“World’s Best Shark Car”

Let’s Start Off By Saying I Am A Retired Private Party Collector And Hobbyist Here In South Florida. I Am Not A Dealer Nor Do I Play Games Or Use Smoke And Mirrors To Advertise A Car. Each Car Will Be Correctly Described Without Any Surprises. All Cars Are Either From My Personal Collection Or Belong To Friends Or Dealer Friends Of Mine Who Ask Me To Advertise Their Cars For Them.  Many People Ask Me To Advertise Their Cars But I Will Only Take On What I Feel is The Nicest. All Cars Are Priced According To Their Condition, Options, Documentation And Rarity In Today’s ever Changing Market And Are Available Without Any Frivolous Markups Saving You Thousands.

This Particular One Off Car Was Designed And Is Owned By A Very Good Friend Of Mine Who Has Decided To Turn The Reins Over To A New Owner Who Will Ultimately Care For And Take To The Next Show Level The “Worlds Best Shark Car”. It Got It’s Title From Jay Leno Who As You All Know Is One Of The World’s Greatest Car Affionados. A Picture Of His Autograph With The Owner And The Car Is In The Picture Section Of This Ad. That In It Self Having Jay Leno Review Your Car Is One Major Award, And In The Case Of This Car That Is Just  One More Of The Many Best Of Show And Other Awards This Car Has Garnered During It’s Brief Existence.

This Car Was Ultimately Crafted By Another Friend Of Mine, Kenny Morrison Who Has Designed And Built Cars That were Purchased By Celebrities With The Likes Of Sylvester Stallone And Others Who Own One Of Kenny’s Famous Creations.

After Jim Asked Me To Market His Car I Thought To Myself Where The Hell Do I Begin With This Incredible Creation ??? So I Thought Why Not  Start Off With The Complete Story About How It Came To Be, And How It Started Out As A Nice Small Restoration Of An ordinary C3 And “Snow Balled” Into The Incredible Resto Mod You See Here. This Story And Some Of Pictures I Have Are In The Sept. Issue Of Corvette Magazine Which Has Just Hit The News Stands. The Author Saw This Car At A Show And Just Had To Do A Story And Photo Shoot On It.

Here Is What He Had To Say:   In the game of life, some experiences can often leave a lasting impression. For Jim Campbell, a trip to the Corvette assembly plant at the ripe old age of 17 was a game changer. “My first experience with Corvettes came when I was a senior in high school, “ Campbell recalls.  “I was fortunate to be able to go on a field trip to visit the Corvette plant in St. Louis.  This was in 1960.  After seeing them up close and personal, it cemented my thoughts about having a Corvette someday.” By his early 20’s, he was able to fulfill that desire, by putting a small down payment on his first Corvette, a ’65 327 powered Sting Ray convertible. Since that first Corvette, Campbell has owned a variety of other Corvettes, but it wasn’t until three years ago that he embarked in a different direction.

While on a business trip with his wife, they attended the “Hot August Nights” auction in Reno. At that auction, his wife saw a C5 that had been converted to look like a C2 and immediately fell in love with it. It ended up crossing the auction block with a ludicrous reserve that was never met. Campbell tried to cut a deal for the car but came up short. Undaunted by his inability to buy the car, he adopted a different strategy. “After I returned back to Florida, I did some research on this conversion and located the company that did the work,”  he says with a hint of pride. “After I spoke to the owner, I decided to find a donor Corvette and do a conversion.  I wanted to surprise my wife and give her this Corvette for her birthday.” The entire project took about three months to complete, and true to his word, he presented it to her at a surprise birthday party.

Shortly before finishing the retro C5, he added to his stable by purchasing the ’72 Torch Red C3 you see on these pages.  “The ’72 Shark was another favorite of mine,” he explains.  “I purchased this car from a fellow Corvette club member.  It was an okay Corvette, but I knew I would do something with it.”  After the retro C5 was completed, he decided to test the show waters by taking it to local Corvette events. To his surprise, it did quite well. As a result, it intensified the itch to start digging into the C3.  The question was, what to do to it?

Many of those questions were actually answered when Campbell purchased the C3, but he didn’t know it at the time. As a result of his new acquisition, Campbell met Kenny Morrison, the owner of K-Tech. Morrison was responsible for much of the mechanical and cosmetic work done on the ’72 for the previous owner.  However, the carrot tossed Campbell’s way wasn’t in finding a new mechanic or painter. Morrison was actually building killer turnkey street rods in his Loxahatchee shop. Once Campbell saw the street rods, it was game over!

Initially, the plan wasn’t to turn the ’72 into the car you see. Campbell emphatically states that, “It completely snowballed out of control. I had no intentions of creating the “show piece” that I have – just to do some custom and slight modifications, i.e. engine, transmission, wheels, exhaust system, and paint. Additionally, being hot in Florida I wanted to have A/C.”

