Vehicle Description
Take a good, close look at this 1966 Chevrolet Corvette, because
while you think you've seen one like it before, we're going to
politely disagree. Professionally built in 1996 by the experts at
Corvette Country in Georgia, it's a state-of-the-art (1990s style)
resto-mod that uses a trick 1996 C4 Grand Sport body swap, and did
it before it was popular and easy.
The 1996 Corvette Grand Sport was the pinnacle of C4 Corvette
performance. It's a great foundation from which to build a
take-no-prisoners Corvette, so the guys at Corvette Country sourced
one with very few miles and started the transformation by peeling
off the body and interior. On top went a clean 1966 Corvette coupe
shell, one of the most iconic looks of all time. Yes, it's been
tweaked and modified, stating with a two-inch stretch to get it to
look right on the C4 chassis. Then they added some fender flares to
not only give it a vintage Grand Sport look, but to also clear the
large-by-huge 17-inch rubber. A custom hood was created, there's a
chin spoiler to replace the original bumpers, and out back, the
deck was massaged to incorporate some functional air vents and even
an opening deck lid for access to the fuel cell. It was all covered
in beautiful purple paint with a white stripe, and if you want
attention, well, this Corvette generates it by the bucketful. Look
carefully at the photos, because there are far more details there
than we can describe.
They didn't throw away the Grand Sport's interior; no, they kept it
and stuffed it into the 1966 shell and the workmanship is extremely
impressive. Factory bucket seats are as comfortable here as they
were in the original C4, the center console houses the power seat
controls as well as the 6-speed shifter, and the full instrument
panel, including gauges, HVAC, stereo system, and other hardware,
was bolted into place. Even the C4 door panels were resized to fit
on the C2 doors. Turn the key and the digital speedometer lights up
like it should and the A/C blows ice cold (it's OEM hardware, after
all). Some wood appliques give the interior an upscale look along
with the matching wood-rimmed wheel, and you'll probably be
surprised to learn that it all works like it should. Very
impressive!
The Grand Sport's LT4 engine really needs no introduction: 350
cubic inches, 330 horsepower, 340 pounds of torque, ready to rock.
It's bulletproof, and thanks to factory fuel injection, runs
beautifully. Crank the key and it starts instantly and idles well
even when cold, just like a modern Corvette should. No
modifications (do you need them?) mean that it's virtually
bulletproof and the looks you'll get when you open the hood are
worth the price of admission all by themselves. Look closely and
you'll see that the traction control and ABS systems are likewise
fully functional, and the C4's ZF 6-speed manual gearbox still
shifts as sweetly as it did 20 years ago. The suspension, brakes,
and even the catalytic converters (feeding side pipes!) are all
OEM, making this car reliable and easy to service, not to mention
predatory fast. Factory Grand sport A-Mold wheels were dipped in
chrome then wrapped with oversized rubber: 275/40/17 front and
giant 335/35/17 rear Bridgestone radials.
Beautifully built and expertly engineered, this car is a study in
how they did it before kits and body swaps were common. An OEM
experience with gorgeous good looks to match. Call today!