No More Sneaking ::: ZZ383...
No More Sneaking ::: ZZ383 stroker small-block from GM Performance Parts replaced the well-used original 350. The 750-cfm Demon carburetor sits below the high-flow air cleaner.
In went the Tuned Port Injected 350, a T-5 five-speed with an overdrive top gear, and '96 Corvette sport seats inside a cabin that was well insulated against noise, heat, and cold before the modern-day Vintage Air and Custom Autosound systems went in. The chassis got a fiberglass rear spring and modified steering box, among other upgrades.
To paraphrase the old song, Jeff's Vette's been everywhere-it's logged over 300,000 miles and been to all 48 contiguous states, as of this past fall. He has photos of every state's "Welcome To..." sign to prove it. "It forces you to go somewhere that you didn't have on your itinerary," he says. "We've gone into states where there isn't a sign at the state line, and we have to look at the map and say, 'How many hundreds of miles is it going to take before there's another border?'" Sometimes, he says he and his wife had to wait to get their shots. "We've pulled up to signs where there are three families with their RVs, and we've waited an hour for the sign to clear."
You'd Smile, Too ::: Jeff...
You'd Smile, Too ::: Jeff (left) and Clint Montgomery give their Vettes a breather during our photo shoot along some of the most scenic and fun-to-drive roads in their home state of Arkansas.
Jeff's next big trip in his '63 is to Corvettes at Carlisle in August 2008. "We've been invited by Lance Miller to Carlisle, and he's going to put the car in his special Chip's Choice display," Jeff says, "This year, they're highlighting restomods. That's quite an honor, and we're real excited about it."
When Jeff and his wife show their Sting Ray, they have a display graphic showing their split-window's travels, which draws some interesting attention. "People will see our little sign board, and women come up and say, 'I want to meet the woman who rode that far in that old car because ours stinks! I don't want to get in it with my husband and ride to the Sonic, much less across the country."
Like his father's '63, Clint Montgomery's '73 convertible is racking up the miles-over 155,000 at last count. And, like his dad, he's gone the Vette-Rod route. But unlike the well-kept car that his father bought, Clint's '73 was in far from perfect shape when he purchased it when he was in college.
Motion Striped Shark :::...
Motion Striped Shark ::: Clint's '73 wears a repro Baldwin-Motion rear stripe, as well as ZR1 wheels and '69 Stingray side exhaust covers.
Clint put in a Brodix-headed 350 and drove it for about 60,000 miles, then parked it when he got his first post-college job. Several years later, he decided to build it his way. Out came the 350 for a GM Performance Parts ZZ383, topped by a Demon 750 carburetor, and sparked by a GM HEI ignition system with a Flamethrower distributor. "I was tired of 'sneaking up on it,' so I decided to go ahead and buy the engine I wanted," he says of his crate-engine upgrade. The 383 breathes out through 2-inch headers from Street & Performance, which connect to side exhausts that wear '69 Stingray covers.