A lot of car guys out there that have a cool race car or toy often have a more mundane and reliable daily driver, which more times than not is a boring appliance or maybe a useful truck or family hauler. Every once in a while, you’ll find someone who wants a little more out of that everyday car and has something fun enough that they can race it on the weekends.
And then, you have this guy.
Grassroots Motorsports Forum member Madhatr daily drives this 1977 Corvette.
This is one of those mid-1970’s, middle of the road C3’s that have the buttressed rear window and a tweed jacket wearing professor-approved luggage rack. These are probably at the bottom of the barrel for desirability in Corvette circles, but that keeps the buy-in low. The potential for a fast, great handling ride is still there, and these are a bargain right now. Wheels and tires can do wonders for these, as they have here.
This particular Corvette came from the factory with a 4-speed and the smog-era L82 350, and that 350 was pulled in favor of a 355 SBC sporting World Products heads and some other mild mods to keep it daily driver friendly, yet efficient and powerful. He is running side pipes and 17×8 wheels, and the suspension is stock save for some poly bushings here and there. It has all the right ingredients for a fun daily driver that can be used as a race car on the weekends.
This is a Corvette that gets flogged between the cones, too! Nothing wrong with autocrossing your daily driver, especially when it’s a 1977 Corvette! It looks to be at home out there in the sea of cones.
Did I mention this guy lives in Iowa? When I meant daily driver, I really meant DAILY driver. When it snows, he’s commuting to work in the Vette. Those that live in parts of the world where it snows in the winter know that a 1977 Corvette is probably not a great choice for winter duty, and sometimes bad things can happen when you tempt fate. Over the winter, he crashed the Corvette when crossing a bridge in a snow storm.
Undeterred, the car went under the knife, the broken bits were replaced, and the car was pressed back into service. Except this time around, he bolted on some proper daily driver rubber.
Aero steelies wrapped in General Grabber All-Terrain tires… ON A CORVETTE??? Yup! That will solve some traction problems!
While the 17×8 Torq Thrust-style wheels looked cool, he wasn’t getting the traction he needed in the icy weather. Also, he wasn’t getting the traction he wanted while driving on muddy Rallycross tracks. Wait.. WHAT???
Those 17×8’s were great on the street, but I’m not sure how good they were in the dirt…
And while there’s no denying that it looked pretty cool on the 17×8’s…
Yeah, I think the A/T package bites a little bit better in the mud!
The car made it’s maiden voyage on A/T rubber last week at a rallycross in a corn field, and he reports that the soil was sandy and some cars got stuck on track, but not the Vette! It powered through the entire day and shredded the track to oblivion. That’s one way to plow a field!
I really like this car a lot. It’s an off-year Corvette that has the whole “dare to be different” vibe going for it, and it’s pretty cool to see one get flogged in all sorts of situations successfully. It’s a car that anyone can piece together for a reasonable price, too. There’s nothing too exotic going on here, but the sum of the parts gives you a badass, multi-purpose daily driver with a cool look that probably costs less than a used beige refrigerator-on-wheels Camry. BangShift approved!
Here’s some more footage of it cranking through the mud!
Check out the build thread over on the Grassroots Motorsports Forum!
What a hero – a guy who knows how to enjoy his car and is not afraid to drive it in any conditions. This is what sports cars were created for and long may it continue.
Idiot.
Your an idiot for thinking he’s an idiot. It’s a 77 Corvette who cares.
Corvette in the snow?…good luck!
There isn’t a better way to tell the Barrett Jackson-types to suck a bag o’ d##ks. Awesome. As for the snow adventure – lesson learned. We’re all entitled to our moments.
Not to mention the perfect way to give Corvette purists a fit of apoplexy at seeing one being run though a cornfield on mud tires.
This is exactly what I think being a hot rodder should be. Sure there is some beautiful, rare cars best suited for fair weather, but a lot of hobby cars can be made for real daily driving. I really daily drive a 51 Desoto to work, in Iowa, 40 miles round trip, snow and rain and all. It is not always pleasant. But most of the time it is. Blows peoples minds in a snow storm!
My hero! build it, drive it! What good is any of this stuff if it never gets used?
I like the Barrett-Jackson comment haha too true. I have a 1978 Camaro that I do similar stuff with. Every body Poo-Poo’s the disco era stuff these cars are affordable and parts are everywhere. We already see too many “show” cars (cough, hack hack). It gets tiresome listening to some owner complain his car didn’t win a trophy at the local lost-in-the-50’s car cruise or other events. You know the ones, they pull their precious out of the hermetically sealed box on wheels, then power park it somewhere and put up the stupid cry-baby doll leaning on it (yes, they still do that! ugh!) then the owners power park their butts in a lawn chair with a stupid car-show straw hat. Madhatr, I salute you sir!!!! rip that vette for all its worth!
I’m seriously going to do this in my 69 GTO before I restore it.