For Frank Martorana, everything started to come together in July of 2010. For several years he’d been searching for a 1958 Corvette that would be a suitable starting point for a high-end restomod, and noted restorer and hot-rod builder Chris Tucci, owner of Chris Tucci’s Corvettes and Customs in Lindenhurst, New York, had good news.
“While I was on vacation on Fire Island in New York,” Martorana recalls, “I received a phone call from…Chris. He had located two 1958 Corvettes that were for sale on Long Island. My son Bryan, who loves Corvettes as much as I do, and I immediately headed home, leaving my wife and two daughters behind.”
The pair of C1s had spent the prior 38 years sitting side-by-side in a suburban New York backyard, slowly sinking into the earth. Predictably, their chassis and other steel components were extremely corroded, but of course their fiberglass bodies were spared the ravages of rust. This was acceptable because a good body was all that Martorana needed for his planned restomod build. He bought the pair, kept the best body, and sold everything else.
Martorana was no stranger to modifying vintage Corvettes. He’d contracted with Tucci to build a restomod ’65 coupe in 2004, before it was stylish to infuse modern technology into an old car, so he already had a pretty good understanding of what he wanted with the ’58. And of course, Tucci and his staff had the experience to deliver everything Martorana desired, and then some.
To provide cutting-edge handling and braking alongside a comfortable ride, the build began with a Street Shop C1 chassis set up to work with C5 and C6 componentry. Martorana chose to powder-coat the chassis in metallic silver to match the car’s silver body coves (more on those shortly).
In the front, stock forged-aluminum C6 upper and lower control arms were installed with factory spindles and hubs. Coil-over assemblies using 400-psi Hyperco springs and QA1 adjustable shocks, along with a 1-inch aftermarket sway bar, completed the front suspension.
Instead of an original C1 steering system, which relied on a worm-and-sector box and convoluted third-arm bearing support (and wasn’t very good even when new), Street Shop installed an AGR Performance power rack-and-pinion setup. The AGR rack delivers a level of precision and stability the C1’s engineers couldn’t have dreamed of.
At the opposite end of the chassis, the technicians bolted up a modified C5 suspension cradle and a beautifully machined, billet-aluminum matrix designed to accept an M50 Series differential from Dana. The rear end is fitted with 3.73:1 gears that provide Martorana’s desired compromise between lightning-quick acceleration and high-speed highway cruising. Mirroring the front, the rear cradle is fitted with C6 control arms and a Hyperco/QA1 coil-over setup, while a .875-inch sway bar provides proper balance for the larger bar in the front.
While stock C1 four-wheel drum brakes are reliable, inexpensive, and perfectly adequate for easygoing cruising around town, they are woefully deficient for any type of aggressive driving. To remedy that, this car has four-wheel discs, sourced from the C6 Z06 parts bin, all around. The front rotor diameter is 14 inches, and the rears measure 13 inches, and all four are drilled for more efficient cooling.
From the start of the project, Martorana was determined to maintain the car’s stock exterior appearance as much as possible, but he was willing to make a concession when it came to the wheels. He bought two-piece, center-lock billet rims made by Schott, sized at 18×8 inches in front and 19×12 inches at the rear. Though the Schotts are obviously not OEM, they do have a period-correct appearance that resembles Halibrand “kidney bean” rims used in the 1960s and earlier. The huge wheels are shod with strikingly wide 355/30ZR19 Pirelli P Zero tires at the rear and 245/40ZR18 P Zeros up front.
For propulsive force, Martorana and Tucci agreed that something special was called for. They turned to Houston-based Late Model Engines for a race-spec 427 built from a GM Bowtie LSXR LS7 aluminum block. This cylinder case’s six-bolt main caps anchor a forged Callies Dragon Slayer crankshaft with a 4-inch stroke. Callies Compstar H-beam connecting rods and Wiseco forged pistons complete the rotating assembly.
The top half of the engine is every bit as formidable as the bottom, starting with LSXR LS7 CNC-ported cylinder heads. The heads are fitted with REV hollow-stem, 2.200-inch intake valves and stainless-steel exhaust valves, all of which are actuated by a Cam Motion custom camshaft. GM LS7 hydraulic roller lifters, PAC dual springs, Manley one-piece chromemoly push rods, LS7 rocker arms complete the valvetrain.
