An Update From Clyde Morter

Thank you to my very good friend Clyde Morter for the additional information of the 54 Vette. I am excited to follow this car this year.




Dear Gary,

Thanks for all the moment-to-moment reporting you do on the Carrera.You have the best reporters on the ground, and with your editorial contribution, your blog is the most informative, accurate, and entertaining. Keep up the great work.

Attached are some more photos of the Bill Peter & John Schantz 1954 Corvette which they restored, and entered in this 60th anniversary year of the Carrera. I've watched Bill and John tirelessly work towards this moment, in the hope they will accomplish what Bill Esser was not able to in 1950.....that is finish the race and hopefully win their class in a 1954 Corvette.

They have a large following in the Elkhart Lake/Milwaukee WI area. Bill has vintage raced for +25 years (a Griffith ? & an original Ford GT40), and also raced in SCCA classes. John rules his class on Lake Sinissippi in a Camero in January - March. Watch John on the sideways stuff..in ice racing the car rarely goes straight.

Bill, John and Tom Hollfelder were co-drivers with me in "The Lucky Taco" in my 1st Carrera in 2007, the year we met. We place 4th in class in 07 having missed one entire day of racing for lack of oil pressure. We were ecstatic we finished the race and placed as well as we did.

John was also a co-driver of the " Not So Lucky Taco" in 2008 along with Tim McQuiston and Carl Jensen. John Schantz is an Engineer and was for the first 2 years the main wrench head on 54 Olds. Carl qualified the Taco in Tuxtla Gutierrez at a record pace, then John drove to a 1st place finish in class at the end of the 1st day. We led every speed stage until the engine quit late morning of the 2nd day. That was the end for the "Not so Lucky Taco" in 2008. I finished the race as the navigator for Polo Escamilla's 1950 Olds.

After my wreck of the "Not so Lucky Taco" in qualifying in 2009, it was John Schantz who with a moments notice Friday night, went to my brother Guy's garage to obtain the necessary parts, then drove to Chicago O'Hare airport to catch a Saturday 6AM direct flight to Mexico City. The parts were 'carry on' so as to eliminate any possibility of loss. John arrived in Mexico City, and our hotel before Guy & I did. With the needed repair parts and the car at the same place all we needed was a torch to bend/straighten some critical suspension and steering components. With no luck finding one we left Mexico City with the race Sunday morning, and John flew back to Chicago. We never found access to a torch until Monday morning. Guy and Tony Bogovitch did the repair work along with two husky Mexican guys who arrived at the hotel with the torch and a pickup full of bars & pipes to straighten metal. Within 2.5 hours we were ready to race, but we never caught up with the race that day. Tony then did a great job of driving the Taco the last 3 days of the race, getting us on the podium with two 3rds and one 1st. I was sick as sick can be, not able to talk much less drive. Tony did all the driving and most of the navigating, with me sleeping most of the time.

We all wish Bill and John good luck and Godspeed in their great adventure of 2010.

I know we can count on you to bring accurate and timely news of that adventure to all of us so far away. Keep up the great work.