Slideshow: Corvette C3 From Sweden with Love

Transatlantic

The car you see here isn't Sven-Erik Mattsson's first Corvette. That would be another C3 convertible, a small-block-powered 1969 that he has plans for—we'll get to that in a minute—which he bought 30 years ago. It is, however, his first to be displayed at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky—we'll get to that too. He found this 1968 Stingray via an online ad placed by a dealer in Pennsylvania, it needed a fair bit of work but that fit in nicely with his plans, so he had the convertible shipped to Sweden and got started. When he received the car, Mattsson decided to tackle the lion's share of the work himself, including most of the non-mechanical aspects. As he told Super Chevy in 2013, "I did most of the restoration by myself—bodywork, paint, interior, welding, polishing stainless steel, and the convertible top."

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Parts Hunt

First up, Mattsson wanted a newer drivetrain, but his first attempt at procuring one was a disappointment. "I bought a used ’00 Camaro engine and six-speed transmission in Sweden," he remembers. "But that engine had piston slap, and the block was cracked, so I swapped it for a new LS1 crate engine." Aluminum heads alone were a rare and expensive option in '68, but in the '00s they were just a mouse click away, even in Sweden. "It’s easy to get parts," Mattsson said. "I order online from the USA—it’s much cheaper than buying in Sweden."

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Engine

Engine in hand, he started a four-year process of renewing the C3 stem to stern. The LS1 itself, replacing the original 327, mostly remained in its crate-fresh spec, consisting of the stock LS1 aluminum block and heads, nodular iron cranks, 10.25:1 hypereutectic aluminum pistons, powdered-metal steel connecting rods, hydraulic roller camshaft, and 2.000 intake/1.550 exhaust valves. The 346 ci engine also utilizes the stock LS1 electronic ignition and coil packs, but Mattsson installed Melrose 1 7⁄8-inch headers with 2 1/2-in pipes.

>>Join the conversation about this Sweden resident Corvette C3 right here on LS1 Tech.

Underneath

The LS1 is mated to a Tremec T-56 six-speed manual transmission, controlled via a sweet-looking old-school Hurst shifter, and from there power travels back to the stock C3 Positraction rear end with 3.70:1 gears. The 'Vette's suspension got a full update, with QA1 coilovers, custom stainless-steel upper/lower control arms, and a Flaming River steering rack up front, and QA1 coilovers again in back, joined by custom trailing arms.

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Rolling/Stopping

The tweaked suspension gets help from Falken FK452 tires (245/40R18, front, 275/45R19 rear), and Zito Titan modular aluminum wheels (18x8.5-in front, 19x9.5-in rear). The '68 stops like a '06 now, courtesy of a full set of C6 Z06 Corvette brake discs and Brembo calipers. The body-off-frame restoration took a full four years to complete, but Mattsson said it was worth every minute of it. "It drives great, like a new car. It’s my dream car," he beamed.

>>Join the conversation about this Sweden resident Corvette C3 right here on LS1 Tech.

Shows, Sweden

With the Stingray all done, Mattsson drove and showed the heck out of it in his home country. "Corvette is a popular car in Sweden, with about 5,500 to 6,000 in the country," he said. He noted that the 2,600-member-strong Club Corvette Sweden hosted a lot of the events he took part in. "American cars, in general, are popular in Sweden, with events, cruising, and car shows," he added. "The Power Big Meet is the biggest one, with over 10,000 cars and lots of spectators."

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Shows, Stateside

One downside of seeing the world for a Corvette owner is you usually have to part with your car for a while—well Mattsson had an answer for that, he'd bring the '68 with him on his tour of American car shows. As a member of the National Corvette Museum, he contacted the museum’s representative for display cars, and after a few exchanged e-mails, plans were set for him to hit the Woodward Dream Cruise, Corvettes at Carlisle, then deposit his car at the museum in Bowling Green for a stint in 2013.

>>Join the conversation about this Sweden resident Corvette C3 right here on LS1 Tech.

About that '69

Since it turned out that Mattsson had to part ways with his '68 while it was on display at the Corvette Museum, how would he get his Corvette fix? "I have three Corvette projects in my garage," he said during that time. One was his friend's ’65 Sting Ray convertible with a 598 ci Shafiroff engine, another was an ’82 Collector Edition, and the last one? The '69 convertible that he said, "will be a ZL1 clone." When asked what his plans were for his '68 when it sailed back to Sweden, he responded, "My next step is to give it more power, either with a supercharger on this engine, or with an LS9." If the past is any indication, US showgoers might want to keep their eyes peeled for this silver Corvette to do a re-reunion tour of the country of its origin.

>>Join the conversation about this Sweden resident Corvette C3 right here on LS1 Tech.

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