Auto Eclectic Magazine Issue 07

A Collection of Automotive Passion

ZO6 Carbon[ized]

800 HP 1954 Corvette ZR1

D E W IE V E R

The only one in the world

ZONDA MONZA

The original 1954 Corvette was...

TERRIBLE to say the least. I am sure some corvette purist will argue it was the start of the great American sports car. While this is true, it does not make the underpowered 150hp inline six cylinder, mesh headlight covered, fiberglass bodied, 2 speed automatic, overpriced, and oddly styled corvette any good as a sports car.

So what do you do if you have a 1954 Corvette shell that has been sitting in a barn? Dump thousands of dollars into making it a factory fresh terrible car, I think not.

In the case of this 1954, the owner had quite a different idea, create a Monster Vette.

The project was handed over to the master builder Jason Pecikonis and his crew at Timeless Kustoms in Camarillo, CA. Starting with the bare fiberglass shell they got to work. This project

would fix everything that was wrong with the original 1954 Corvette. Jason began with the beating heart of the Vette. In a go big or go home style, he decided to drop in the ZR1’s supercharged LS9,

which puts out a whopping 638hp in stock trim. The LS9 was mated to the stock 6-speed corvette transmission with a limited slip diff at the rear. In the handling department Jason started by

contacting Art Morrison, a guru in making hot rods and muscle cars handle like modern sports cars. A Morrison GT Sport chassis was used. Which is engineered to make the vintage Vette

capable of pulling over 1G in acceleration, cornering, and braking. Speaking of braking, with a ZR1 motor why not fit the massive carbon ceramic ZR1 brakes.

Of course the build does not stop there, custom 19x10 and 19x13 wheels were used with Hoosier slicks.

In the styling sector Timeless Kustoms is known for their clean and finished look. So Jason shaved off all the trim and smoothed out the beat old fiberglass body. The results are stunning and sinister looking, like a car you could see Darth Vader driving to prom. Perfect for death star sized clouds of smoking billowing from the tires in the high school parking lot while blaring his theme song. In a similar fashion to Mr. Vader, Jason decided the stock 638hp was not enough and he need planet sized power.

With the aid of performance parts from Lingenfelter the 2700lb 1954 Vette is putting down a hairychested 800hp. As of the time this story is written the final tuning is being completed. Look for a track test in the near future to see what this awe-inspiring monster is capable of in the right hands.

Smog, high taxes, expensive real estate, and strict emissions laws are all reasons why California is terrible place to live. But in January while the majority of the country is dealing with snow, ice, and hail here in Socal it is 79 degrees and sunny. Perfect weather to drop the convertible top and take in the sights, sun, and sounds. What better car to do it in than a Porsche 911 Turbo. The sound of the flat six being boosted by twin turbos is pure bliss as I rocket down the coast. Pop a model in the passenger seat and the scene would be straight out of a movie or commercial.

Of course this is not a stock 911 turbo, but one that has be modified

by HG Motorsports. The tuning shop from La Jolla, CA handpicked a small collection of parts to enhance an already great car. Starting with the styling, a set of one piece forged wheels from HRE wheels were chosen. The P40 model offers strength combined with a classic mesh style.

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