As time passes, it gets harder to find those who helped design the third and fourth generation of Corvette. Getting a chance to talk to those who were there in the General Motors trenches during that time is a rare find.
Even rarer, is getting a chance to sit down and talk with someone whose Dad and two other siblings helped design the iconic C3s and C4s.
We met John Boik at the Atlanta Caffeine & Octane event in July. After a few minutes of talking to John, we knew we had to share his generational Corvette family story with you.
What follows is an edited transcript, adapted for this article. Enjoy!
How It All Started
ROD WORLEY – EDITOR – John, we were talking earlier, and you said you’ve got multiple family members connected to the design of the C3 and C4 Corvette programs. That in itself is rare indeed. So, let’s start with where you grew up and your Dad’s influence on the design of America’s Sports Car.
JOHN BOIK – Rod, we were born in Detroit and grew up in Warren, Michigan. My Dad, Tom Boik, is 83-years-old and still lives in Michigan. He worked at the Warren Tech Center, where they did all the Corvette design work for General Motors.
After attending a trade school, he worked for GM his whole career until he turned 55 and took the early retirement package. In the 70s, he was on the Corvette program.
First, as a designer, design leader, and then a supervisor for the C3 Corvette program. He worked on both the exterior and interior. Later, he was the body design supervisor for the Pontiac Fiero for 1984.
Designing The Third Generation
ROD WORLEY – EDITOR – That had to be exciting for him to be a part of designing America’s sports car. So much of car design is in the subtle refinement process done in a team environment.
It’s hard for one person to leave their mark. Are there some design aspects that he had a chance to bring through the process?
JOHN BOIK – Corvette was one of the first cars to have window washer fluid come out of a small rubber hose attached to the wiper blade. He designed that system.
He also designed the first soft front end for the 1973 model. He’s got some pictures of the process and what they finally created.
My Dad also did a lot of dashboard interior design work. During this time, he got promoted to design leader and then supervisor of design for a group. He was doing that until right after the C3 was finished.
Back in that day, as a designer, you would be put on various programs, you weren’t exclusive to Corvette or any single platform as I understand it. I guess because the generations went through the very top guys.
He was still a design supervisor and on the Corvette program for almost ten years.
First Reaction
ROD WORLEY – EDITOR – With your Dad so heavily involved with the Corvette design, what were your first recollections of seeing one in person?
JOHN BOIK – In 1970, he purchased a blue 1970 Corvette. I was nine years old at the time.
Rod, I don’t know if you’ve seen the virtual showroom story on TV. There is one segment where Tadge Juechter, the Chief Engineer for the C8, talks about seeing a Corvette for the first time.
Tadge was about ten years old at the time when he saw his first Corvette. It was a 1967 model year, and he said it looked like a rocket ship to him.
Well. I was nine years old when my Dad drove his blue Corvette home, and I still remember that day. It was the coolest looking car I’d ever seen. The experience stuck with me my whole life.
That experience is why, at this point in my life, that I’m getting into the purchase of Corvettes. It’s because I just love these cars and because I have this legacy tied back to my family.
I currently own a 1981 C3, and a 1996 C4.
Gary & Bob Join In
ROD WORLEY – EDITOR – During our conversation, you mentioned that not only did your Father work for GM but that you also had two brothers that worked for them as well. Were they also a part of the Corvette design process?
JOHN BOIK – Yes, I have an older brother, Gary, and a younger brother, Bob. My older brother Gary was also a designer for General Motors. He was on the C4 program.
My younger brother, Bob, was a wood modeler for the C4s during the early to mid-90s. Back in those days, wood modelers worked on projects for three to six months to a year, depending on the project’s needs.
Gary helped design the interior molding for the driver’s side of the 1984 model. He’s got a great story too.
Gary was only in his early 20s and was one of the youngest designers there. So Dave McClellan, the chief engineer for the Corvette platform, comes into the design studio one day.
It’s wintertime, and he had on his snow boots. My brother said he got into the prototype and was just livid that he couldn’t put his snow boot on the accelerator because there wasn’t enough room.
So my brother was tasked with redesigning the interior down by the accelerator so McClellan could fit his size 11 boot in the car. The redesign took him several months, he said.
Gary kept working on moving everything around, and eventually, they approved the new interior design. His work on that project got him promoted to senior designer.
He was one of the first senior designers at that level for his age. I think he was in his mid-20s at the time.
They gave him the prototype interior mold he created. He kept it all of these years. He’s sending it to me so I can put it on my Corvette wall in my garage.
St. Louis to Detroit
ROD WORLEY – EDITOR – Did your Dad ever get a chance to drive any of the prototypes?
JOHN BOIK – Yes, he did. He recently sent me photographs that were taken back in March of 1977.
Dave McClellan sent him and 14 engineers to St. Louis to test drive the 1978 models that had just come off the assembly line.
So Dave, my Dad, and the engineers each took turns driving those first production 1978 C3’s from St. Louis to Detroit to test them out.
I have several old photos of the trip, and in the picture above you can see Dave McClellan. He is the tall one on the left hand side. Dad said it was a blast!
New C8 And Mid-Engine
ROD WORLEY – EDITOR – How does your Dad feel about all of the publicity surrounding the new C8? What are his thoughts on the mid-engine design?
JOHN BOIK – I was talking to him the other day about the C8s. My Dad said he couldn’t believe all the interest in Corvettes these days.
He said he thought there was more publicity for this generation than for all the others combined. Also, he went on to say he couldn’t believe how much their work back then is being appreciated today.
Here’s another tidbit from my Dad, he worked on the mid-engine Corvette back in the 70s. They were making so much progress, but they couldn’t get it right economically.
So the higher-ups at GM didn’t want to take the chance. I just remember him coming home frustrated many times because they were so close.
He sent me a photo of his office the other day and said, “Do you notice that there aren’t any computers?” Everything was drawn out by hand.
His true passion was designing, not in the bureaucratic red tape, and all the meetings. But that was the GM culture back then.
Still Going Strong
ROD WORLEY – Editor – So how is your Dad doing today?
JOHN BOIK – Dad’s doing great! He plays golf almost every day and still living up in Michigan.
He walks the 18 and still out there golfing when there are snow flurries. Yeah, he’s doing great.
Stay Tuned
If you enjoyed this glimpse into the design of the C3s and C4s, then you will enjoy our next installment. We sit down with Tom Boik, a former design supervisor, and hear his first-hand recollections of bringing America’s sports car to life.
If you enjoy Vette history, you won’t want to miss the upcoming installment in this generational Corvette family story.
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