Custom leather buckets improve...
Custom leather buckets improve both comfort and safety. Note the high-tech audio gear in the cargo area.
For more-modern motive power, he dropped in a Z06 LS6, color-matched with the exterior paint and dressed by Street & Performance. The late-model mill is backed by a six-speed Tremec transmission. A Flaming River unit replaced the old steering column, with a Budnik carbon-fiber wheel to match the carbon trim in the cockpit. The latter includes Autometer gauges with yellow hashes, and a billet dash and glove compartment by Vanguard Tool. The leather-upholstered Wise Guy seats make for a more comfortable ride, since they have better tilt control and are DOT rated for a shoulder harness.
When all was said and done, what sort of reactions did the Verboons get to this dramatically different split-window? Besides taking home "Best of Show" trophies at several different Corvette events, Bill notes that, "Just about everybody who walks up to the car falls in love with it. I've been a perfectionist guy all my life; I do my farm the same way."
What about those few folks who question his radical restomod of a Corvette classic? "I tell them to make me an offer, and they can restore the car to original," he says. "And nobody's ever put their money where their mouth is." 'Nuff said.
An assortment of billet and...
An assortment of billet and carbon-fiber appointments extend the restomod theme to the car's interior. A Budnik wheel operates a fresh Flaming River steering column.
With 405 (or more) hp on tap,...
With 405 (or more) hp on tap, the mostly stock LS6 handily outguns all of its "fuelie" forebears. Street & Performance kicked in a full complement of billet and chrome dress-up items.
The Verboons pose with two...
The Verboons pose with two of their yellow screamers. The couple has restored more than two dozen Vettes over the years.
Spec Sheet: '63 Split-Window Coupe
Owners: Bill and Karen Verboon
Block: Stock LS6 aluminum from Street & Performance
Displacement: 350 ci
Compression ratio: 10.5:1
Heads: Stock aluminum
Valves: Stock 2.00/1.55
Camshaft: Stock hydraulic roller (0.550/0.550-in lift, 204/218-deg duration, 117.5-deg LSA)
Rocker arms: Stock 1.7 ratio
Pistons: Stock hypereutectic
Crankshaft: Stock nodular iron
Rods: Stock powdered metal
Intake manifold: Stock composite
Throttle body: Stock 75mm
Fuel injectors: Stock
Fuel pump: LS6; Rock Valley stainless steel tank
Ignition: Stock LS6 coil-on-plug
Engine management: LS6 PCM with Street & Performance tuning
Cooling: Griffin dual-flow aluminum radiator with Billet City puller fan
Exhaust system: Custom long-tube headers (SLP and Gold Top Restorations) with Caps ceramic coating, stock big-block side pipes
Transmission: Tremec six-speed
Clutch: LS6 with GM clutch-management system (firewall modified)
Driveshaft: Denny's steel with carbon-fiber halfshafts
Front suspension: '96 Corvette with Vette Brakes and Products front adjustable monoleaf
Rear suspension: Newman Car Creations polished stock control arms, Energy Suspension bushings, stock monoleaf
Rearend: Stock Dana 44 with 3.90 ratio
Front brakes: Baer Eradispeed 13-in with two-piston calipers
Rear brakes: Baer 12-in single-piston
Wheels: Stock '04 Z06; 17x8.5-in front/9.5-in rear
Front tires: Michelin 265/50ZR17
Rear tires: 295/50ZR17
Fuel octane: 93
Weight: 3,400 lbs. with driver
Best E.T./MPH: 9.41 seconds at 87 mph (1/8-mile)
Current mileage: 680 since rebuild
Miles driven yearly: Approx. 100