2007 Z06 - Hot Pursuit

Was he finished?

"Not even close," he says.

As a prelude to the 2010 show season, Crisafi took the Vette to Checkers Auto Appearance Center in Egg Harbor, New Jersey, for a host of exterior and engine-bay appearance upgrades. "I was already earning First Places at every show I entered," he says. "I wanted to [take] my car to the next level--a real show stopper," he says.

Checkers owner Steve Amadio suggested backlit Z06 emblems, which he made by cutting the outlines of the factory Z06 cloisonné badges from the Corvette's carbon-fiber fenders, installing flush-mount acrylic inserts, airbrushing them with the Z06 logo, and illuminating them with LED bars. Crisafi controls the light show with programmable switches mounted inside the glovebox. "Not only can I light the Z06 emblems with a flick of the switch, but I can flash them fast or slow, and fade them in or out," he says.

Checkers then turned up the heat on the Z's engine-bay aesthetics, including ceramic-coating the long-tubes to match the red color of the silicone hoses that Crisafi had previously installed, painting the fuel rails Velocity Yellow (complete with Corvette and 427 callouts, and a carbon-fiber-style center band), airbrushing checkered-flag designs on the Callaway Honker CAI airbox and radiator cover, installing stainless-steel covers, and more. When they were done, the underhood area was ready to take on all comers.

Amadio and his team then added one-off details to the Corvette's exterior: airbrushing Z06 logos onto the headlight assemblies' inserts, applying carbon-fiber-style hydrographics to the headlight pods, and painting the wheel drums black, with a contrasting Corvette logo on each in Velocity Yellow.

Final touches were performed by a local craftsman who goes by the moniker "J.T." He applied hand-pinstriping on the door coves and a "Skream'n Bee" logo on the rear-bumper cover.

To date, Crisafi's Z has tallied more than 40 First Place show awards--and he's proven his Z has as much go as show by storming the (Englishtown, New Jersey) Raceway Park quarter-mile strip in 11.1 seconds.

What does the future hold for this zippy Z? "I've taken many First Places and Best of Shows, and I really feel I've transformed my Corvette into a rolling work of art," Crisafi concludes. "Beyond that, I've been blessed with the best honor a Corvette owner can ever wish for--I'm in VETTE magazine!"

What can we say to top that except, "Never argue with a cop"?

Lou Crisafi thanks Ed Gentile from TKO Performance in Long Island, who helped him with parts and advice.

Spec Sheet

'07 Z06