behind the station—dedicated to
hopping-up muscle cars. Sharing the
same enthusiasm for Chevrolet perfor-
mance, Charlie wasted no time in getting
into the game once he got his license. He
owned a string of hot Chevys, including
a ’64 Impala SS, a ’68 Camaro Z/28 and
a number of Chevelles.
Charlie eventually opened is own
shop, Auto Trim, Inc., focusing on cus-
tom upholstery for both classics and
muscle cars. During this time, Charlie
married his wife, Marleen, who not only
helps run the business but also shares
his obsession with performance. Before
long, Charlie shifted his focus to C2
Corvettes, owning a number of small-
block models before taking on his first
full restoration of a big-block Mosport
Green 1966 roadster. Once completed,
he followed up with a big-block 1967
roadster for Marleen, while at the same
time making plenty of visits to Corvettes
at Carlisle in Pennsylvania to buy and
sell parts with good friend Jet Thomas.
If there was one quote that he lived by
over the years it was that “there is no
substitute for cubic inches.” The sheer
exhilaration felt when accelerating in a
C2 Corvette fueled by a big-block V-8
was unlike anything else he had ever
experienced. Having always been enam-
ored by the legacy of the original Grand
Sport, with its history and racing capa-
bilities, he decided to take on the build
of one for himself, but with one excep-
tion ... it would have to be based on an
original Corvette.
His search for a suitable C2 donor led
him to a basket case ’66 coupe that was
barely a roller, minus the engine and
transmission. Seeing that the chassis and
body parts were in workable condition a
deal was made and the bits were hauled
back to his shop to start the transforma-
tion. To get started, the chassis was com-
pletely disassembled, blasted clean and
brought to Ron Gagnon at New England
Rod Shop in Bedford, New Hampshire,
to have it fully TIG welded and gus-
seted for extra strength. Gagnon also
crafted a fresh rear crossmember and
installed an updated C3 IRS spinning
3.73:1 gears. To complete the rear sus-
pension, a composite monoleaf and tube
shocks from Vette Brakes & Products
were added along with rear offset trail-
ing arm assemblies from Vansteel and a
factory sway bar. Up front, to add plenty
of razor-sharp handling, a manual steer-
ing box works flawlessly with updated
upper and lower control arms as well as
a composite monoleaf and tube shocks
from Vette Brakes & Products along
with a factory sway bar. For plenty of
braking performance, a GM dual master
pushes fluid through stainless lines to
C3 Corvette discs and calipers mounted
at each corner. Linking it all to the street
you’ll find PS Engineering Grand Sport
wheels sized 15x8 front and 15x10 rear
complete with custom-machined hubs
and knock-off spinners with safety pins.
A set of BFGoodrich Euro T/As add
plenty of grip, sized 245/50R15 front
and 305/50R15 rear.
There was only one way to inject the
right amount of adrenaline into the
coupe and that’s with genuine big-block
power. Charlie contacted R&L Engines
of Northwood, New Hampshire, to
build a fire breather starting with an
original 1966 427ci block, which they
massaged to perfection and filled with
a stock forged steel crank linked to
refreshed factory rods topped with
forged aluminum Speed Pro pistons.
A Comp Cams Street Roller stick sets
a heavy beat while a set of Merlin iron
heads from World Products filled withManley Race-Series stainless valves
make plenty of seamless power. Up
top, a Weiand dual-plane intake gets
fed through a 990-cfm Stage 3 Holley
by the Carb Shop crowned with a clas-
sic chrome air cleaner. It all sparks to
life through an ACCEL ignition and
dumps spent gasses out a set of Hooker
Super Competition headers to 4-inch
matching side pipes. To move the goods,
a rebuilt Muncie M22 by Old School
4-Speeds of Springfield, Vermont, packs
a Hays 11-inch clutch and links to a cus-
tom driveshaft.
Taking on the exterior’s metamorpho-
sis took plenty of time, skill and deter-
mination. When deciding on the build,
Charlie maintained that he would craft
the project from an original Corvette.
Thankfully, he started with a very clean
original body that came with a set of
mint doors and all the related parts
needed for the transformation. Being a
true enthusiast, any items not needed
were carefully removed and repurposed
to other car owners who could use them
for restoration projects. When sourcing
the parts for the restyling he contacted
Mid-America Industries for one of their
Grand Sport conversions called the
GS-2. They offered nearly everything
needed to take on the transformation.30 VETTE 19.0 4
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