A 63 Split Window With An LS9? Sign Me Up!

Constrained By The Garage

The restomod movement is in full swing as is evident by this 1963 Corvette Split Window Coupe. Although this custom build was completed roughly 5 years ago and made an appearance at the 2012 SEMA show, a couple of ownership changes and several extended visits in storage garages have made for a car that does not often see the light of day. However, the car is now under new ownership and it is said that it will have an opportunity to terrorize the streets on a more regular basis.

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Beginning From The Ground Up

The car was commissioned to be built by Legacy Innovations located in Emigsville, PA with design help from the car's owner, Rod Saboury. Yes, the same legendary Rod Saboury that was involved in the early pro-street drag racing movement with his hot "street" Corvettes that dipped into the 6-second E.T. range. The car was brought in as only a shell with the intent of custom fabricating just about everything. No expenses would be spared on this car. While the engine of choice may not have been known at the beginning of the build, they knew it would make big horsepower, so they built a custom tube-chassis made out of chrome-moly that incorporated a Detroit Speed Inc. X-Gen front suspension setup coupled with their QUADRALink 4-link rear suspension.

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Steering and Suspension Specialties

To rein in all of the power that this little car was going to make, quality components in the rear-end as well as the steering & suspension systems were needed. The rear-end of choice was naturally a Legacy Innovation Ford 9" housing built with an aluminum Strange Engineering 35-spline 3.73:1 S-Trac center-section.  The suspension was polished off with a set of top-notch adjustable JRi shocks with PAC racing springs and a rack and pinion power steering setup from Detroit Speed. As with any car that quickly burst into triple-digit speeds, a modern brake setup is all but mandatory. Custom engraved Wilwood C6 Corvette brake calipers with drilled and slotted rotors were used at all four corners. Additionally, a matching set of 15" Billet Specialties wheels were chosen with the fronts utilizing skinny 26x6.00R15 tires and the rears a hefty pair of 29x15.00R15 Mickey Thompson Sportsman SR drag radials.

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The Supercharged Savage

And then comes the gem of an engine in the exclusive supercharged LS9 motor. Currently listed as "unavailable" from Chevrolet Performance, this limited production 6.2L V8 is good for 638 horsepower and 604 lb-ft of torque. Since the engine uses a motorsport-derived dry-sump lubrication system, Legacy Innovations made a custom oil tank that blends seamlessly into the engine bay. Similarly, they fabbed up a custom set of stainless headers that snake their way down to the Borla collectors and mufflers that exit the car just aft of the front wheel arches. A bespoke carbon fiber cold-air intake was also used to gulp air directly from the front grille opening. Mated to the blown LS9 is a beefed-up "Tranzilla" Tremec T-56 manual transmission built by Rockland Standard Gear.

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Invigorating Interior

The interior of the car retains much of the factory C2 look but is highlighted by modern touches and some sweet hidden tech. The seats, dash, door panels, and steering wheel are covered in supple black leather which is offset nicely by the beautiful red painted center console and highlighted gauges. A Hurst shifter is emphasized in the center console with its small placard indicating the 6-speed's shift pattern. The car features modern keyless entry, an electrically-actuated parking brake, a push-button starter, and an Ididit tilt steering column. The car was further updated with hidden components such as a Vintage Air air-conditioning system and a full-blown audio setup with a USB and iPod interface to add a touch of comfort to this wild beast.

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Body Builder

Although this creation started with a standard fiberglass body, it's obvious that it was not left untouched in such an extensive build. For starters, the entire flooring was cut out of the body and new glass was laid to fit the custom made chassis. The fenders/quarter panels were widened by 2 inches and the rear was tubbed to accommodate the meaty tires. The firewall was meticulously shaved and smoothed, and the wiper motor was inconspicuously hidden out of sight. The hood was re-engineered to open opposite the factory hood configuration and incorporates an OEM ZR1 window lens to show off the flashy supercharger of the LS9. In the end, the car was painted in a two-tone BASF candy red and black paint scheme and was coined the "Black Widow."

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Back On The Streets

The Black Widow took roughly 8 months to complete with an estimated $300,000 invested in the build. The car was completed enough to journey to SEMA in 2012 before it was taken home by Saboury for a few finishing touches. It received the Best Pro-Street award at the 2013 East Coast Nationals and was a Goodguys Street Machine of The Year finalist. Sources say it was only driven occasionally before it made its way to the Harrisburg, PA Mecum auction in 2015 where it was sold at a discounted price. It is reported that the next owner only had the car for a year, and in that time, never once started the car! The current owner, George Silvestro, then purchased the car in 2016 and has vowed to never let the car sit untouched again. He and his wife now regularly display it at local car shows and drive it to weekly cruise nights. Cars like this are meant to be enjoyed, and we're sure George will get plenty of enjoyment out of his sweet 63 Corvette custom.

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