This Pro Street Corvette Blends Two Years of Nostalgia
What happens when you love two styles of a Corvette but you only want one car? Check out this C2 below that is not only mixing those classic changes but adding some modern flair also.
Leaving it up to the professionals
All lawyers aren't bad lawyers as this New Jerseyan attorney, Harley Breite, is a fan of all things GM with his first car had been a used 1974 Firebird. That love continued on today with him being the proud owner of this top-shelf Corvette. Back after he purchased the classic Vette he saw some work from "customizer extraordinaire" Kason Pratt and knew that this man would be the one to help get his vision into reality.
Pratt runs both JE Pro Streets (with his father Ed Pratt) and Yeti Motorsports (with partner John Visner) out in Ohio. At the two shops, they build quality Pro Street high horsepower muscle cars for folks all over the country. Pratt was actually the one who came up with the idea to steer the restmod of the C2 into the performance category after some convincing Breite of the potential.
>>Join the conversation about this marriage of the 63 and 65 C2 right here in Corvette Forum!
Double blast from the past
The starting base of this project is not a 1963 but a 1965 C2 that has the split window grafted in that Breite requested. At the front, Pratt added a stinger hood to get that overall C2 design silhouette that Breite desired. After those pieces were added in Pratt dived into the project with the chassis being stripped down and built up at JE. The car features a 2x3 back-half with a custom chromoly four-link wishbone suspension, tubular upper and lower control arms and a QA1 adjustable coilover kit. For stopping duties there are Wilwood Pro Series four-wheel disc brakes that have been cross-drilled and slotted. To keep the Vette pointed in the right direction there is a Flamin River power rack and pinion along with a tilt-steering column.
>>Join the conversation about this marriage of the 63 and 65 C2 right here in Corvette Forum!
Those high price tag parts
Once Breite got under the hood of the C2 he threw everything at it and didn't skimp one bit. Rusty Vaughn Race Engines built a pump gas 468ci four-bolt main block. From there a forged steel crank, Eagle rods, and Wiseco forged pistons we added to make up the rotating assembly. To get the valves in sync a Comp Cams Mutha Thumpr hydraulic cam and lifters were added. Merlin Grumpy Jenkins rectangular port heads top the cylinders. Delivering the fuel is a Fast EX-EFI 2.0 fuel injection system and handing the spark out to the cylinders is an MSD Billet distributor.
>>Join the conversation about this marriage of the 63 and 65 C2 right here in Corvette Forum!
Is the kitchen sink in there too?
A TH350 transmission was installed with a 3,000 stall converter to get all that power out back to the rear wheels. To deal with the power curve of the C2 a Moser M9 fabricated rear housing stuffed with a Moser Wavetrac limited slip and beefy 3.90 gears. Ceramic-coated and polished 35-spline axles twist the big 15x15 Billet Specialty wheels wrapped up in Mickey Thompson 33x22 Sportsman S/R radial tires. Keeping everything safe and cool is a Direct Fit aluminum radiator with dual electric fans. A set of Sanderson ceramic-coated manifolds feed into the factory big block side pipes to get rid of those spent gasses.
>>Join the conversation about this marriage of the 63 and 65 C2 right here in Corvette Forum!
Good music is essential
For the interior, Yeti Motorsports made the cabin factory fresh with full reupholstering and adding a few touches of their own. AutoMeter Phantom gauges were installed in place of the dash's stock cluster to give things a more contemporary touch. A RetroSound stereo with both Bluetooth capability and an iPod hookup was installed so that Breite could enjoy some sweet tunes.
>>Join the conversation about this marriage of the 63 and 65 C2 right here in Corvette Forum!
The frosting on top
The wheel wells were stretched, tubbed, and then had a factory style lip added to give it an OEM look all so that the big MTs out back could fit. To finish off the body Jack Crow laid down a Reflex Silver finish on on the outside as well as below the 1967 big block hood.
The Corvette has a set of original 1963 window trim, restored and installed to make the split window conversion complete. The C2 runs a custom built aluminum fuel cell with an Aeromotive in-tank fuel pump and utilizes the factory fuel tank flip to keep everything looking period correct.
>>Join the conversation about this marriage of the 63 and 65 C2 right here in Corvette Forum!
For help with service and maintenance of your Corvette check out the how-to section of CorvetteForum.com