Sometimes a new build comes together so fast and so easy that all I can do is marvel! Some don’t go so well; they take a long time to complete and cause quite a bit of frustration, and some I’m not happy with and keep going back and changing over and over again. But then there are the ones like this, that just come out perfect on the first try, and I don’t think they could look better!
I have a lot of these Auto World Corvette Grand Sport coupes, and why not? It’s an awesome body, and even though only 5 “real” Grand Sports were ever built, the C2 Corvette was so ubiquitous on racing tracks-both back in the day and in vintage racing today-that its almost like you can’t have too many, and I’ve been after this red one for a while. I finally got one at a price I was comfortable with, and before it arrived in the mail I was building it in my head, planning to use my last stocked set of these awesome “Minilite” wheels from Vincent with a set of Road Race Replicas low-profile silicones, which this body needs for clearance when using custom wheels. Well, what do you think? Are you as impressed as I am with how this went together?
As I’ve mentioned many times before, this body in all its colors always comes pre-printed with a racing #2, something I feel is a real failing on AW’s part (how hard would it be to change the racing number when you change the body color, really?) so I had to carefully relabel it with a number I had not yet used, so I chose a white on black roundel of #50. I almost got the doors perfectly centered, but I’m not complaining; the whole package looks awesome and I couldn’t be happier with it!
But then again, it can’t be a real Grand Sport; there aren’t enough of them in the world for that, especially considering I have 4 others in the sports car fleet, so this has to be a “recreation,” done in a style as accurate as the black one I last profiled; accurate enough to pass muster with the judge for Drag City’s vintage sports car racing series. Built over the course of years by a Texas-born butcher turned successful rancher who retired early to enjoy the fruits of his labor, Mason Matlock decided to relocate to San Diego to be nearer to one of his favorite racing tracks, where he had spent years dreaming of campaigning his 350-powered, Weber carbureted small block “dream ‘Vette” once it was finally finished. It was his former vocation, rather than a bad reputation, which lead to his intimidating nickname “MEATHOOK,” but fortunately he christened his car with a far more erudite name: “INVICTUS,” a latin word which means “unconquered.” That’s quite a brag for a new arrival, but this car seems to have everything it takes to back it up! As the BANZAI RUNNER IV race is about to launch, the crowd at the track will get to find out soon enough!
Those times when things come together are when you know it’s right and this Corvette is certainly proof of that! This is a true beauty from the body to the decals! Great job!