To maximize power output from a totally tractable engine, Martorana and Tucci decided to equip the engine with twin turbochargers. For that they contacted the forced-induction experts at Nelson Racing Engines in Pinellas Park, Florida, who provided two of their Mirror Image 72mm turbochargers and an Alien intake manifold. Finding space for turbos and all necessary hardware and plumbing is always a challenge, but Tucci, who’s known for his fabricating skills, mounted the turbos down low on either side of the engine compartment. They are perfectly positioned to draw in cool, outside air from custom ducting that goes to grilles that are cleverly integrated into the body behind the front bumpers. The ducts and grilles work in concert with a one-off intercooler setup located ahead of the radiator.
To eliminate the engine’s exhaust gases as efficiently as possible, they go through American Racing headers with 2-inch “shorty” tubes that feed into 3-inch pipes. A large Ron Davis Racing Products aluminum radiator, mounted to a custom-made aluminum support and assisted by an electric fan, keeps the powerful engine cool in all circumstances. Additional cooling, as well as lubrication, is delivered by an LS7 dry-sump oiling system whose sump tank was cleverly relocated out of sight in the car’s trunk. Electricity comes from a Powermaster alternator that’s spun, along with the other engine accessories, by a Sinister Products accessory drive system.
The engine’s torque goes through a Tremec five-speed manual transmission sourced from American Powertrain. It features an overdrive Fifth gear that allows the car to comfortably cruise at typical highway speeds.
Concurrent with the chassis and powertrain build up, Tucci’s crew worked diligently on the car’s body and interior. Again, Martorana was committed to keeping the car’s appearance close to stock, especially on the exterior. “I’ve been enamored with the unique features found on 1958 Corvettes for a long time,” he explains, “including the trunk spears, washboard hood, and liberal use of chrome, and I wanted to preserve all of that.” To that end Tucci and company made only relatively minor modifications, such as crossed-flags fender emblems that are recessed into the fiberglass.
After all the surfaces and panel gaps were reworked to be virtually flawless, the body was painted in two original ’58 Corvette colors that were chosen by Martorana’s wife, Mindy. The main hue is the aforementioned Silver Blue, and the coves are Inca Silver. Both were mixed using an extremely durable Spies Hecker two-stage system. Original stainless-steel trim, restored by SL Metal Restorations in West Babylon, New York, and show-quality chrome for the bumpers, grille, and other plated parts, restored by Librandi’s Plating in Middletown, Pennsylvania, completed the presentation.
Once the paint process was finished, the body was turned over to Sal Chillemi Interiors in Amityville, New York. While they respected the layout and overall feel of the original cabin, some liberties were taken in accord with Martorana’s wishes. The seats, dash pad, door panels, shifter boot, and remaining trim pieces were covered with stitched, high-grade leather rather than vinyl, and the original instruments were replaced with Dakota Digital gauges.
For a more contoured look, as well as improved comfort, custom seat-foam buns were sourced from Paul Atkins Interiors in Hanceville, Alabama. A modern sound system from Classic Car Stereo, which maintains the look of the stock Delco Wonderbar AM radio, now resides in the original position in the center stack. A chrome-plated roll bar looks cool and adds an extra measure of safety, while its bolt-in design allows for it to be easily removed if desired.
The car was completed in 2022, and Martorana has used it regularly ever since then. “People who see the car love it,” he tells us. “Aside from the wheels, it looks really stock at first glance, but when they look closer, they see more and more of what we did. It looks like an aggressive hot rod because of the low stance and wide tires, but it still has the classic character of a stock 1958 Corvette because all of the chrome and special features unique to ’58 are still there.”
Of course, this car is not just another pretty face, and all of the hardware choices come together to make it an absolute joy to drive. “The engine is super strong, and because of the new chassis, it handles like a late-model Corvette. I have a C7 Z06 with the Z07 package, and in some ways this ’58 is even more impressive than that car in terms of its performance.
“Chris’s knowledge and long history restoring Corvettes…combined with my vision of what I wanted the car to look and perform like, resulted in what you see today.”
