Dewey Hendricks was the proud new owner of a Corvette. Well, kinda. His latest acquisition had fallen victim to a devastating fire which had left the charred remains wanting for attention. Deweys view of what was once a Corvette became overshadowed by his vision of what it would soon become, soon being the operative word. It took Dewey just seven months to rebuild the car.
The fact that Dewey runs Deweys Just Vettes in Longwood, Florida, makes this rapid transformation from burned to beautiful much more understandable. A member of the NCRS, Dewey has worked on mid-years and other early Corvettes that have gone on to capture Duntov and other awards, so he knows what it takes to make them right.
But the idea for this car was to make it a driver. Dewey intended to drive it from the moment he purchased it. He finished it in seven months because he wanted it ready for the Corvette Nationals in Sun Valley, Idaho. He had the car done two weeks before the show, which gave him enough time to get in a few shakedown runs before heading off to Idaho. While he was in the area, Dewey and his wife Donna, together with a band of fellow Corvette owners, decided to drive their Corvettes to some of the other attractions in that part of the country. They made scheduled stops at Yellowstone National Park, Mount Rushmore, and even swung by the Grand Canyon!
Since Deweys car is a driver, he didnt concern himself about not having the original engine, but his Corvette does have a 350hp, 327 coupled to a four-speed transmission. The rest of the freshly rebuilt suspension is original except for the radial tires, because Dewey wanted this car to be not just a driver, but a comfortable one. Thats why he installed a Custom Autosound stereo, power steering, and a Vintage Air A/C unit. In the past 2 ½ years, Dewey has put another 14,000 miles on this Corvette. Hes made several trips to Georgia and drives the car throughout Florida.
Whats next for this little red road ranger? Dewey plans to attend the NCRS Corvette Nationals in Monterey, California. He reports that most of our friends are flying, but were driving. As if there were any doubt.