Slideshow: 1979 Corvette with LS Power is a Grand Sport in Spirit
This C3 Corvette was made for show with Grand Sport flourishes and for go with an LS 376/525 crate motor.
Double Digits
You know what you don't see that much anymore? Customized cars. Sure, hot rod culture is alive and well and modifications are as prevalent as ever. But between sport touring jobs, tribute cars, and built-for-the-strip specials, there just don't seem to be as many customizations that include altering the shape of a car in strange and wonderful ways as there were when George Barris was in full swing. Richard Skipper's 1979 Corvette coupe was born in that era and looking at the work he had done to it recently, one could be forgiven for thinking it never left. Skipper is a show guy through and through—he's owned 14 Corvettes, and he loves sharing them with other Corvette fans even more than driving them. The Corvette you see here started as an idea, sparked by a picture he saw of a C3 Corvette wearing 1996 Corvette Grand Sport colors. He clipped the photo and told himself that he'd build his own version of it someday.
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Acquisition
It could have been the law of attraction, or some version of 'if you want to build it, it will come,' but one day Skipper's neighbor put a '79 Corvette up for sale. The 'Vette belonged to the neighbor's son, who was in Iraq at the time, and decided it should go to someone that could use it. Skipper was that someone. With a new-to-him C3, he was ready to make his Grand Sport plan a reality... with a custom twist. To build the showstopper he was looking for, he'd press three different shops into service, all doing what they do best.
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Modification
Skipper enlisted the Bright Brothers from Alvarado, Texas to tackle the fiberglass and paint on the C3 project. They executed his vision by fiberglassing the removable hardtop in permanently, converting the 'Vette to a couple-only proposition. Next, they ditched the pop-up headlights, smoothing in their original locations, and replacing them with rectangular headlamps molded into the former grille openings. In a touch reminiscent of late C3 Greenwood specials, they also raised and vented the hood near the cowl. The overall effect is sleek and makes an already pointy Corvette appear even more arrow-like.
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Colorization
Skipper wasn't out of ideas for the '79, he also wanted the side pipes to complement the shape of the car and call a little less attention to themselves. The Bright Brothers' solution was to fabricate custom covers that would stay cool enough to take body color. The Grand Sport theme was still as fresh to Skipper as the day he hit upon it, and so the car was sprayed the stock 1996 GS hue of Admiral Blue, provided by House of Kolor, and completed with a central white strip and red fender hash marks.
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Suspension
The drivetrain and chassis were entrusted to Marc’s Garage in Fort Worth, Texas. They readied Skipper's choice of a full Art Morrison Enterprises custom chassis, equipped with adjustable Strange Engineering coilovers. Braking is by Baer Brakes, with 14-inch rotors and six-piston calipers at all four corners.
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LS-ification
In the engine department, Marc’s Garage brought in an LS 376/525 (that's 376 ci/6.2L, and 525 hp/525 lb-ft of torque) crate engine from Chevrolet Performance. It was bolted to a set of 1 7/8-inch Ultimate Headers long-tube ceramic-coated headers flowing into a custom 3-inch exhaust dumping into MagnaFlow mufflers. A Mattson’s Custom three-row aluminum radiator keeps things cool while a Powermaster alternator provides juice to the C3. The killer LS engine is mated to a 4L70E automatic that transmits power to a Strange Engineering 9-inch LSD Ford rear end with 3.50:1 gears.
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Nice and Red
The last step in the future show car's journey was Compton Custom Interiors in Burleson, Texas. Think mid-to-late '70's Corvette interiors and what do you think? Red or white come to the top of the list, and Skipper went with red. The 'Vette got treated to acres of red leather—seats, dash, doors, console, and kick panels all received red hide, and red carpet hit the floor. Dakota Digital gauges deliver Skipper back to the future every time he glances at them.
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For the People
Skipper admitted without the slightest bit of guilt that he's more of a builder than a driver, in fact, he said he has 10-year-old builds with under 300 new miles on the clocks. We don't mind, as long as he keeps showin' 'em and keeping them nice and shiny. As for the '79 Grand Sport custom, it's been a smashing success, collecting class awards at every show it sees. It's a given that Corvettes are forever, but it's refreshing to see some of that old-school custom spirit is also alive and well.
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