Underdash lighting sets off...
Underdash lighting sets off the distinctively-painted dash, billet steering wheel, and the interior trim, which includes repro carpeting and ultra-leather seat covers.
If you're afraid that Wayne tore up an ultra-rare '56 to build his beauty, don't worry...Wayne says that the driver-quality C1 that he found in Connecticut was far from a Top Flight car. "It was not the original color, matching numbers, or anything like that, but it was a decent driver," he says from his Frederick, Maryland, home. "The owner was retiring and moving to Florida, and he couldn't find anyone up there to put air conditioning in the car. He said that he wasn't going to have it in Florida without A/C in it. I wanted the car, so I didn't tell him about Vintage Air-and it has Vintage Air A/C in it now!"
A Billet Specialties steering...
A Billet Specialties steering wheel on an ididit column, ultra leather seat covers and Tangerine Metalflake paint on the dash make this C1's cabin a distinctive one.
He also liked not having to replace his C1's original frame, as the Jim Meyer Racing parts were bolt-in replacements for some OEM hardware whose designs dated back to the '40s. "You don't have to cut your original frame up," Wayne says. "You do have to make a couple little tack welds, like for the rear sway bar mounts, but nothing that can't be ground off and fixed (restored) later. It's not like you're cutting the frame up."
Custom shifter ball tops a...
Custom shifter ball tops a Hurst Competition Plus shifter that stirs the Muncie M-21's gears.
Another difference between Wayne's car and other Vette Rods: the powertrain. Instead of picking an LS-series engine or a later version of The General's venerable small-block, he stuck with the non-original engine that was in the car when he bought it. "It's a 283, whose block was bored out to four inches, giving 301 cubic inches," Wayne says. "It's got a good Comp Cams camshaft in it, and I put a quiet gear drive in it. It's got heads from a 365 horsepower 327, with 2.02-inch intake valves, and it's also got a 750 Holley on it." Backing the now-301 is a Muncie M-21 four-speed with a Hurst Competition Plus shifter, with a 3.55-geared nine-inch rear end putting the power on the pavement via the Goodyear-shod American Racing Torq-Thrusts.
Wayne added these ducts forward...
Wayne added these ducts forward of the rear wheels, along with a NACA duct in the hood.
As for the body and interior color, Wayne says they're something that a lot of people ask him about. "Everywhere I go, the first thing that people want to know is, what color is it? It's House of Kolor's Sunset Pearl, and the dash is Tangerine Metalflake." Those colors were sprayed on by Wayne's buddy, Mickey Schultz, in Union Bridge, Maryland.
Instead of being a "perpetual project" that's never quite finished, Wayne got his '56 done to the condition you see it here in about two and a half years. What's this Z56 like to drive? "It's a ball, but it sure does draw attention," says Wayne. "The car is very adjustable in height, ride, and everything."
If you're considering a first-gen Vette Rod of your own, following Wayne's example is a good idea. "I'm not a purist, and the car was not numbers-matching when I bought it," he says. "This is what I wanted to do-I wanted the old look with later technology, that I could get in and drive to Ocean City, Maryland, or anywhere I want. It's got air conditioning, power windows, rack-and-pinion steering, four-wheel disc brakes-and you can do all that without ruining a good car."