Daily Driven Pro Touring ’69 Corvette is a Happy Home for an LS7
Big power, big tires, big brakes, a roll bar and racing harnesses make for one seriously fun daily driver.
What’s better than an early C3 with chrome bumpers shiny paint, fat tires, and side pipes? What about one with modern LS power?
Hot Rod recently profiled this beautiful navy blue 1969 Corvette that packs a 7.0 liter LS7 under the hood. The car belongs to Paul Buffoni of Wisconsin, who wanted a Pro Touring-style car that he could daily drive.
When Buffoni got the car, it had been hacked almost beyond recognition by an eBay seller who lied about the condition. The underpinnings were a mix of C2, C4, and scrap metal.
Buffoni enlisted the help of Nick Gaylord at Top Line Design and Speed in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, who brought the forlorn C3 back to life. And then some. Like Frankenstein’s monster, it’s a powerful beast that’s greater than the sum of its parts (but a lot prettier, of course).
Go Big or Go Home
Under the C3’s long hood, you’ll find a mostly stock LS7 making in the neighborhood of 500 horsepower. A paddle-shifted 4L70E automatic transmission feeds into an upgraded Hammerhead 12-bolt rear end.
Fender flares grafted onto the stock body create clearance for the mega-wide 18×12″ rear wheels. Up front, the wheels are narrower, but not by much — you’ll find 18×11″ rollers up there.
Uncle Ben told us that with great power, comes great responsibility. In this case, that means a truly monstrous set of brakes to haul this 500 horsepower beast down to a stop.
Up front, you’ll find Brembo six-piston calipers clamping down on some 14″ dinner plates. Bringing up the rear are four-piston calipers and 13.5″ rotors.
Despite the extremes found elsewhere on the build, maintaining a stock-looking interior was very important to Buffoni. Besides the roll bar and Sparco harnesses, the interior looks mostly stock. Even the modern automatic shifter was modified to resemble the original unit in this Corvette.
Of course, there is one easily noticeable deviation from a stock interior — cupholders. Remember, this is Buffoni’s daily driver — and what a cool daily driver it is!
Photos: Hot Rod
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