Shaun Dove's 1963 Chevy Corvette Twin Sting - Feature Of The Month

If you're thinking this ride looks familiar, then it might be because you saw it on Boyd Coddington's "American Hot Rod" TV show. In the show, drama ensued when they had to build this Corvette in a ridiculously short time frame-just a handful of months. The producers added invented drama, which is certainly nothing new in "reality" TV, but unfortunately all the hi-jinx got in the way of learning more about a really cool ride. The car's owner, Shaun Dove, tells PHR, "I've always loved the lines of the Sting Ray 'Vette, and the '63 split-window has always been my favorite body style, so I thought it would be the perfect starting point for a high-horsepower modern Pro-Street car." It needed to have insane power and still be fun to cruise around in. It also needed to be high-quality. Shaun says, "The reason I chose Boyd to build this car, is the quality of craftsmanship and the smooth look that he has become known for. This car is unique for Boyd too, as it's the highest horsepower car he has ever built."

It's hard to argue with the final product. Shaun wanted an over-the-top Pro Street car that didn't suck to drive on the highway, and that's exactly what he got. For traction reasons, the huge Pro Street rear rollers are still present, but the pizza-cutters up front were ditched in favor of wider, more road-friendly versions. As for the transmission, Shaun tells us, "Another necessity for me was a manual trans, which had to be specially built by G-Force to handle the huge amounts of torque we were planning to push through it." The bulletproof five-speed tranny also gives Shaun an overdrive gear, so that highway cruising isn't akin to slow torture. For safety, there's a full 'cage in the car, but you would be hard pressed to find it. The 'cage is crafted into the roof and pillars of the car, and hidden by the interior pieces. Nearly every aspect of the car involves the words "one-off" or "custom."

Since Shaun wanted big power, he contacted Tom Nelson at Nelson Racing Engines to come up with something special. Tom punched out an aluminum DART block to 434 ci, and added the best parts money could buy. Tom tells PHR, "The key to making the engine bulletproof was to use the best components we could get our hands on." The backbone of this mill is the Cola 4340 crankshaft. To this, Nelson added Carillo 6.200-inch forged connecting rods and JE 28cc severe-duty slugs to fill the 4.155-inch bores. A Cloyes double-roller timing chain keeps things working in the right sequence, and a super-secret custom-ground Nelson camshaft actuates the valves that live inside DART aluminum Pro Top-Line heads. Billet Fabrications custom-fabricated the intake manifold, which features twin 62mm throttle bodies. (They also twisted up the headers and stainless exhaust system.) Every square inch of the engine bay is stuffed with power-making parts. So much so, that the headlights had to be ditched to make way for the twin 72mm turbos. Nighttime cruising involves attaching a pair of external headlights to the front bumpers. It's a small price to pay for an engine capable of making over 1,500 hp and even more pounds of twist at 32 pounds of boost. We asked Tom how they kept it all together under that much boost, and he says, "We had to o-ring the block and mill receiver rings into the heads to keep it sealed at boost pressures over 30 pounds. Also, the exhaust valveguide clearances had to be spot-on." The custom side pipes were crafted by Scott Parker, and gave the 'Vette two very important things: a wicked exhaust note, and tons of ground clearance. Aeromotive helps with feeding the hungry mill copious amounts of fuel, and heat is kept in check by the Duane Davis aluminum radiator and intercooler.

Part of the reason the car took so long to build was the endless amount of fabrication done to the body. The headlight buckets were smoothed and filled, one-piece side windows were made, and the door handles were shaved. Other touches include a custom-louvered aluminum belly pan, a custom undertray, and the hidden radiator airscoop. Believe it or not, the hood isn't glass-it's actually fabricated out of aluminum. Shaun says, "With the help of Boyd, we designed the aluminum hood to resemble the big-block hood of the '67 Corvette with the modern venting and billet associated with Boyd's designs." Everywhere you look, changes were crafted into the vintage 'Vette. When all the pieces were just right, Boyd shot the car in House of Kolors Kosmos Red.

For the interior, Shaun wanted leather-and lots of it-so Gabe Lopez covered everything in tan leather and suede (PETA must hate this ride). He also managed to hide the 'cage under the headliner and pillar panels. Since this car will be driven, there's an air conditioning system by Hot Rod Air, but the engine is the only thing to sing along to; radios are for quiet cars. The engine vitals are monitored by a host of carbon-fiber Autometer gauges, and the steering wheel was milled by Boyd. The result is a cockpit that is both functional and beautiful.

Since the 'Vette was completed, Shaun has been cruising it to various events. He has also had Super Rides by Jordan in Escondido, California, make minor tweaks to TwinSting, to make it even more roadworthy. Shaun sums it up, "When you see a true Boyd-built car, you see the quality and craftsmanship that you would expect from a legend in the industry. TwinSting came out incredible, and is a rolling piece of art. The build took a while-three years actually-but it was worth the wait."

By The Numbers'63 CorvetteShaun Dove, 32 * Fallbrook, CATotal cost to build: approx. $300,000Max power: 1,532 hp at 5,900 rpm and 1,580 lb-ft. at 3,900 (32 lbs boost, 109 octane)