Okay...My dad runs a Corvette restoration business called Coastal Corvettes in Southport, NC. That could explain why I have two of them. You might be thinking...wow...she's a spoiled brat. I can tell you otherwise.
It was my sophomore year of college, and I had no car. My dad picked up the '77 pictured above for parts. The car was originally sold to a guy in Canada. By the time my dad got a hold of it, it had changed hands about 5 times, and the road salt from it's early days had done a number on the frame and everything else that was metal on it. The first time I saw this car, it was pretty rough. The frame was actually bowed, and you could see it hanging down below the rocker moldings on the sides. I got in the car and the driver side floor pan didn't feel very solid, so I pulled back the floor mat to discover a huge hole. I could actually put my whole foot through it. I thought it was funny because in the corner of the floorpan, someone had drilled a hole to let the water out. I thought, this car must leak. I was right.
I drove the car anyway. My dad told me that if I heard any weird sounds, to bring it home immediately.
I was on my way out one evening, and I hit a puddle in my dad's driveway. At that point, the car made a horrible sound...like metal grinding on metal, and dropped down about 2 inches. I put the car in reverse, my dad jacked it up, and told me that the frame was broken in half. The only thing holding it together was the T-bar and the body.
At that point, I parked the car, and the six month body off restoration began. I learned quickly the art of sandblasting. Everything metal on the car had rust on it and either had to be sandblasted or replaced.
The engine that was in the car when I got it was out of a 1975 Impala police car. We switched the engine out for an original 1977 Corvette engine, and put the Impala engine in my sister's 1967 Impala.
After about 6 grueling months, my beast was road worthy again. Along with the body off restoration, it got new carpet, and the seats, dash, and center console pad were dyed. We also took off the super rusty chrome luggage rack and replaced it with a new stainless steel one. The car then looked like it does in the picture. The car has a sweet 350 cubic inch motor that makes about 325 horsepower. I love smoking high school boys driving daddy's Honda Prelude at stoplights...
If you've seen my car around, the above picture proves that you can't always believe what you see. My beast looks perfect in the picture, but actually has a nice gray primer spot on the passenger side, and the front bumper is actually all knicked up!
Okay...as of May 25, 2001, my car REALLY doesn't look like the picture, thanks to a hit and run. I found the perp (this is the same type of woman who would run over little Johnny in the street and run, so I turned a simple hit and run into a witch hunt and found the Toyota 4-Runner that did $1700 worth of damage to my driver side). She earned herself a nice spot in annals of stupid female drivers and a nice lil' felony conviction...go me. It's slated for repair and new paint spring of 2002.
This is a picture of my first Corvette. This was the project where I got my first taste of fiberglass body work, rebuilt my first carburetor, and worked on my first wiring harness. This car is more economical than fast, but still has a 350 and makes around 300 horsepower.
This was a show car until people in my home town vandalized it by running a key down the back bumper, throught the clearcoat, through the paint, and all the way down to the primer. I cried.
Below are two more examples of my dad's work. These are the
reasons I call my dad an artist rather than a mechanic. I think what he
does is awesome.
This car was done for a doctor in New Jersey, and ended up being
the most expensive project my dad ever worked on. Final price? 120K...for
a REPLICA! The guy wanted a fancy
car to drive back and forth to work everyday in Manhattan. It has a 400
small-block and a 6 speed transmission. The guy wanted Recaro
racing seats complete with 5-point harnesses, so my dad had to re-mold the
floor to fit them in. The wheels look pretty, huh? Those are 17" polished
aluminum 5-points...ungodly expensive. This guy spared nothing when it
came to cost. The guy even went overboard on the stereo. Ten CD disc changer with TEN speakers...that's TEN speakers in a car the size of a Corvette! It was
incredible. The kit was made by a company called McBurney, and my dad got
a letter from the Ferrari people threatening to sue him if he ever built
another because it was so similar to the real thing. The owner even went
to the Ferrari factory in Italy to get the proper emblems for the beast.
Why a replica? The real thing is almost impossible to come by these days and has a much larger price tag than the replica, plus the
real Ferraris were built on a shorter frame, and looked almost squished.
This one was built on a Corvette chassis, and looks leaner and more
streamlined.
This monster was built for a guy, named John Ley. John had
already had my dad do 2 cars, when he approached my dad with the concept
for this one. He brought a nice looking, original 1969 Corvette, and
wanted my dad to make it unique. He wanted the top chopped 6 inches. My
dad saw a problem with this...John was a tall fellow, and if the top were
chopped that much, he would have problems getting in and out of the car.
That's when my dad got the idea for the opening top. Take a look at the
picture...the car does not have door handles. The top and driver door open
if you pull up once on the antenna. If you pull up twice, the passenger
door opens. It's the coolest thing I've ever seen! Basically my dad made
some modifications to the top (involving much cutting and grinding), and
rigged up hydraulic lifts. Since the car was designed for show, and not
steet, security was not an issue. Take another look at the car. Notice
the side vents? He moved two of the vents up. The nose, hood, and side
mirrors were also not standard. The car was incredible! The folks at
Vette magazine agreed, and featured it and wrote a nice story about it.
Around Christmas time, a few years after the car was completed and had won every show it was entered in, my dad got a strange package via UPS. He opened it up, and inside was a plastic drop cloth covered in red paintchips. It was from John, and there was a note inside asking for a refund on his paintjob. This was John's way of saying he wanted to bring the car back in for a few more modifications. He'd grown bored with the car. The guy was a strange cookie. He brought it back, and changes were made. The strange thing is that my dad reworked the rear of the car, and at the time I hadn't seen anything like it...then when the C5's came out, it brought me back. The rear of John's car looked, in 1989, similar to the rears on the new 'vettes...my dad's a pioneer! :)
This car was featured in Vette magazine about a year after it was redone. John began having some problems financially, and ended up selling the car, which on the show circuit, was being called the Tilt-top or the California Corvette. The car apparently changed hands a few times, but recently my dad got a call from the current owner. It's a guy in Georgia, and he wants my dad to do some more work on the car. This is how my dad's business has always propagated. He has never advertised, yet the business keeps coming. He normally has around a 2 year waiting list...unless you're his whiny daughter.