For some of us, going topless doesn’t mean being asked politely to put our shirt back on. Some of us, but not all of us, prefer to refer to “going topless” as a reason to pop the top on a car like this Corvette C6 and hit the next race track, highway, or a hellacious hill climb. It’s the ultimate excuse to let the cool night breeze flow through our hair or whatever stray strands are still left up there, that this.
One Hot Corvette Summer
Bought in 2018 from the Corvette Warehouse, Bill’s desire to own a C6 stemmed straight from necessity. The guy already owns a C3, C5, and a C8. So what’s one more little Vette in the shed, right?
But for Bill, it’s more than just collecting Corvettes. It’s about connecting, and reconnecting with his roots. From the moment he encountered the film Corvette Summer when he was a boy, Bill’s infatuation with the venerable vehicle evolved into the extreme.
Now, as for how Bill got into racing, let’s say that would require its own separate article. Just know that racing a ’68 Camaro against anything encountered on the asphalt was a staple for much of his youth. And when the whole family and career portion of his life finally set in, finances and free time shifted gears away from project cars semi-permanently. Note the “semi” portion of that last line, people. It’s pretty important.
A C6 Reborn to Race
By the time this 2010 Chevy Corvette Grand Sport ended up in Bill’s driveway, he had already gotten to a point where he could afford to dive headfirst back into modding and racing GM machines. And so he did, knowing full well that things could go sideways at any moment.
As far as Bill was concerned, this convertible Grand Sport was never meant to rock a stock LS3. It was never meant to have a head & cam combo with a supercharger running on E85, either. Yet build it, he did. A first attempt that yielded an impressive 819 horsepower at the wheels and a huge smirk on its owner’s face.
But Bill and his team at 820 Performance of Fort Worth, Texas, knew they were working on borrowed time. The stock block and heads on the LS3 were never intended to withstand that level of abuse. At least not routinely. This is precisely what happened when the original LS3 lifted a head, thus torching the entire block.
But a magical thing happens whenever someone pushes a machine (or its engine) to the limits. Even with the utter destruction of the entire powerplant dangling in the balance, plans for a better build…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at DragzineDragzine…