When Tyler C. found this abandoned 2007 Corvette on his California Navy base he was immediately compelled to save it, but his plans were non-conventional, to put it mildly. Some enthusiasts would ask, why not fix up the body, replace the engine parts, and have yourself a $20,000+ Corvette? After all, Tyler scored the beat-up C6 for just $800.
For a refresher, here is the original condition, and you can click here for part one of the story.
Well, for starters Tyler mentions that nearly every body panel had damage down to the fiberglass, and he wanted a more creative solution, one that would fit his dream of a light and street-legal road course-type race car. Tyler says, “power to weight is the biggest thing when it comes to fun in my opinion. I’ve been in a lot of fast cars. Going fast in a straight line gets old after a while.”
It’s hard to argue with that logic, here is his vision.
How close has Tyler gotten to his dream? He’s made some pretty good progress in less than two weeks. First, he had to score some wheels, and as a wheel guy, I say good job with the meaty choice. As luck would have it, Tyler has a friend who owns Flag Motorsports out of Escondido, California, and procured the wheels and tires from him.
And it looks like the kiddo is helping again! It’s awesome Tyler is able to make this a family affair, memories they will both share with his first Corvette purchase. Yes I know, quite an endeavor for the first. The hammer and other tools are out, and that rear is getting stripped down!
As is that interior. There’s something cool about seeing the bones on these Corvettes.
And what are the plans for that engine? Well, so far Tyler has stripped off the heads and plans to have his buddy at Flag Motorsports build the engine.
As far as the timeline from here, Tyler is on the “young enlisted man with a family” budget plan so has to take it slow and easy. He plans to have the engine pulled and to the shop by late April, and hopefully have this unique lightweight street-legal racer on the road by summer. He reminds us, “after I’m done with this it will be a monster at a road course and mountain roads. I’m in southern California right now where the roads are amazing to drive on.”
I’m looking forward to it Tyler! We often have vibrant discussions over on our Facebook page, I would love to see you there! Douglas B.
