George Barris’s Asteroid Corvette heads to auction
Kurt Ernst Oct 31st, 2013

Though “subtle” is not an adjective often associated with George Barris and his automotive creations, his 1963 “Asteroid” Corvette, built for offshore powerboat racer and airline equipment mogul Bob Nordskog, is, perhaps, one of the more understated creations to roll out of Barris’s garage. Designed as a do-it-all racer, show car and street car, the one-of-a-kind Corvette, fresh from a 2013 restoration, is scheduled to cross the auction block early next year.

Bob Nordskog was a remarkable man, so it stands to reason that no ordinary car would fit his larger-than-life personality. A mechanical engineer by trade, Nordskog built a string of successful businesses, including Nordskog Manufacturing (now Nordskog Industries), a supplier of galleys and galley equipment to the aircraft industry. His passion, however, was offshore powerboat racing, a dangerous (and expensive) sport that Nordskog excelled at, although he didn’t begin offshore racing until age 46. His final victory came at age 79, just one month prior to his 1992 death, when he averaged a speed of 93 MPH in his 40-foot Fountain, the Powerboat Magazine Special.

Nordskog set records racing on land as well, including a Model T speed record of 125 MPH at Muroc Dry Lake. When Chevrolet introduced the second-generation Corvette for the 1963 model year, Nordskog quickly placed an order for a Stingray sans paint. His intention all along was to deliver the car to George Barris for a bit of customization, which ultimately included an revised nose; headlamps hidden behind a custom grille; headers that passed through the front fenders (and terminated in sidepipes, of course); deletion of the rear-window divider; a pearl white Naugahyde interior (stitched by Don Ferrara, Bob Nordskog’s brother-in-law); and the addition of a metallic copper livery that gave the car its “Asteroid” nickname.

Under the car’s reshaped fiberglass hood, the 352-cu.in. V-8 (achieved by using a 350 crankshaft with the 327 block) was fed by six Stromberg 97 carburetors, producing a measured output of 400 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque on an engine dynamometer. In keeping with the Asteroid’s part-time show car mission, many underhood bits were either chromed or painted in a metallic gold finish for a further custom touch. For street duty, the Asteroid wore wire wheels, but for track use, American Racing mag wheels were bolted on; at shows, it was regularly displayed with one side wearing street wheels and tires, with the other set up for racing. In the mid-1960s, the Asteroid was seemingly everywhere, appearing on the cover of Jan and Dean’s Drag City LP as well as in the pages of Hot Rod, Popular Hot Rodding and Popular Customs.

Currently co-owned by Lance Miller (owner of Carlisle Events) and Randy Koettel (owner of Desert Autosport, which just completed the car’s restoration), the restored Asteroid made its public debut at this summer’s Corvettes at Carlisle. As Miller explains it, reaction to the George Barris creation was generally positive, but the car’s “obnoxiously bright” copper paint proved to be a bit polarizing. Though restoring the car for sale was always part of the business plan, Miller said that he’s grown more appreciative of the car’s exuberant design over time, though not enough to prevent him from consigning the Asteroid with Barrett-Jackson for the auction house’s Scottsdale sale in January.