1966 Corvette Shines Brightly in SEMA Battle of the Builders
Daily Slideshow: Battle of the Builders is a SEMA competition that shines the spotlight on the amazing talents and craftsmanship of auto builders around the country. We take a moment to focus that light on the builder of this '66 Corvette.
Battle ready
SEMA 2018 may be over, the but stories never die. Like the story of car owner Jerry Jacob, who brought his 1966 Corvette to this year's show, where he was entered in the Battle of the Builders competition. Like most restoration projects, this one started with a car that some would have put out to pasture. But not Jerry. It took him more than five years to get it looking this good. That's half a decade of vision, hard work, and commitment.
Uncovering the remains
As soon as Jerry got back from Vegas, he tracked down the owner of the Corvette and was invited to come and take a look at it. "The entire car was buried under roofing material," said Jerry. "It literally took us four hours to get it to where it was accessible." Jerry brought what remained of the body to his friend Tony Castellano, who did the final blocking and paint, which is a custom mixed BASF high-quality silver paint.
>>Join the conversation about this Jerry Jacob's 1966 Corvette right here in CorvetteForum.
A power generator
Meanwhile, Tony installed a Mast Motorsports 427 engine which generates 670 hp to the flywheel. He also added a Tremec T-57 Magnum transmission. For you transmission nerds out there, the tranny was originally designed and built by BorgWarner for the Dodge Viper, and was later used by GM for the generation II and later engines. Starting in 1998, it was built by Tremec, though nothing changed internally. This 6-speed manual transmission uses a hydraulic clutch and the entire case is made of aluminum.
>>Join the conversation about this Jerry Jacob's 1966 Corvette right here in CorvetteForum.
Chrome easter eggs
One obvious feature that stands out is the omission of any chrome or polished parts. But Jerry thought it would be cool to install some chrome, but he added it somewhere you'd never really notice it, that is, unless you found yourself under the car. Looking up at the undercarriage, you will find fabricated 3-inch stainless steel polished exhaust pipes. And one more thing you may notice while down there are the brakes, upgraded with WILWOOD 6-piston front and 4-piston rear calipers.
>>Join the conversation about this Jerry Jacob's 1966 Corvette right here in CorvetteForum.
There's no words for it
"To be considered to be part of the Battle of the Builders for SEMA is a dream," acknowledged with a genuine twinge of emotion in his voice. "I aspire to be like the great builders in America. I watch them on Velocity. I watch the videos on Youtube. I'm inspired. Those guys are amazing, and to be in the same group, the same competition, there's no words for it." Well, by the looks of the Corvette that Jerry lovingly brought back to life, we'd say his inclusion was well-deserved.
>>Join the conversation about this Jerry Jacob's 1966 Corvette right here in CorvetteForum.
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