While the aftermarket side of the industry pays a lot of attention to the C8 Corvette these days, the project we have here, which was recently taken out of the oven, is all about the C1 'Vette. We're looking at a bubbletop car built by Don Boeke. Nicknamed The Egyptian, the aficionado has been building cars since the early 1960s.
Dubbed Ramses II (no surprise here), the '61 Corvette used to be Don's personal car, which he grabbed after leaving the Navy. And while the machine has been the subject of various experiments over the years, you are now looking at its final form.
Nevertheless, that Jetsons-like top, which is hydraulically operated, is only the icing on this custom cake. For instance, while it might appear that the front fascia brings a custom touch to the four-headlights-and-chrome approach of the original, you should know the bumper actually comes from a Mustang.
In fact, as the builder explains in the video below, which comes from the the aptly-named Shutterfuel (the same goes for the pics above), the idea was to deliver a modernized C1 Corvette that could still be identified rather than coming up with a whole new design.
The rear end is just as much of a custom jewel, with this obviously maintaining the four-taillight approach (by the way, 1961 was the first model year that saw the car offering this layout, which survives to this day).
Air suspension allows the driver to play with the ride height, with this further impacting the appearance of the American icon. And while we're talking about the connection to the road, those wheels feature chips from the Luxor Casino in Las Vegas.
As far as the firepower goes, the Chevy's original 283 V8 (think two four-barrel carbs) is in place, with this being matted to a four-speed tranny.
That bubbletop can be replaced by a windscreen, which means this puppy can become play the song of the Roadster people. And if we look past the glass, we'll find an interior that has "restomod" written all over it, from the steering wheel to the tablet.
The name of the eye-candy shade covering the bubbletop Corvette? That would be Velveeta Perl.
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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