Photo: MAXmotive
It's been ages since we've seen a custom Corvette that made us go, "wow!" But if anything, the reason why this particular 1980 C3 Corvette swapped with a custom LT4 crate engine is so awesome is because of how drab it was from the factory. For you millennials and zoomers out there, it might be shocking to hear how lame Corvettes were in the late '70s and early '80s.
As Brian of Regular Car Reviews once put it, late-model C3 Corvettes were like "an Atlantic City escort, layering on foundation and mortgaging her future to maintain a lifestyle that has not made sense since 1967." Meaning, of course, that the once mighty C3 Vette had really let itself go by the 1980 model year. Gremlins like primitive and frankly pathetic attempts at engine emission restrictions left later model C3s to be mere husks of what they were in the late '60s and early '70s.
The 1980 Vette's 305-cubic inch (5.0-L) V8, which was standard issue in SMOG-regulated California, may have sported all-new stainless steel exhaust headers and novel computerized ignition timing. But all it was good for was a measly 180 horsepower. People more fortunate in the other 49 states still got the L-48 350-cubic inch (5.7-L) V8, but that only netted another TEN horsepower. It makes you want to put your fist through a wall.
Well, who better than MAXmotive of Boca Raton, Florida, to sell a custom 1980 Corvette that undoes the sins of early 80s emissions restrictions? GM knows how to build far more powerful engines that pass every emissions test California can throw at it. A classic case in point? Look no further than a supercharged GM LS4 V8 crate engine.
20,000 RPM, that's how quickly the 1.7-liter Eaton R1740 TVS supercharger on this 6.2-liter monster of a V8 spins as it gleefully jets 640 horsepower and 630 lb-ft of torque. Keep in mind this is all without a complicated dry-sump oiling system like some other high-performance LS and LT V8s. In this C3 Corvette application, this beast is paired like cheese and fine wine with a 4L85e automatic gearbox that kicks the snot out of the three-speed sludge box in Cali-spec 1980 C3s.
Couple that with an aesthetically pleasing body kit and 20-inch Ridler wheels, and suddenly the lame duck of all lame ducks is ready to humble high-end sports cars 30 or even 40 years its junior. You'll have to thank the Hobby Shop custom car garage in Boca Raton for bringing this creation to life. All MAXmotive did was be so kind as to show it to the world for us. If you walk into their showroom and take a look, you'll be greeted by a stunning, fully restored interior with diamond stitching on the door cards and a Holley EFI digital gauge cluster.
It's little touches like that which make the $175,000 sale price before taxes and fees all the more understandable. In truth, there are modern sports cars with similar power figures and selling at roughly the same price that don't have a quarter of the road presence this Vette does. We're looking at you, Ferrari Roma. This custom C3 would blow the door off that prancing show pony in a drag race with the right driver behind the wheel. We'd put money on that.
The 1980 Vette's 305-cubic inch (5.0-L) V8, which was standard issue in SMOG-regulated California, may have sported all-new stainless steel exhaust headers and novel computerized ignition timing. But all it was good for was a measly 180 horsepower. People more fortunate in the other 49 states still got the L-48 350-cubic inch (5.7-L) V8, but that only netted another TEN horsepower. It makes you want to put your fist through a wall.
Well, who better than MAXmotive of Boca Raton, Florida, to sell a custom 1980 Corvette that undoes the sins of early 80s emissions restrictions? GM knows how to build far more powerful engines that pass every emissions test California can throw at it. A classic case in point? Look no further than a supercharged GM LS4 V8 crate engine.
20,000 RPM, that's how quickly the 1.7-liter Eaton R1740 TVS supercharger on this 6.2-liter monster of a V8 spins as it gleefully jets 640 horsepower and 630 lb-ft of torque. Keep in mind this is all without a complicated dry-sump oiling system like some other high-performance LS and LT V8s. In this C3 Corvette application, this beast is paired like cheese and fine wine with a 4L85e automatic gearbox that kicks the snot out of the three-speed sludge box in Cali-spec 1980 C3s.
Couple that with an aesthetically pleasing body kit and 20-inch Ridler wheels, and suddenly the lame duck of all lame ducks is ready to humble high-end sports cars 30 or even 40 years its junior. You'll have to thank the Hobby Shop custom car garage in Boca Raton for bringing this creation to life. All MAXmotive did was be so kind as to show it to the world for us. If you walk into their showroom and take a look, you'll be greeted by a stunning, fully restored interior with diamond stitching on the door cards and a Holley EFI digital gauge cluster.
It's little touches like that which make the $175,000 sale price before taxes and fees all the more understandable. In truth, there are modern sports cars with similar power figures and selling at roughly the same price that don't have a quarter of the road presence this Vette does. We're looking at you, Ferrari Roma. This custom C3 would blow the door off that prancing show pony in a drag race with the right driver behind the wheel. We'd put money on that.
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