Once the decision was made to start ripping into the C3, Morrison discovered what appeared to be a storied past that predated his involvement with it. There were signs of poorly executed fiberglass repairs, along with a succession of patriotic body color resprays ranging from red, to white, to blue. At this early stage there were already indications that things were about to get crazy. They decided to toss out the entire drive train. The original frame was replaced with an SRIII Motorsports unit. Morrison wasn’t content with keeping the SRIII frame in the as-delivered configuration, so he added his own touches by cleaning up every weld. He also modified it to internally house all the electrical and plumbing hardware. With the frame complete, a choice of suspension components was also made. They decided to install a Heidts Super Ride Independent in-board Rear Suspension and Heidts Stainless Steel Front Suspension, along with a chrome rack and pinion unit. A Ridetech air suspension at all four corners was also added to enhance drivability, along with allowing the C3 to change its stance at the flick of a switch. Wilwood calipers and rotors were chosen to handle all the braking duties, while a Rock Valley stainless steel gas tank added further bling to the frame.  Rolling stock was also considered in terms performance and how it would visually integrate with the rest of mechanical components. They opted for a set of American Racing Torq Thrust II aluminum billet wheels (8 × 18-inch front, 10 × 18-inch rear) wrapped in NITTO Extreme Performance NT555 rubber (235/40ZR18 front, and 275/40ZR18 rear). Morrison went bonkers with the frame and every component attached to it. Every part was either painted, chrome plated, or polished. As stunning as this car is in its entirety, the completed chassis is in itself something that anyone would be proud to display on its own.

All that eye candy without some grunt under the hood would have been pointless in Campbell’s opinion. He wanted to up the ponies, so Morrison started looking for a suitable donor. While on a vacation trip to China, Campbell recalls, “ I received an email from Kenny stating that he had found a low mileage ’06 GTO which had been wrecked. It had an LS2 with a 6-speed.” Campbell further points out, “this is where it really started to get exciting, but I knew it was going to get expensive.” Luckily, the engine and gearbox were in such great shape that they didn’t need to be rebuilt. As with the frame, Morrison also dove in and polished and detailed everything. The decision to crown the LS2 with a Magna Supercharger and a Street Performance billet serpentine system further added to the already growing price tag. After the engine was installed on the frame, Morrison fabricated a full 4-inch stainless steel exhaust system that was then Chromex coated at Street Performance. At the back, a set of Borla mufflers were installed to make all the right noises.

With the chassis complete, their attention shifted to the body. Campbell wanted it to visually remain stock. He also wanted to retain the red exterior paint. Like everything else, somewhere along the line, Torch Red was also ditched in favor of a custom blend made up by Morrison especially for this car. House of Kolor created this batch of paint exclusively for him. However, before any paint could be laid down, he knew that the body had numerous issues that needed to be properly repaired. Beyond those repairs, he also decided that some liberties would be taken. As a result, the side vents were covered, and all emblems removed. The front and rear clips were also slightly modified to accommodate the sectioned front and rear chrome bumpers. Morrison spent many hours on the body repairing and modifying it. Somewhere along the line, while the body was being massaged, Campbell had an idea to make the hood open from the front. He discussed its feasibility with Morrison, and a few days later, it was a fully engineered and functional component. The hydraulic mechanism created ended up utilizing a clever mix of automotive and motorcycle parts. When the LT-1 hood is open, the other visual feast lies underneath. The senses are simply overwhelmed with Osmosis Red paint and chrome. Morrison spent an ungodly amount of time designing, fabricating, and installing one-off fiberglass panels to hide all the plumbing and electrical components. The goal with the side panels and firewall design was to visually wrap around and seamlessly integrate with the custom made fuel rail covers. Also in your face are the massive dual 4-inch chrome air intakes fabricated by Morrison. This level of detail has arguably created one of the most visually appealing and complex custom C3 engine bays currently in existence.

The same attention to detail also carried over into the interior. It was completely gutted and all new hardware installed. It is worth noting that this interior didn’t come out of a parts catalog. Visually it all looks rather stock, but is far from it. The most obvious change was the addition of a set of modified C6 power seats. These, along with everything else visible, were covered in leather.  The much desired A/C unit from Vintage Air was also added. A chrome roll bar, along with a fiberglass center waterfall console, further dress up the interior. If you think these two items would look great in your C3, don’t bother looking for them in a catalog, they are one-off items fabricated by Morrison. It is worth noting that he did all the work performed on this car in-house. Every item mentioned as one-off, truly is one-off. All the bodywork, the paint, the carpets, and interior were done in his shop. The only thing not performed by him was the chrome plating.

After three long years of work and the budget of a small nation spent, Campbell feels that he is 99% finished with this car. He has hit the Corvette shows in Florida and is cleaning up with “Best of Show” awards. In the same way that he enjoyed his field trip to the Corvette plant as a young lad of 17, this C3 is bringing him equal enjoyment in his retirement.

Well There You Have It, The Creation Of A Super Car, A One Of One Resto Mod That Is Far, Far And Above Anything Else You Will Ever Find, And Now The Opportunity For A New Owner To Have As Much Enjoyment As My Good Friend Has Had With It.

As With All The Cars I Market This One Is Being Sold As Is Where Is And Is Available For Inspection By Appointment Only. The Seller And I Assume No Responsibility For Any Repairs Or Representations ( Oral Or Written) Regardless Of Type After Purchase Is Completed. I Will Be Happy To Answer Any And All Questions. This Auction May be Cancelled At Any Time And For Any Reason And Please Do Not Email Me Asking For The Reserve Price, I will be More Than Happy To Discuss This With You.

Thank You.

Ric  561-775-8629

rixsl@aol.com