When We're Not At The Track...
We're Planning a Shark Attack!
In 1988 we purchased a 1971 Corvette. It was in pretty bad shape then, but it was a big block 454 with a 4-speed. This was before we started racing and it had been a while since we had something fun to drive.
The car was Dave's daily driver for many years. In the early 90's we painted it black. The 40 mile daily commute combined with living on an unpaved road took its toll and eventually, the frame became so rusted that it wasn't driveable. The car was in need of a frame-up restoration badly. Because we had acquired our first race car in 1992, a 1968 Corvette, the '71 had to wait.
For several years the poor '71 sat in the corner of the race shop while we went from racing the 1968 Vette to a 1985 tubeframe Irv Hoerr Camaro and then to the 1993 Riggins' Olds Cutlass. Somewhere along the line we picked up a new frame for the '71 and it sat in the race shop along-side the Corvette.
With the big 2003 Corvette 50th anniversary celebration at Bowling Green, KY looming ahead of us, we decided it was time to give the neglected Vette a complete frame-up street/road race rebuild. Our road was now paved too!
A big factor in our decision were friends, Chris & Nikki McDonald, who were doing a similar rebuild on their '69 convertible. Watching the progress on their car was an inspiration to us and we made plans with the McDonald's to join the 2003 caravan to Bowling Green.
You can view our picture documentation of the complete rebuild by clicking on "The Build" link at the top of the page. Our caravan adventure is included in the "Photos/News" page.
These are the modifications we made to the car:
Dart 540 Motor
Dart Pro 1 Cylinder Heads
850 Holley Carb w/ Edlebrock Air Gap
Holley Blue Fuel Pump & Regulator w/ -8 AN Fuel Line
Competition Cams SS Roller Rockers
Hooker Side Pipes w/ Spiral Turbo Baffles
Griffin Aluminum Radiator
March Serpentine Belt System
Canton Accusump Oil System
MSD Billet Distributor, Coil & 6AL Ignition Box
Powermaster High-Torque Starter
Optima Battery
Keisler TKO II 5-Speed Transmission
Ram Lightweight Clutch & Flywheel
Fluid-Damper Harmonic Balancer
Van Steel Heavy-Duty Rear Assembly
(Driveshaft, Halfshafts, Diff and Hubs)
VBP Front and Rear Suspension
VBP Composite Springs (front & rear)
Dual Master Brake Cylinders
Coleman Racing Products Brake Disks
Brembo Front Brake Calipers
Outlaw Rear Brake Calipers w/ Bias Adjustment
ACI Road-Race, L88 Wheel Flares
CCW Wheels: 18x10 front, 18x12 rear
Michelin Tires: 275 front, 345 rear
Competition Rollbar Welded to Frame
Corbeau A4 Seats
Simpson 5-Point, Cam-Lock Harness System
Electric Activated Headlamps
Vintage Air Gen II AC
Alpine CD/MP3 Player
