An enterprising famer from Kansas, USA, has converted his third-gen Chevy Corvette into a no-nonsense rally car based on off-road components sourced from a Chevy Suburban.
Scott Ray purchased his C3 Corvette on his 18th birthday, which was ten years ago (see video). He has driven it to school for six months before it broke down with an apparent engine failure. A while later, Ray resolved to swap the stock mill out for a diesel one. Luckily, as a farmer, he has had an extensive experience repairing vehicles and equipment.
He settled on a humongous 6.2-liter diesel core of a 1987 Chevrolet Suburban – an SUV that, while powerful, was easy to maintain and quite fuel-efficient. He paid U.S. $700 for a ruined specimen and proceeded to extract its mill, which by that moment had 193,000 kilometers (120,000 miles) under its belt.
During the restoration, Ray had to reassemble the engine from scratch, replacing all worn and damaged parts, and also repair the transmission.
The 1972 Chevrolet Corvette C3 off-roader is currently up for sale, with Ray saying he would like to dedicate his time to other, more interesting projects.