C1 Corvette Looks Vintage, Is Actually a Totally Custom Build Underneath

This C1 Corvette is a total custom build with an aftermarket body, chassis, and a powerful stroked small block.

Corvette restomods are all the rage these days, typically combining vintage bodywork with modern amenities and mechanicals for a magical combination. However, this particular C1 Corvette up for grabs at Bring a Trailer bucks that trend in a number of ways, presenting a properly vintage look that some would mistake for an original. In reality, it’s anything but, and in fact, there isn’t much present here that isn’t an aftermarket piece – even the body itself.

This C1 Corvette came to life at the hands of Jamison’s Custom Corvette of North Charleston, South Carolina between 2002-2005, and started out with a Concept 57 fiberglass body sourced from Corvette Central. It features a removable hardtop, faux through-bumper exhaust tips, driving lights, dual fender scoops, and a competition-style fuel filler, as well as a silver and red paint job to cap it all off. The C1 rolls on a set of timeless 16-inch center lock wheels with knock-off spinners wrapped with Avon Turbosteel Radial tires for a properly vintage look.

The same goes for the red interior, which looks pretty true-to-form with its low-back bucket seats, a wood-rimmed steering wheel, air conditioning, Smiths instruments, red latch-and-link lap belts, embroidered red floor mats, and a fire extinguisher.

Underneath is a totally different story, as this old Corvette rolls on a modern SRIII Motorsports steel tube chassis with a C4 Corvette-based independent suspension, QA-1 adjustable coilovers, and four-wheel disc brakes. Under the hood lies an Arizona Speed & Marine-built 383 cubic-inch V8 fitted with a Superjet/Rochester electronic fuel injection and air intake system, Fast Burn aluminum cylinder heads, roller rockers, 36 lb/hr injectors, a side-mount throttle body, and an HEI distributor. The whole setup is dressed up to resemble an original Fuelie, to boot.

Breathing through a dual-exhaust setup, the stroked small block sends power to the rear wheels via a Borg-Warner T56 six-speed manual transmission, which has been treated to a Centerforce aluminum flywheel and a Centerforce clutch. Titled as a 1957 Corvette, this wild C1 is far too custom to truly relate to any factory-built car, but in our book, that’s at least part of what makes it so cool.

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Photos:Bring a Trailer