The last time we met the viral YouTuber Shawn Pilot a month ago, he was digging into a Supercharged C5 that he stole for $4600. At that time, the escapade with his knocking C5 was only his second video, yet he had already grown his channel from 3300 to over 18,000 subscribers. It was compelling DIY troubleshooting with a shocking ending, and you can click here if you’d like to see the viral Corvette sensation work his magic on a horrible-sounding Supercharged C5.
Fast forward a month, and Pilot now has over 76,000 subscribers (with only 3 total videos), proof that the Corvette community has embraced this “new” content provider. I put new in quotes because while Pilot’s channel is new, he himself is not a stranger to producing enticing content. He was previously known as the “wheeler-dealer” on the hit Netflix series “Car Masters Rust to Riches”, and has amassed an impressive car collection and a junkyard of over 100 Corvettes.
Now that you have a good snapshot of who Shawn Pilot is, let’s get after this C6 transformation and introduce the first donor vehicle, an uninsured wrecked convertible that Pilot picked up from his buddy’s body shop.
And here is Pilot’s second score, a 2008 that he negotiated down to $1700.
As a “theft recovery” it’s quite disheveled, but Pilot only needs a solid body to work with, with any other usable parts a bonus.
With both donor vehicles home, the dismantling begins at 7:00, with Pilot on pins and needles as he doesn’t know if the first C6 has a solid engine, given the hard hit behind the driver’s seat tore up the fuel system. After mocking up a fuel pump from a 1985 Corvette, she fires up at 8:20!
If you are wondering why Pilot’s channel has taken off, aside from great DIY transformations he also pulls hilarious antics like this below. Sure, let’s grab a drill, and some screws, then strap that tank on so we can take a quick test drive! Aside from the hilarity, it makes sense for him to get a complete picture of what he’s dealing with on the drivetrain, so around the neighborhood we go!
More dismantling happening at 13:00, as Pilot starts pulling off the parts, and reminds his audience (with some self-deprecating humor) that he’s not playing with a full deck, and it’s not advisable to take Corvettes in this condition on the road.
I will say, this guy makes it look so easy, and still working on jack stands, wow. I even hate doing the oil change on my FRC with jack stands.
Pilot exclaims, “The dirty work is done for now!”
Pilot goes on to rip out the whole interior, windshield, and what seemed like miles of wire harness.
And here is the viral video that now has nearly 300,000 views, on his channel which has 2,190,000 views from just 3 videos. Yikes! I’ll have part 2 as soon as Pilot digs deep and gets up the energy to transfer all the good parts to the theft recovery C6. We have an active community on our Facebook page, I would love to hear what you think about Shawn Pilot’s antics. Douglas B.
