1972 Chevrolet Corvette - Race Looks, Street Smarts

James Pulliam had some help when he answered that question, which came after he found this '72 Stingray.

To call it a "30-footer" would have been way too generous. "It was in rough shape when we got it," says Pulliam of the Vette you can see in the accompanying "before" photo. Even then, he knew what he wanted to do with it. "When we got the car, we had already decided that we were going to throw a late-model drivetrain in it," he says. "Originally, we were going to do a race car, with a rollcage and the whole nine yards. But the project got too expensive, and the car got too nice to put on the track full-time."

By "we," he means himself and his father, Jim Pulliam Sr., a long-time hot rodder in whose shop James received an education on the finer arts of building high-performance Chevys. "I used his shop, and he was out there every day with me," he says with pride. "He's an old-time hot rodder, so that's what he does."

Show-going with his Dad years ago led to one feature on this shark: a cleaned-up engine bay. As the younger Pulliam puts it, "Going to car shows when I was younger, I saw all the show cars' slicked-up firewalls, and I said, 'Why doesn't anyone do that to the Corvette?'" When the two got to work, they found out why in a hurry. "It's difficult to do, but we got it done," says James. "We got rid of all the vacuum [lines] in the car."

Van Steel also provided the tubular A-arms up front, the adjustable composite monoleaf rear spring, and the QA1 shocks at all corners that went on the '72's frame, which was race-prepped (per GM's Powerbook) and painted silver.

Filling the fenderwells, outboard of a set of Wilwood four-wheel discs, are a set of Michelin-shod CCW wheels. "I was looking at Fikse wheels, and [the prices on] those are just outrageous," Pulliam says, so he looked at the more-budget-friendly CCWs. "I'd heard people mention them before, but I didn't understand what they were about. I gave them a call, and they helped me out with the wheels big time. When I got them on I was excited, because they look perfect on there."

Inside, a pair of leather-upholstered Corbeau A4 seats wear Corbeau five-point harnesses connected to a "shark bar." Aftermarket power windows and locks add convenience, and a Vintage Air HVAC system adds cool comfort to the cabin, which was lined with Lizard Skin insulation before final assembly. (The '72's underbody got the Lizard Skin treatment as well.)

The result is a street-driveable shark that's also track ready. "I take it to Palm Beach International Raceway for track days," says Pulliam, who adds that everything on his '72 is track-ready. "I could put a rollcage in it and take it out to the track, or just take it to the track right now without one and have a good time with it. But I'm always a little worried about wrecking it."

Would he build another Corvette like this? "I would do it again the same way, because there's really no comparison between a modern drivetrain and the old small-blocks and big-blocks," he says. "It's like night and day."

Do you dream of making a track-ready/street-driveable car out of a "30-footer"-or worse? Pulliam has this advice: "Before you start the project, understand what it's going to cost. Be realistic about it. Get all the parts together, do as much research as you can, and then really understand what you're getting into. I had a pretty good idea, but I went way over my budget on what I thought it would cost."

With results like these, we'd say he got more than his money's worth.