Greybeard ZR1

I'm just trying to upload some pix for the first time. Sorry they're so big.
This is Kevin Sack's 63' Coupe (from Erie Pa.). I heard about it on this forum, and the next time I was in my home town I stopped by and Kevin took me for a ride.
Kevin is a drag racer, and at the time he was recovering from an accident (broken leg), so he insisted that I drive.....Yeeeeeehaw!

The LT5 is stock, but in the little old coupe, it flies.
Overall, it's a nice job. The body and paint are outstanding.
Check out the four exhaust pipes. If you pulled up to an NCRS meet in this thing, it would definitely cause a few heart attacks.

rube1975

carter200

Other than NO air filter I like it

65ZR1

Very sweet Did he use the ZF trans? Original suspension?

Goldcylon

Tight fit but looks good!

Crabs

Please tell me that this '63 SplitBack Coupe was an old drag racer that had been cut and chopped and hacked and used and abused, and that this guy brought it back from the grave and installed the most beautiful gosh darn motor of all time under the hood.
And did a really good job, the install looks professional with the exception of what Carter observed...
No air cleaner....

Maybe it's hidden underneath.
I hope so.

Otherwise, it's a beautiful car and the LT5 looks like it was grown right there under that hood.

cv67

Very nice, I love it! Has he ever had it down the 1/4?

Greybeard ZR1

The suspension and drivetrain is pretty much original. The gearbox is not a ZF6, it's an aftermarket five speed (forgot the make, Richmond possibly).

Greybeard ZR1

I don't know the history on the car, but you can be sure he didn't pick a museum quality show car to tear up. Some of the body mods are things that I wouldn't have done, but I had to admire the superb bodywork and paint. I know how pictures sometimes make a car look better than it really is, but this car's body was fabulous to my untrained eye. Way better than my old 63' splitwindow, back in the day.
If it was my car, I'd go for the more "stock" look. Maybe some repro Corvette style aluminum wheels. The stock hood would never fit, but maybe a 65/66 bubble style hood, dechromed, would be cool. My version would be a deep medium silver, conservative, until you popped the hood. I would also polish the whole top-end and detail the hell out of that engine compartment.

As far as driveability, be glad that Dave McClelland had the C4 to put the LT5 in. I was struck by how much more capable, safer, and hooked to the road the ZR1 is. It was like driving a gorgeous fiberglass potato chip of a car, scary. But in a strange way true to the old Zora Duntov high revving style, like the original solid lifter 340/327 that I had. A "Split Window", only more so

FU

I like it

hiperfman

Very koool

lite blue

Not crazy about the '67 hood. But the car is beautiful. And you can't argue with the powerplant. Very nice.

Crabs

I couldn't agree more. It's not that I don't like this car.
Far from it.
The '63 is my favorite year, hands down.
And it's not that I think that he tore it up.
Far from that either.
He put my favorite motor it, so he can't be all that bad!

The paint and bodywork look nearly flawless in the pictures, and if he had to put on a hood to clear the plenum, what could be better than a stinger hood? After all, the stinger hood was used to hide L88's.

When I go to car shows I really don't like to see C1's & C2's with LSx motors in them. To me it seems to be disrespectful of the car and Zora's dream.
Now, if that particular car had been pulled out of a barn, a field, or a junkyard after being wrecked, hacked or chopped and drag raced, and then loving brought in to the 21'st century, then I'm all for it. That's why I like to see the "Before and After" write ups when the car is displayed.
"ReinCARnated" cars hold a special place in my heart, I've done a few over the years. There's nothing more rewarding than to find some beat up, rotting old hulk that the previous owner(s) didn't love or respect and bring it back to it's full glory.

Great car, great pics, and thanks for letting me rant...

TomC

HAWAIIZR-1

Thanks for sharing; that is truly awesome.

the teacher

You guys have the best looking engine ever.

1985 Corvette

My mind is boggled. Wonder why he didn't go the extra yard and install a late C4 interior. Nice car, can't imagine how much time, money, work and fabrication went into making that work.


How do these other model years make engine swaps look so easy. I see solid axles, Sting Rays and Stingrays dropping in LT-1, LT-4, LS-1, LS-6, LT-5, LS-2 and LS-7 engines like they were meant to go in there. Then when someone in the C4 section asks about a possible LS1 swap, they get the "Too much work and too expensive, might as well just buy a C5 and save yourself the trouble"

Jonnymac

Looks Great.

WydGlydJim

Black94LT1

Cool!

1bdvet

THAT LOOKS SHARP, AND I BET IT'D FAST??????????