
- Hardtop only & 24-gallon fuel tank
Options Added for racing in 1960:
- Stewart Warner gauges in special dash plate
- Halibrand quick release fuel cap (Cunningham‟s team filled in the original gas door)
- Halibrand knock-off wheels and rear axles w/ Firestone racing tires
- Running lights, Lucas brake lights (in addition to the stock rear lights)
- Koni competition shock absorbers, Bendix fuel pumps (2); front additional sway bar (as in 1959)
- Aircraft “jump” seats – neatly used as early racing seats
- Right-hand windshield wiper transmission moved to the center of the cowl to prevent wipers from interlocking
- Brake ducting from the grille area; cooling duct from the driver’s side front bumper area – directed air to the driver through the footwell
- “Sebring” exhausts – exit in front of the rear tires; special splash pans
Source: Registry of Corvette Race Cars
https://www.registryofcorvetteracecars.com/
Why you should attend the movie?
You will have a chance to meet and listen to special guest appearances by Chip Miller’s son, Lance Miller, Michael Brown: The Quest Producer, Current owner of the Cunningham Le Mans Racer, Irwin Kroiz, Kevin MacKay: The Restorer of the 1960 Le Mans Class-Winning #3 Corvette and Bloomington Gold Corvette owner Guy Larsen.
All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Chip Miller Amyloidosis Foundation
https://chipmiller.org/
Where, When, and How to see The Quest
Only this one night, the Chip Miller Charitable Foundation will be showing this touching documentary, The Quest, made by the acclaimed Michael Brown.
Purchased in advance, tickets can be picked up at the Gold Store at the Bloomington Gold Corvette show on June 10th, and will also be on sale until they are sold out at the Theater.
Date: June 10, 2022
Time: 7:00 PM
Address:
Normal Theater
209 W North St
Normal, IL 61761
Cost: $8 General Admission
Tasty food options, including your favorite local brews, will be available!
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