Custom car culture is always changing and evolving, so it's cool to see modern restomod builds that take us back to a snapshot of a different era. This 1966 Corvette was built by Old Anvil Speed Shop as a homage to the style of modifications that was popular in the early 1970s. It has Grand-Sport-inspired flared fenders, side pipes, flake-heavy green paint, a restored set of 15-inch American Racing wheels, and a good old 454ci big block V8. The car was unveiled at the 2025 SEMA Show in the Coker Tire display.
Photos courtesy of Old Anvil Speed Shop & Hot Rod Magazine
Like many SEMA builds, this car belongs to a customer, not the shop itself. Old Anvil built this Corvette for a retired fire captain and Vietnam veteran who had previously owned a green C2 Corvette (pictured above). The car arrived at the shop as a rolling shell with a partially complete fiberglass widebody.
In the months leading up to the SEMA Show, the Old Anvil team repaired and reshaped the widebody, and then incorporated more body modifications that add to the sleek, streamlined look. The pop-up headlights were shaved and replaced with fixed lights in a custom recessed grille, and the taillights were replaced with new lights on a custom billet aluminum tail panel.
The body was painted a PPG green color called Envy which shimmers with flake and gold undertones in full sunlight.
Rather than go with some modern 18-inch billet wheels, Old Anvil kept it classic with a restored and refinished set of 15x8.5-inch American Racing wheels. These are clad in Firestone Wide Oval tires from Coker Tire.
Under the hood, there's a 454ci V8 that exhales through a set of ceramic-coated side pipes. However, this engine has been modernized a little for reliability and driveability, by way of a Holley Sniper EFI system and Terminator X ECU. It's paired with a Tremec TKX 5-speed manual transmission.
The interior was reupholstered in warm brown leather with black accents and new black carpet. Many of the other interior hard parts were replaced with original-style components, with the exception of Dakota Digital gauges, Vintage Air A/C, and a Retrosound Bluetooth stereo.
Old Anvil's '66 Corvette strikes a nice balance between original 1960s style, 1970s hot-rodding culture, and modern technology. While some of the retro elements may not appeal to purists, it's definitely a cool and unique build.
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