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Words: Tommy Parry
Greg’s always been a fan of the air-cooled 911 scene. From Rod Emory’s cars to Magnus Walker’s builds, he loves the simple, purposeful nature of those machines. The thing is, he’s just not a Porsche guy. His draw to those cars has more to do with their being simple, lightweight cars with high revving, naturally aspirated motors than anything else.
Because of his aversion to the brand, he started thinking what an American equivalent of those cars would be. In his opinion, 911 is to Germany as Corvette is to America, and he believes that the ’64 Corvette was the last true American sports car. Obviously the ’65-’67 cars are more or less the same, but starting in ’65 you started seeing big blocks, bulging hoods, side pipes, etc. These changes, in his mind, marked the transition of the Corvette from sports car to muscle car.
So, for his project, he chose a ’64. This one has the features he was after: specifically, the 4-speed manual gearbox and the solid lifter 327. With the exception of perhaps the DZ302 from the Z28, Greg feels the L76 engine in this car is the closest thing America ever came to those high revving, air-cooled engines - but in proper American V8 format.
His project was put on hold due to deployment to the Middle East, where he was able to dream up a long list of bolt-ons to make his Corvette a Porsche beater. Upon returning, he started installing the parts which would sharpen the steering, braking and handling of the factory set up without going full pro-touring.
After replacing plugs, wires and valve cover gaskets, he adjusted the valve lash. The resulting difference gave him all the motivation he needed to soldier on. The improvement in performance was startling with just a few tweaks - so what would retrofitting the entire suspension do?
The first order of business in the footwork department was fitting the Global West rear trailing arms and new hubs from Van Steel Corvette. This setup included the mounting brackets for the rear brake calipers and the shock/camber road assembly - disc brakes were a must with this one.
Next came RideTech single adjustable shocks and the Global West adjustable camber rods, for which he retained the factory springs. With the 13/16” swaybars and a decent suspension setup, these cars are capable of pulling over 1 G on the skidpad, even on the semi-plush factory springs. Next, he swapped the bracket which attaches the camber rods to the bottom of the differential from the '63-'67 Corvette piece to the bracket from the '69+ cars. This moved the inboard mounting position for the rod down approximately 1”, reducing the amount of camber gain in a hard corner. Quickly, this ol’ beauty was turning into a hardened machine for the road course.
Wilwood D8 brakes, the only big brake kit slim enough to fit underneath the factory 15” wheels, were the next item on the list. However, those factory wheels weren’t to last long - he held on to the big brakes, but opted for a set of PS Engineering T/A-1 wheels measuring 15x7”.
After considering a rebuilt factory steering system and some of the overboosted power steering conversion kits, Greg decided to use the Speed Direct manual rack and pinion conversion kit. The benefit is precise feel throughout the entire range of travel and approximately 20% less effort compared to the factory manual steering box. Though initially hesitant to install the system, as it wasn’t the prettiest purchase he’d made, the abundance of positive reviews of the unit gave him peace of mind and the urge to proceed.
With the footwork and steering largely sorted, he could dedicate some attention to the aesthetics. Continuing on the original theme, Greg purchased a set of Cobra Stuttgart seats. These are nearly identical in dimensions to the original Recaros used in early Porsche 911s. With several tartan inserts, these lend a decidedly European feel to the Corvette’s cabin.
His next addition to the cabin came in a smaller package. Like the seats, he wanted the wheel to offer a hint of European flair, and so he opted for something in the style of a classic Momo Prototipo. He found a 15" wheel from a 1969 Corvette and sent it out to have ⅛” padding added, then wrapped it in the same leather that BMW uses on their steering wheels. Besides the aesthetic and tactile improvements, the wheel has 1" less dish and 1" smaller diameter than the factory wheel, so he found some much needed legroom as well.
There’s a bright future for this Corvette. Once the car is complete, Greg plans on thrashing it regularly. He’s been planning this build in the back of his head for the better part of a decade, so he won’t be getting rid of it any time soon. He and his wife have done Hot Rod Power Tour, Rally North America and numerous other driving events in the past, and with this gem, they plan on doing many more.
To keep an eye on Greg’s progress, you can visit his thread here.
