1970 C3 LS6 Widebody Packs on the Muscle

Impressionable Teens

Growing up, we all had our dream cars. For me, it was always the Corvette. For auto enthusiast and wrencher Garrett Randall, it wasn't, not at first anyway. Garrett's first love was the De Tomaso Pantera, which was a mid-engined sports car produced by the De Tomaso car company of Italy from 1971 to 1993. I remember the car well. In fact, I remember lots of teens in my own neighborhood dreaming of owning a Pantera. Only 7,000 of those were produced over its 22-year run, which explains why we don't see too many of those around anymore. 

The First Project Car

But as teens' interests often wax and wane, Garrett's gaze drifted over to American muscle. In fact, as a teen, he even helped his father restore a 70s era Camaro. It seems likely that was the moment the world expanded for Garrett. Once you build something and realize there's an end to it and an overwhelming satisfaction that comes from it, more projects are sure to follow. And they did, with this 1970 Corvette, which is the embodiment of American muscle.

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A New Project is Born

Garrett contacted his friend Cris Gonzales of JCG Customs about a new project he was working on. As it turns out, Cris had his own project car that he was trying to complete. Garrett was starting from square one while Cris was further along in his restoration process. In the end, Cris sold Garrett his project car, the 1970 Corvette above, catapulting Garrett much closer to the finish line.

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What Garrett Did to the C3

For starters, Garrett turned to his friend Cris, who sold him the car in the first place, to add the one-off flares that give the C3 its most aggressive profile. The fenders enabled Garrett to add chunky 315 and 355 BFGoodrich g-Force Rival S tires held on by made-to-order Forgeline GA3R wheels measuring 11.5 and 12.5 inches wide. He also turned to Ed Palmer at Kundensport to lay down that incredible green coat.

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Brakes and Suspension

Tucked within the wheels you'll find Wilwood 6-pots up front with a 4-piston setup in the rear, giving this lightweight Corvette more than enough stopping power. The suspension was drastically improved by an Eaton Posi (LSD) unit with a 3.73:1 final drive on the rear axle. Both front and rear suspension were modified by JCG Customs with JRI coilovers on all four corners.  This gives the Corvette its low but functional ride height.

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Power Source

A Borla exhaust system connects to the built LS6 from Mullenex Racing Engines which delivers over 520 hp and 485 ft-lbs of torque. Power is sent through a proper late-model 6-speed manual T56 transmission.

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The Man Cave

The interior remains very old school and mostly factory. Garrett added new Auto Meter gauges, a hefty roll bar, harnesses, and a Kirkey aluminum bucket seat for autocross timed racing. 

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What Dreams are Made of

Garrett's Corvette is a fresh reminder that with hard work and a little creativity you can build a performance-focused classic that handles like a modern car. While there are plenty of older Corvettes that have been built with the same American spirit and effort, you won’t find another that looks like this one.

Someone once said that all great things were once a dream. By the looks of it, this teenager's dream definitely came true.

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