I’m totally stoked about doing our first reader’s ride feature on this beautiful 1966 Corvette. And just in case you’re in dire need of getting your ride featured on a website with some serious eyeball traffic, head on over to the forum and find me. If your car looks awesome, stands out or goes super-fast, you may just see your ride on the front page.

After all, you’ve put the hours in on your beauty; you may as well show her off a bit, right?

Onward…

Model year 1966 was supposed to be the last year for the C2 Corvette. But that isn’t exactly how things happened. Regardless of what was supposed to be, C2’s of any year are classic head turners that are gorgeous in just about any condition.

Photo Credit: Brandt

The owner of this Vette can attest to that fact, because this car was in pretty rough shape when he bought her. He recalls, “the body and interior were thrashed…but I fell in love with it and could see its potential.”

In 1984, the owner, who we’ll call Brandt (ya know, cause that’s his name), bought this Vette in dilapidated form for a measly 2500 smackers. He said, “the first thing I did was call in the VIN to the Corvette registry to see what the factory specifications were on the car. Turns out the only good thing the car had was a teakwood steering wheel.”

The original 327 small block and transmission were missing, which, in my opinion, was a blessing in disguise. This afforded him the opportunity to make the Vette what he thought it should be without having any guilt over not using stock parts. He decided that he wasn’t just going to restore the car. In order to make the car his own, he would also have to modify it. This process, also known as restomod, is steadily gaining traction in the automotive world because the original parts are super expensive and hard to find.

Though, I have to admit that improving upon a car that is considered perfect by so many auto enthusiasts is a difficult task to complete.

But somehow, he did manage to make this classic Corvette better – and she is a thing of beauty. What’s more, even on a budget it seems as though he spared no expense during the course of making this ’66 his own.

Engine, Exhaust and Trans:

The heart of most restomods typically begins with a bigger and more powerful engine. Brandt has his 436 CI engine totally figured out and worked to the tune of what he guestimates to be somewhere north of 400 horsepower. Personally, I think he’s right in the ball park. And, with the parts he’s got working together, I wouldn’t be surprised if the actual number was a little bit higher than his guess.

But, I digress…

If his estimation of 400 ponies is right, that is just about one hundred more horsepower than what the base 327s from 1966 came with. Not too shabby. I was informed, however, that he has plans to squeak a little more power out of this motor. While it seems as though he’s driving her for the time being, he has future plans to install a set of high flowing AFR heads to help the power plant breath even better. And to help the valves open a bit more, he’s going to raise the cam lift as well.

Photo Credit: Brandt

If he ever decides to bolt in a power adder at some point, he can because he’s got a great setup as far as the bottom end of the engine is concerned. The iron block and engine internals are strong enough to handle some serious power.

To have an engine of any size running properly, the correct intake setup needs to be installed to help the engine breathe right. If not, too much air or fuel will find its way into the combustion chamber and really mess things up. To aid in this area, he opted for a Holley 4 barrel carb which is capable of pulling in 950 CFM. The rest of the intake system consists of a single plane intake manifold that mounts up to the CNC ported Edelbrock Victor Jr. 23° heads.

To help route the harmful exhaust gases away from the cabin is a set of 1 7/8” Hooker Headers that connect to a pair of 4 inch collector side pipes (which are a vital addition to just about any early Vette). A Jet-Hot header coating helps to keep the temps down under the hood, because those headers create a lot of heat.

All 400+ ponies make their way down to the pavement via the 5 speed manual Richmond transmission, and ultimately end up at the highly polished 9 inch rear end.

Interior, Exterior and Brakes:

The inside of this C2 is clean and looks to be pretty close to stock. The only major upgrades seem to be a 300 watt stereo system, complete with 12” subwoofers. However, it seems as though Brandt didn’t want to detract from the classic interior styling, and even opted to have a “stock” looking radio installed.

I’m thrilled that he didn’t leave the thrashed exterior the way it was. This Vette is gorgeous with her sultry fiberglass body and a paint job so pure my wife could do her makeup in it. And who doesn’t love a big block stinger hood on a C2 Corvette?

Photo acquired from Brandt

Overall, the build took five years to complete, a lot of money and a huge list of parts in order to get his dream car to where it’s at today.

I was pleased to learn, in true gearhead fashion, that Brandt did all of the work himself. Here he is with a cherry picker attached to the chromed out 436 small block complete with perfectly positioned spark plug wires.

Photo Credit: Brandt

Something that was important to him was that the car was both safe and comfortable to drive. After he found out (from the Corvette registry) that she wasn’t originally equipped with factory power steering or brakes, he opted to install those creature comforts in addition to the other extensive work that he’s done. After all, there’s no reason to take two steps in the wrong direction.

To help this 3,040 pound beauty stop he opted for cross drilled rotors with 4 piston Wilwood calipers. Pushing the brake fluid to those calipers is a highly polished dual master cylinder setup, which looks fantastic under the hood.

What I love about this Corvette, besides it being one of my favorite years, is that while she is gorgeous and drool-worthy, she has taste and class. And I love the fact that this guy spent the time to make the car exactly what he wanted. If you’re going to build a car, you may as well make sure you like it.

In my opinion though, the best thing about this car is that Brandt did all of the work himself. That is something that I can relate to, as someone who is in the process of working a restomod truck from the ‘60s. I guess it’s just nice to know that there is light on the other side of the tunnel, and that people do make it out on the other side with a finished product.