was used to connect the engine to the
transmission, and a McLeod RST clutch
takes the heat when those BFGs are hooked
up. The shifter is a custom piece from
Finch Performance. Moving farther back is
an American Powertrain driveshaft, which
leads to a C7-style rearend, prepared by
Currie Enterprises. The centersection fea-
tures a 3.42:1 gear ratio, while strong Drive
Shaft Shop axles send power to the wheels.
During the car’s brief restoration, a four-
point rollbar was fabricated and installed
by Finch Performance. This offers safety
and rigidity in the rear section of the chas-
sis, while also providing a mounting point
for the RCI five-point harnesses. Gerald
and Joe made quite a few changes to the
interior, including the incredible Tillett
carbon-fiber racing seats. The diamond
stitching and exposed carbon fiber offer
excellent style and comfort for this classic
Corvette. The dash got a fresh leather wrap,
while the original radio, clock and heater
controls were replaced with smooth pan-
els to house the Holley EFI touch screen.
You’ll also notice a lack of analog gauges,
as the Gregory’s smoothed the gauge panel
with a sheet of carbon fiber and installed
a Race Pak Street Dash system to moni-
tor the engine’s vital signs. A Vintage Air
kit controls the interior climate, while an
American Autowire harness gets juice from
an Optima RedTop battery and ties all of
the technology together. Joe handles most
of the driving, and used a Flaming River
steering column to position the MOMO
Racing steering wheel to his liking.
And while this 1964 Corvette might be
a few notches above the average father and
son project car, it’s an awesome example
of a modernized classic that gets used and
abused on a regular basis. They built it to
run on autocross courses, and travel the
country with NSRA, Goodguys, Optima
Ultimate Street Car Challenge and more to
put their creation through the wringer. So
far, the result is a long list of victories and
top 5 finishes against the quickest cars in
the nation. Gerald and Joe couldn’t be
happier with their project car, which
turned out to be quite the performer after
about six months of work and a huge col-
lection of go-fast parts. From its days
of slumber to burning up the autocross
course, this 1964 Corvette coupe went
through a big transformation, and this
father and son team will continue to thrash
on it for years to come. VETTE
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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