Chassis
Though we believe John will make further modifications, the stock chassis has so far been treated with Competition Engineering weld-in subframe connectors. Road-race activist and former Pontiac engineer Herb Adams/VSE supplied the coil springs and the 1 1/4-inch antisway bar. Koni adjustable shock absorbers control wheel movement. At the rear axle, Comp Engineering 1-inch lowering blocks, VSE mid-eye leaf springs and 7/8-inch antisway bar, and another pair of Konis. John kept the original spindles and control arms, but installed a Power Steering Pros manual box that features a blistering 2.5 turns, lock-to-lock.
Interior
Two pertinent changes here, along with several glaring omissions. Rick's Upholstery (Sand City) redid the seats in black vinyl and John got him one of those period Rosewood steering wheels (RPO N34). All else is stock, but it's Z/28 stuff, so all the right gauges are still in there. John goes balls to the wall in this. There is no provision for power brakes or steering, stereo system, or air conditioning. Heat and defrost maybe, because John lives very close to the often-cold Pacific coastline of northern California.
Wheels & Brakes
Love those Vintage Wheelworks matte-finish V-40s sans dust caps, 17x8 and 17x9.5. They're wearing sticky Kuhmo Ecsta 225/45s and 285/40s. The brakes are stock Z/28, but John plans to upgrade the rear drums to disc function very soon.
Body
John's friend and helper on this project is George Crivello (Crivello's Custom Restoration, Monterey, California), who stripped, blocked, and painted the Z with DuPont Chromabase Corvette Millennium Yellow. It was his idea to merge the blacked-out front-end treatment with the stock air dam and the stripes on the hood. Simple, striking, and not soon forgotten.
Performance
No track (road race or dragstrip time) yet, but on Golen's engine dyno, the snarling 383 jacked out 498 lb-ft at 5,200 rpm (maintains at least 429 from 2,700 rpm up) and 554 hp at 6,600 rpm.