Just imagine for a second, the inner workings of the mind of hot-rodder Rudy Ertl. The one-time New Britain, Connecticut resident was one serious trailblazer back in the day. Why you ask? Well, settle in, this is one story you’ll want to hear.
It goes without saying that Rudy was a passionate drag racer. In 1964 he built himself a ’58 Corvette to do battle at the famed Connecticut Dragway, in East Haddam, CT. Done up with the typical add-ons found on the cars at the local tracks, it did have an interesting engine choice. “Rudy first built the ‘Vette with a Pontiac 389-cu.in. mill, which was kind of out of the ordinary. From there he moved onward and upward, finally putting in a Tri-power Pontiac 421 Super Duty in it. And that’s how it was raced, on the strip and on the streets,” according to Dean Schimetschek, a Connecticut drag racing historian, collector, and present-day co-owner of this wild Corvette.
Pontiac Punch
Now Rudy was not the first guy to run a Poncho mill in a Chevy product, but it’s still interesting, especially with the fact that there was some killer powerplants coming out of the Chevy factories at that time. “I guess weird engine swaps like that were much more common then, than they are now. He was probably just thinking the 421 Super Duty had way more power than any small block Chevy. Since Pontiac and Chevy are in the same family, it seemed feasible to fit it in,” mused Dean.
Rudy then finished off the Corvette’s drivetrain with a B&M Hydro Stick ordered out of California, to get the racer through the gears. Other custom touches included a widened grill opening up front, along with frenched headlights and license plate holder. It was also nosed, decked, and had shaved bumpers fore and aft. A flashy gold paint job added some bling to the already showy Corvette.
Once prepped, the Corvette made its way to the strip, where Rudy ran it regularly. However, this wasn’t the end of the modifications to his prized ride. In 1967 Rudy got his hands on a brand-new Oldsmobile Toronado that had been damaged in an accident. He stripped the Olds and modified the big-block 425-cu.in. infused, front-wheel drive chassis so it would fit under the Corvette, cutting and welding where needed to get it line up with the body and wheel wells. Pretty creative and way out there, Rudy obviously had an amazing hot rod mind and a vision of what he wanted.
The car did run in this configuration, but the swap was never quite finished enough to get it road worthy. Sadly, the modified Vette was parked the following year and rendered out of commission. “It remained tucked away in a barn from 1968 until we acquired it in February 2023,” according to Dean.
Change-Up
Dean and his father Greg received the car the way Rudy left it in the late 60’s, with the Corvette body mounted on the Toronado chassis. First thing they did was to split the body and chassis and set the Oldsmobile frame aside to be delt with later. Then they sourced a 1958 chassis from a gentleman who was building a restomod. “He was using a new Art Morrison chassis, so we got his chassis along with many other good original parts he wasn’t using.”
They then mounted the Corvette body onto the donor ’58 chassis. “The frame is in excellent shape. It came from a running and driving Corvette and its clean and correct for the body. It’s basically stock, with the correct front and rear suspension. It also has traction bars and a set of Cragar wheels added. There was no motor or trans with the chassis.”
As far as the body goes, its mostly intact, with some fiberglass modifications. The firewall has some rust and the front inner fenders have been trimmed. “Rudy had to cut the front wheel openings up to help install the front-wheel-drive chassis, so they are not stock anymore. The rear section has been modified as well and needs some work to clean it up. Besides those mods, the body is in reasonably good shape and ready for some body work.”
Dean and Greg were optimistic that they could return the Corvette to race form. “At first, we thought about restoring it to its full glory as a 421-motivated drag car. However, like a lot of hot-rodders who have a several projects coming together at the same time, we decided to just get it rolling with the Corvette frame and then offer it up for sale,” says Dean.
Once prepped, the Corvette made its way to the strip, where Rudy ran it regularly. However, this wasn’t the end of the modifications to his prized ride. In 1967 Rudy got his hands on a brand-new Oldsmobile Toronado that had been damaged in an accident. He stripped the Olds and modified the big-block 425-cu.in. infused, front-wheel drive chassis so it would fit under the Corvette, cutting and welding where needed to get it line up with the body and wheel wells. Pretty creative and way out there, Rudy obviously had an amazing hot rod mind and a vision of what he wanted.
The car did run in this configuration, but the swap was never quite finished enough to get it road worthy. Sadly, the modified Vette was parked the following year and rendered out of commission. “It remained tucked away in a barn from 1968 until we acquired it in February 2023,” according to Dean.
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