Zimmers can be called many things, but cool? Not the word I’d use. C3 Chevy Corvettes, on the other hand, are also kind of an acquired taste, to say the least. Me? I like ’em, but to many they’re the redheaded stepchildren of the Corvette family. Combining the two sounds like a recipe for getting laughed out of every car show in the continental 48, yet the result is a strangely appealing car that’ll steal the show almost anywhere it goes.
The Corvette in question recently popped up for sale on Facebook Marketplace in Delavan, Wisconsin near the state’s southern border. The exact history of the car isn’t known, as the seller says they bought it from an estate. But it won’t surprise you to hear that this white-bodied, whitewall-tired, wire-wheeled Corvette is said to have been built in Miami.
As for how that Borzoi-like front end was built, the seller says its wheelbase was lengthened with a roughly two-foot section of another C3’s frame. Its 5.7-liter fuel-injected “Cross-Fire” V8 and four-speed automatic transmission seem to have made the move too, indicating a custom driveshaft linking it to the rear. The body also had to be stretched, using custom fenders to house the spare wheels and tires (functional? Who knows?) and one hell of a long hood. It’s front-hinged as well, so it looks downright comical fully opened. (Picture below!)
According to the seller, the car sat for a few years after its previous owner died, so this Chevy has needed significant maintenance since. Its brake system and fuel pump have been fully replaced, the engine has received a full tune-up, and the shocks were done too. A wood steering wheel was added, and the headlights and taillights have been upgraded to LEDs. No word on when those flush headlights were added, but they always look good on Corvettes.
I’ll just say what we’re all thinking: This thing is damn cool. Every detail that shouldn’t work, that should just ruin the whole package, only improves it. Maybe it’s all just because the C3’s silhouette lends itself to long hoods so well. In any case, I have no qualms with its $14,995 asking price—that’s not bad for a 46,000-mile C3. Besides, you can’t get out of any other C3 wearing white shoes without looking like a retired insurance salesman, can you?
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