66 Corvette Coupe Resto Mod
Just retired and had always wanted a Corvette C-2 coupe to build. I was successful in finding a 66 coupe (15 miles from my house) that had been out of service since 1982. It was complete except for front bumpers. It was a matching number's 327 CI/300HP/4 Speed car which I really didn't want because my goal was to convert this 49 year car to modern susp/engine/trans/etc (got lot's of grief from the Corvette restorers group on this plan!). Someone had added a 67 Stinger hood to the coupe and aluminum Corvette Valve covers which were the only non-stock items on car. I purchased this car in mid March of this year and after a couple of weeks of cleaning years of dust/rodent nests, etc. I was successful in getting the original engine running . The engine had 90K miles and after driving awhile and checking the compression it needed a rebuild.
Fast forward to today.......I installed a complete "Ridetech" stage one front/rear susp system with coil over shocks, sway bar, Borgeson quick ratio p/s, late model Corvette Z06 brakes, 17" rims, C6 leather sests and various other upgrades. I also installed a 383 storker motor with 400HP/420 lbs torque and just recently added a Tremec TKO 600 5 sp overdrive trans. My plan is to drive it awhile and sort out things and probably have body/work paint next year. I kinda like the great Patina the car currently has but will eventually have the car painted. I've started working on the interior where I added upgrades like 2008 C6 leather seats, modern 3-point seat belts, Ididit tilt, and completely covered interior with Dynomat. It's been a fun ride so far and look forward to putting some miles on this classic Corvette with modern susp/drivetrain/ etc.! Here's a few of the project pictures:
|