Sometimes it all starts with something as simple as building plastic car
model kits at the kitchen table after school. Drawing inspiration from
particular automotive styles that spark a magneto buried deep inside
your mind actually helps pave a high-performance path for you to follow.
For David Gonce of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, his passion for Corvettes
started with assembling an endless stream of model kits while also
reading through any print material he could get his hands on to gain
more knowledge on the cars and their history. The best part was being
able to watch the real thing cruise through town whenever he got the
chance.
There's nothing better than growing up in an automotive family where
your parents share the same level of excitement for Corvettes as you do.
Imagine how awestruck David was when his dad brought home a pristine,
dark-blue 1979 Corvette with a white interior in 1996. Not long after
the purchase, his mother surprised his dad with the gift of a complete
interior package in black to give it an even racier look. As the years
passed, the family would enjoy plenty of time together putting down the
miles from their homes in Kentucky and, later on, in Maryland.
During
this same time, David's passion for Corvettes continued to grow,
eventually owning two C5s and a C6. Somehow, though, his dad's dark-blue
1979 C3 still held a special place with all the memories the family
shared with it. In 2010, his dad told him he had made a decision to sell
the car and without skipping a beat David paid the price and became the
new holder of the keys. Full of enthusiasm after the purchase, his
initial intent was to do a complete restoration on the still-original
60,000-mile car. At the same time his dad warned him to not just dive
into a restoration and pump too much money into the project. He finally
decided to motor the C3 on the weekends and enjoy it for what it was.
However, the car had a much different attitude on the subject. Without
fair warning, the car brought with it a number of mechanical issues as
time passed, oftentimes leaving David stranded on the side of the road.
One time, in fact, in a torrential downpour without the T-tops in place.
This led David to an alternative plan, one where he would take on the
restoration, but with a twist. Being a purist, he would retain its
original exterior styling but spice things up a bit with a modern
driveline, wicked stance, cutting-edge wheels and a brilliant new color.
This was around the same time that he met Peter Guida, owner of McQueen
Classics in Lewes, Delaware. After discussing the project at length,
the pair shared many of the same ideas of what it would take to bring
the tired C3 back to life with a new edge. With the path set, the car
was fully evaluated in its current form prior to getting started on the
build.
Seeing that the original frame was in perfect condition, a
decision was made to retain it and concentrate on rebuilding the stock
suspension, but with a few changes. A call was made to the team at
Corvette Central for all of the needed components. Starting out back,
the rear was freshened up complete with the factory 3.55 gears
complemented by new bushings, leaf springs and Bilstein gas shocks. To
set the stance, 12-inch Grade 8 spring bolts were used in addition to a
number of subtle tweaks to get it perfect. To match the newfound
attitude, up front a deluxe front suspension rebuild kit was added along
with Bilstein gas shocks and trimmed-down F41-style coil springs.
When it's time to drop anchor, a Wilwood dual power master pushes
fluid through steel lines to matching Forged Narrow Superlite 6R big
brakes complete with 14-inch drilled and slotted rotors and six-piston
calipers in the front and 4R big brakes complete with 14-inch drilled
and slotted rotors and four-piston calipers out back for maximum
stopping power. For a truly exclusive look, anchoring the car to the
street, a set of custom Schott Modsport Cover-Loc-series wheels sized
17x7 front and 18x8 rear wear Bridgestone Ecopia rubber.
When it
came time to address a new engine, David went straight to Chevrolet
Performance to check out their latest high-performance offerings.
Working with Peter to find the perfect combination, they decided on a
376ci LS3 packing a wicked 430 hp right out of the crate. For the
ultimate in factory performance, the engine features a cast-aluminum
block with six-bolt, cross-bolted main caps packed with a nodular iron
crank linked to powdered metal rods wearing hypereutectic pistons
getting plenty of bump from a hydraulic roller cam. There's an abundance
of power up top thanks to a set of L92-style rectangular port aluminum
heads combined with the factory EFI intake system and 90mm ETC throttle
body.
The McQueen team spent plenty of time finessing the installation of
the engine to make it look factory in appearance, which included
incorporating the Chevrolet Performance wiring harness, custom engine
mounts and a myriad of refined touches. A stock ignition lights
the fire while spent gasses dump through factory manifolds to a custom 2
1/2-inch stainless exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers. To move the goods,
a TREMEC TKO-500 PerfectFit Kit from Silver Sport Transmissions made
the upgrade a breeze and included all the necessary parts to complete
the upgrade, linked to a custom driveshaft.
To bring
plenty of class to the business office, a new dash from Corvette
Central cradles dials from Dakota Digital to monitor the vitals while a
factory tilt column and steering wheel carve the course. Gears pull
through a stick from Silver Sport Transmissions while cool breezes are
courtesy of Vintage Air and tunes roll through a system from JBL. For a
vintage twist, a pair of 1968 low-back buckets from Al Knoch Interiors
custom-covered in 1967 saddle-toned leather are deftly matched to
matching door panels and black loop carpet. David may have
forgotten his dad's advice to not pump too much cash into the build;
however, the final outcome of this C3 is absolutely breathtaking. Vette
