Slideshow: Another Look at Rod Saboury’s Black Widow Pro Street Split-Window

The Originator

Rod Saboury made his mark as a racer in the world of '90s Fastest Street Car drag racing, so when he had this split-window coupe built for him in 2012, it had to be fully capable of getting down the quarter mile in a hurry, but also taking out for a shake at the local drive-in. The car, called the Black Widow, or BLWIDOW if you only have seven spaces on your license plate, was first shown at SEMA 2012, and Saboury enjoyed it for a few years before putting it up for auction at a Mecum event in 2015. The next owner, named Paul, held onto the car until economics forced its sale again the next year.

Changing Hands

Just because Paul had to sell, it didn't mean he wouldn't be a faithful custodian and find the 'Vette a good home. After interviewing George Silvestro, Paul knew he'd found the right person to pass the split-window on to. Apparently, Paul didn't have the opportunity to drive the car when he owned it, the C2 went into his collection and never moved. New owner Silvestro pledges to make up for lost time, taking the car out for shows, cruises, and other assorted gatherings on the regular. But until and unless you have a chance to take the car in with your own eyes and ears, on to the details of the Black Widow...

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Legacy

Saboury worked with Legacy Innovations out of Emigsville, Pennsylvania to shape the C2 into the car he wanted, providing design input and expertise gained from his racing experience. Nearly everything on the car had to be fabricated since it was essential a birdcage when they started. The basis for the Corvette is a custom chrome-moly tube chassis Legacy built from scratch. The chassis had Detroit Speed Inc. suspension components built into it from the get-go, the front utilizing Detroit's X-Gen front and QUADRALink rear suspension systems. The rear also uses Detroit's swivel-links, together with Legacy's Ford 9-inch housing and a Strange Engineering aluminum S-Trac center section running 3.73:1 gears.

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Meats the Road

Shoring up the suspension are JRi shocks with PAC springs all 'round, and steering has been sharpened via a Detroit Speed rack-and-pinion power steering system. Since the car wasn't conceptualized with a built-in parachute, it was going to need solid brakes. Legacy installed a set of Wilwood C6 calipers, engraved with car's name, clamping drilled and slotted Wilwood rotors at all four corners. Wheels are Billet Specialties 15x6 front and 15x12 beadlock units rear, with Mickey Thompson 26x6.00R15 Sportsman SR radial tires front and beefy 29x15.00R15s out back.

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Crate Goodness

Saboury and Legacy Innovations were able to obtain a limited-run Chevrolet Performance LS9 crate engine for the split-window. The engine, identical to the supercharged 6.2-liter unit used in the C6 Corvette ZR1, cranks out 638 hp and 604 lb-ft of torque with turn-key reliability. Legacy fabricated their own oil tank to accommodate the LS9’s dry-sump oiling system and formed a custom carbon-fiber intake snorkel to feed the engine's throttle body. The LS9 is bolted up to a Rockland Standard Gear-built Tranzilla T-56 six-speed transmission. Legacy also fabricated custom stainless headers that dump quickly into Borla collectors and mufflers before exiting to the rear of the front wheels, through the C2's side vents.

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Adaptation

The changes to the 'Vette's side vents were by no means the only tweaks made to the body. Starting with a '63 shell, Legacy made numerous other mods, including cutting the floor out and fabbing a new one to fit the tube chassis and widening the quarters and fenders out an additional two inches.

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Evolution of Species

The guys at Legacy also made a carbon-fiber hood that, like the 2019 Corvette ZR1's, has a window revealing the blower beneath—or at least the blower housing's top cover—though unlike the new 'Vette, the Black Widow's hood opens from the front. Other changes include the back of the car that, naturally, was mini-tubbed to house those thick Mickey Thompsons and the cleaned-up firewall with its now-hidden wiper motor. The finished product was painted, in red and black, just like the eight-legged Black Widow, in a unique design, using BASF products.

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Inside the Widow

Keyless entry gets you in the Corvette, and keyless start brings it to life. The seats, dash, and doors have been reupholstered in black leather, and the remainder of the dash was, like the engine compartment, repainted in the same red as the exterior. A plate with the new six-speed shift pattern has been swapped in behind the Hurst shifter, and the addition of a tilt steering column from Flaming River makes the coupe's cockpit more accessible and adaptable. Other creature comfort elements include a Vintage Air SureFit A/C system and, since it's a drag car not a farm implement, an audio system featuring Apple connectivity. On second thought, even tractors have that now. Yes, the Black Widow can play your Spotify playlist... if you can hear it over those headers.

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