1963 Split-Window Restomod Build
Ever wonder what goes into a classic Corvette restomod build? Forum member 65silververt shows us the goods as his '63 Split-Window goes under the knife.
The Deserving Donor
Corvette Forum member 65silververt took on a 63 Split-Window restomod project and was kind enough to share the build process with us all. The donor car, if you can call it that, was bought from a fellow forum member and was a very nice car in its own right. The car featured a 350 roller cam engine with a Tuned Port Injection setup, a beefy BeCool radiator, a Borgeson Power Steering conversion, TH350 transmission, and a Hydratech Brake Booster to name a few. On top of the mechanical upgrades, the car had recently undergone a complete strip and repaint in a lovely metallic green paint scheme. While it may have made for a nice driver, 65silververt felt it was not a numbers matching car, so it was ripe for a restomod build.
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Perfecting The Body
The idea from the get-go was to dismantle the car and drop the clean body onto a SRIII chassis with modern C6 suspension and a healthy powertrain. Although he received a bit of criticism for using a nice complete car instead of a parts mule, 65silververt immediately began tearing the car down and offering up parts for sale to offset build costs. The body was separated from the chassis and placed on a dolly that allowed for extensive body work to be completed. 65silververt went over the entire body with a fine-toothed comb as he perfected body panel gaps in the doors, hood, and headlights. He also completely smoothed out the engine bay and removed the stock rear compartment/flooring before bonding in a new rear floor and wheel wells that are compatible with the SRIII chassis. After over 400+ painstaking hours of bodywork, which included several coats of epoxy & polyester primers and multiple block-sanding sessions, 65silververt finally handed the car off to the paint shop.
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Chassis Prep
While the body was away at the paint shop for a couple of weeks, a bit of attention was given to the SRIII chassis. Fuel lines were run from the fuel tank up to the front of the chassis as well as wiring of the fuel pump and fuel sender unit. The brake calipers were painted black to match the body color. Even the instrument cluster was refurbished to look new. Considering SRIII Motorsports will build a chassis to meet your needs, they are nearly complete straight out of the box, so not too much work could be completed until the body returned from the paint. Oh, what a long few weeks it must have been!
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Modern Tech & Creature Comforts
While there was some contemplation between a charcoal gray or jet black paint scheme, the black paint finally won out and it looks stunning. Upon receiving the body back from the paint shop, 65silververt lowered the body onto its new chassis. After a bit of trimming on the fender skirts and at the back portion of the frame rails, the body was securely in place and the fun was about to begin. A Vintage Air air-conditioning unit was installed in the car (no easy feat on the second gen Corvette) along with a new Detroit Speed wiper motor, electric brake booster, and ABS unit, as well as a GM ECM and accompanying wiring harness for the new engine.
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Performance Powertrain
The next step in the process was installing the engine and transmission. 65silververt opted for a Chevrolet Performance LS3 good for 525 horsepower and 490 lb-ft of torque. A Vintage Air Front Runner accessory drive setup was used on the engine along with Billet Specialties coil covers and a carbon fiber intake cover. The transmission of choice was a Tremec TKO 5-speed with a 12" Centerforce dual friction clutch. Power is delivered to the rear wheels via a Dynotech Engineering driveshaft.
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A Bark To Match Its Bite
The exhaust setup is a mashup of modern GM muscle. JBA stainless shorty headers from a 5th generation Camaro tucked nicely into the engine bay without any interference issues. A center-exit C5 Corvette cat-back exhaust system fits perfectly under the rear of the car, as would be expected with the new chassis the '63 body sits on. All that was required was that the headers and mufflers be tied together by the exhaust specialists at Morgan Fabrication. Additionally, all new glass and power window motors were installed in the car by Auto City Classic with the side, vent, and rear windows being tinted.
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The Finishing Touches
The wheels of choice were a set of forged 10-spokes from the folks over at Boze Alloys. The fronts measure 18x9 inches while the rears are slightly wider with a deeper lip at 18x10 inches with 275 section rear tires. The interior of the car was left largely intact as the seats were recovered in black leather with a white stitched "Corvette" along the back. The dash received new leather pads with deviated french stitching in white along with blacked-out gauge bezels instead of the silver factory finish. A new radio from Antique Auto Radio was installed as well as a new single 6x9 speaker and dual tweeters. While some may knock the modest stereo setup, it most likely will not be used as the real music 65silververt will be listening to will be coming from the fire-breathing LS3 under the hood.
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A Completed Custom
The end result of a year's worth of work is a sweet '63 Split-Window that retains much of that classic Corvette look while delivering a performance driving experience that rivals that of modern sports cars. The stance is right, the paint is beautiful, the powertrain is robust, and all combined, make for a downright sexy Vette! Hats off to 65silververt on his 1963 Split-Window restomod build. Enjoy the ride!
>>Join the conversation about this 1963 Split-Window Restoration right here in Corvette Forum.
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