1959 Chevy Corvette LS swapped Roadster for sale @seven82motors

959 Chevrolet Corvette Restomod
The first generation of Chevrolet Corvettes is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful body styles ever to be features on an American car. Heavily inspired by the high end Europeans at the time The Corvette was Chevy’s sleek 2 seater sports car and by 1959 when this one was built, they were already selling like hot cakes and hugely popular. While in their day they were certainly a great car, by modern standards the engineering of these cars doesn’t quite hold up to how fantastic it looks on the outside. It is for this reason that people build restomod cars like this one that combines modern reliability and performance with the classic styling of the original car.

The story begins around 5 years ago when this 1959 Corvette was bought by the current owner from a small town in Redding, California. He imported the car himself, and once it arrived home he quickly realised the romance of the car didn’t necessarily align with the driving experience. The car was taken off the road and began the build process which took place over approximately 3 & 1/2 years.

To start, the car was stripped down to bare chassis where a Jim Meyer racing front end was installed. The front end upgrade included rack and pinion power steering, Wilwood disk brakes, Viking tubular control arms and coilover shocks. The rear of the car was converted from leaf springs to a four link coil over setup and a 9” diff was cut down to size and installed with 3.5 Posi gears and Wilwood disk brakes.

The original old school style carburetted engine was removed in favour of a late model, LS1 Engine. Before the motor went in it received a new Comp Cam, new lifters and valve springs. A Fitech injection system and intake were put on it with Fitech fuel pod located in the boot. A brand new 5 speed Tremec manual gearbox was chosen along with a Mcleod hydraulic clutch setup. A Mezere electric water pump and new radiator were installed with twin electric thermo fans to keep everything cool. A new fuel tank was also added to suit the EFI setup. Custom extractors and a 2 & ½ inch exhaust system give the engine a nice little growl. The car was placed on a chassis dyno where it made 400hp rear wheels. Plenty for a little fiberglass car of this size to have on the street.

Finally the body was smoothed and painted in PPG metallic Silver paint here in Brisbane. Body mods are minimal with just a delete of the side cove trim for a more modern look. The chrome work around the car has been nicely refinished and the car has both soft and hard tops available with it. The restomod look is completed by a set of Intro billet wheels that the car sits down nice and low over.

Inside the car has been totally retrimmed in the factory pattern and the red vinyl offsets perfectly against the silver paint work. To remove dangerous and brittle old wiring the car has been completely rewired. An Ididit steering column and billet steering wheel are front and center. All of the interior parts were supplied directly from Corvette central in the USA. Hand brake is electric Mica from the USA and is operated using a toggle switch under the dash. There is a hand controller for the Fitech management in the cabin if you want to keep a closer eye on what is happening under the hood. The battery has been relocated to the boot with isolation switch.

This car combined the best of both worlds, classic styling and timeless lines, with modern performance and reliability. All of the work on this car has been done locally here in Brisbane and there is a QLD Mod plate in trunk. A fast and fun little car that has been built to be driven.

https://www.seven82motors.com.au/car/1959-chevy-corvette/#.YGfnVy8Rqi4