When it was new, the 1957 Corvette couldn’t do better than 283 cubic inches (4.6 liters) for the small-block V8 engine option. The car we’ll talk about today – which is a world-class restomod with pro-touring traits – combines a Lingenfelter-built LS2 with a Magnuson blower.
An MP122 Magna Charger helps the 6.0-liter motor develop 565 horsepower (573 PS) at the flywheel and 448 horsepower (454 PS) at the rear wheels. According to RK Motors Charlotte, the fury hiding under the hoodcosts “roughly $30k” while the asking price for the entire vehicle is $349,000.
Ported and polished heads are also worthy of mention, along with stainless-steel valves, billet valve covers, PAC Racing springs and retainers, as well as Kooks headers. The suck-squeeze-bang-blow is channeled to the Dana 44 rear axle with an Eaton Detroit Truetrac and 3.54 gears by a Tremec six-speed manual. As you would expect, the T56 isn’t an off-the-shelf tranny.
Beyond the MTI shifter and cue-ball knob, this gearbox is rocking a twin-disc clutch and a steel flywheel from Centerforce. The undercarriage of this one-of-a-kind build is also where you’ll find a modified X-frame complemented by a Newman Car Creations suspension system with C4 Corvette geometry.
Drilled and slotted brake rotors provide stopping power, custom exhaust pipes, and MagnaFlow mufflers help that LS2 sing the song of its people, and Budnik Muroc III wheels spin Michelin Pilot Sport run-flats on all four corners. The widened bodywork is finished in Organic Orange and Wimbledon White, a color combination mirrored by the lovely cockpit.
A three-spoke steering wheel frames an LED-lit instrument cluster with a digital odometer that shows 1,047 miles (1,685 kilometers) since the build was finished. Vintage Air climate control, an old-school head unit with goodies such as MP3 playback, and Wise Guys buckets are a few other highlights, along with three-point belts and Al Knoch leather.
The question is, would you take this 3,000-hour build over a numbers-matching 1957 Corvette in pristine condition?
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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