2024 marks the 15th anniversary of the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals (MCACN) at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. A must-attend event for the hard-core American muscle car fan, this show year after year continues to deliver a fresh batch of automotive goodness leading into the Thanksgiving weekend. Regardless of what brand you gravitate toward, the organizers continuously manage to keep the show relevant with new themed displays and fresh restorations as it plays an ever-growing significance in the high-end muscle car world.
This 1963 Corvette, currently owned by Scott Andrews, was ordered new for the sole purpose of racing by Scott Briley, who was a sales manager at a Southern California Chevrolet dealership. What makes this car so special is that it is a “Big Tank” car. There were 199 Z06s made that year, and of those, 63 were produced with a 36-gallon tank, along with a variety of other race-inspired parts. Briley raced the Corvette until 1967 and then sold it to Doug Williams, and he raced it until 1970 when it was permanently side lined because of a catastrophic engine failure. At that point the car was rolled into a trailer where it sat for the next 54 years.
For the Bowtie faithful there are always new revelations that come to light at the show. Before entering the main hall, in the lobby are a pair of original Penske Trans Am Camaros, along with a 1967 Yenko 427 SC Camaro, 1969 Camaro Z/28, and a 1967 L88 Corvette clone. Beyond the main entrance, in the Factory Lightweights Invitational, one could find several early 1960s Chevys from the golden age of racing, while more modern examples could be found in the Nostalgia Pro Stock group, which was a carryover display from 2023.
Gary Korzon has owned his 1970 Chevelle since 1986 when he was still in high school. It was his daily driver for several years while he was in college. After completing his academic studies it was retired from daily duty. In 2003 he embarked on a complete rebuild of the car with a focus on building a restomod. Underhood now lies a Dart-based 489ci big-block backed by a TKX five-speed. This was a project that spanned 12 years.
In a continuing adaptation of the annual recurring themes, the Malaise Era cars over the years have gained traction on the desirability scale and have started to be prominently featured at the show. This year that theme spawned a narrower focus with the General Motors Malaise Era Muscle Invitational, which had a specific spotlight on 1973-1987 second- and third-generation Camaros and Firebirds. This display had some exceptionally well-preserved or fully restored vehicles.
Anything Yenko-related always causes a big stir and this 1969 Yenko COPO 427 Camaro is another example of a gem that has been hidden away. Parked in a car trailer since 1993, this is a legit Yenko that was sold through Jack Douglas Chevrolet in Hinsdale, Illinois. They had a deal with Don Yenko where cars were ordered directly through GM and then badged as Yenkos. In 1980 it was painted red with numerous murals, however it was originally dressed in Daytona Yellow with a black interior. The original 427 big-block is a distant memory and in its place is an L78 396 big-block out of a 1969 Chevelle.
The High School Reunion display was another themed grouping—one that tapped into the overwhelming Baby Boomer and Gen X demographic that appears at this show—both from an exhibitor and spectator perspective. The range of Chevys in this display were overwhelmingly represented by first- and second-generation Chevelles and Camaros. For those who like cars with star appeal, two of the 1955 Chevys from the movie Two-Lane Blacktop were prominently featured. While one is still in its original gray primer configuration, the other 1955 underwent a transformation that included a color swap to black for use by Harrison Ford in American Graffiti.
This 1955 Chevy might look familiar to movie buffs because it is one of three that were built for the 1971 movie Two-Lane Blacktop. Of the three cars used in that movie, two were later painted black and used by Harrison Ford in the movie American Graffiti, of which one was destroyed in the movie. This car was found in Canada where it had been modified over the years. In 2001 it was purchased by an individual named Walt Bailey. He spent five years restoring it back to its movie configuration with the help of Richard Ruth, who was the original builder of the cars. The car is currently owned by David Demangone and is the one that is known as the interior car.
A fresh batch of Chevys were also lined up for the Vintage Certification. There were two unrestored 1970 Chevelles—one an LS6, the other an SS 396. Also in that family was an LS6 optioned 1970 El Camino, and a low-mileage 1969 Camaro Z/28. For the Corvette faithful there was a C2 and a pair of C3s going through the process. The 1968 was an L88-equipped car, while the 1971 was an LT1. The other choice for the Corvette faithful in terms of judging is the Triple Diamond Award. Cars running through this judging process must have achieved either the NCRS Top Flight, or NCRS 4 or 5 Star Bowtie and Bloomington Gold Certification, or a Bloomington Survivor award.
The Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle (CERV) program was started in 1959 by Zora Arkus-Duntov with the building of the CERV I, which was a rear-engine test vehicle. Over the years a CERV II and CERV III were also developed, also with a rear-mounted engine. In 1992 the Corvette group contracted the building of the CERV IV which was powered by a 5.0L engine and would serve as the development testbed for the C5 Corvette. This is the CERV IVb, which was an evolution that was fitted with a 5.7L engine. This car is currently owned by Mike Yager.
The 2024 Corvette display at this show was off the charts in terms of quality and quantity covering the C1 to C5 generations, with the C1 and C2 the overwhelming bulk of the cars. The Corvettes weren’t confined to a single area, with many on display in the various themed sections, and in different flavors ranging from Day Two to restomod-inspired.
Owned by Ed and Kim Fischer, this 1972 Chevelle “Heavy Chevy” sat in a salvage yard for 51 years. It has 8,279 miles on the odometer and was crashed a few months after it was purchased. The Fischers chased this car for decades but the yard owner refused to sell it to them because he was going to restore it. That changed with his death, and they were able to cut a deal for the car. Optioned with a 402ci big-block and M20 gearbox, their plan is to bring the car back to the MCACN show fully restored.
Arguably, the crowd-favorite display at the show is the Barn Finds & Rare Gems grouping curated by the Auto Archeologist Ryan Brutt. There were only two Chevy offerings on hand for 2024. One was a wrecked 1972 402ci big-block–equipped Chevelle Heavy Chevy with just over eight grand on the odometer, and the other was one of the Holy Grails of the Corvette world, a 1963 Corvette Z06 “Big Tank” race car that was unknown to all of the collector community.
This 1968 Camaro RS/SS is a restoration that is described as a rescue. Tim Kilkeary purchased the car in 2014 from an individual who was getting ready to cut it up and build a restomod. Overall, the car was stock looking but had been modified under the hood. Luckily the original parts were saved. In terms of options, this car checks off a lot of boxes with the Rallye Green paint, L34 350-horse 396 big-block, power disc brakes, and factory A/C. This restoration has been performed using N.O.S. parts with a particular attention to details like chalk marks, factory overspray patterns, and other assembly materials.
If you’re contemplating attending, dates for the 2025 show have been set for November 22-23, 2025, so mark your calendar for another fabulous muscle car extravaganza.
You can’t put a price on memories and this 1970 Chevelle SS holds a special place in Tom Rightler’s heart. Purchased in 1997 while he was still in high school, as described by him, it was a “rust bucket.” The engine in the car is the last mechanical thing that his late father built, while the rust issues on the car was something they both worked on together to repair to retain all the original sheetmetal. Rightler is not shy about using his car and it sees regular use.Parked in 1973 by the original owner, this 1969 Camaro Z/28 sat in a storage unit for almost 40 years. It was raced early on before being parked, and as a result of its dormancy for so many years it only has a little over 24,000 miles on the odometer. The current owner, Larry Perez, had the car put through the Vintage Certification at MCACN.
