This Corvette C1 Restomod Is Ridiculously Beautiful
So, Restomods are often beautiful. Don’t go away, I know that’s not exactly breaking news. This 1959 Corvette C1 restomod takes it to another level. It looks as though a Chevy had a baby with an Aston Martin DB5 and created a British-American beauty. Created by RPL Customs of Royse City, Texas, the car is lacking nothing. Want a luxurious, powerful, beautiful car? You’ll find all those qualities here.
The body hasn’t changed all that much. The rear wheel wells have been tubbed, but that’s about it. The two-tone paint scheme found on C1 Corvettes is actually still there, but it’s extremely subtle. The larger part of the body was finished in a metallic shade of Silver Green Effect, while the coves got the same color in matte. It took me a couple of glances to notice that this car wasn’t straight silver, but I’ve got to say that I’m a fan. The subtle notes of green provide another classic, almost British facet to the car’s looks.
The body is the only thing that’s been left alone. The original chassis has been replaced with an Art Morrison GT Sport piece. Add to this 14″ Wilwood discs brakes, Strange Engineering coilovers in the front and rear, and a Ford 9″ rear axle upgraded with limited-slip differential. Under the hood, there’s an LS3 that’s been upgraded with Art Morrison heads, giving a final output of 487 horsepower. The transmission is a 4L65E automatic, the exhaust is fully-custom, and an aluminum radiator by AutoRad cools the powerful little beast. A new compressor and alternator have been added for the Vintage Air too. Even the engine cover has been customized for a little extra touch of class.
The new interior could be mistaken for that of a classic Jag; it just needs a little polished wood. Almost everything has been covered in brown Ultraleather, and it looks extraordinarily comfortable for cruising. The new steering wheel is by Billet Specialties, the gauges are Dakota Digital VHXs, and a new sound system complete with a trunk-mounted Bluetooth-compatible Kicker head unit gives you the option of a soundtrack, should you get bored with the roar of the LS3. There are power windows and a push button ignition system too. It took over four years, but there’s no question that every second of work was worth it.
