A Corvette that spans the decades

It’s hard to beat the styling of the mid-1950s when it comes to classic American cars, but there’s no denying that today’s automobiles beat those vintage rides hands down when it comes to mechanical efficiency, dependability and handling.

Mark Eaton’s gorgeous 1957 Corvette roadster bridges that gap with amazing ease, combining the clean, sporty, flowing design of the original two-seater with the power and road performance of a modern Corvette Z06 chassis and drivetrain.

“I said, ‘If I’m going to put the money into it, when I drive it, it’s going to drive like a new one,’” said Eaton.

The car that resulted not only does that, it continues a longstanding bond between Eaton and one of his closest friends, Monty “Pete” Peterson, who bought the ’57 Vette for $975 in 1969.

“I was 19 when I got it. It had a blown motor in it, a rod through the block. But my dad was a body man and he taught me how to do body work.” Peterson repaired the fiberglass body and installed a replacement engine and got the Corvette back on the street.

“Monty and I have been friends forever. When I was 14 years old, Pete would take me around in this car,” recalled Eaton.

As a car-crazy teen ager, he always hoped he could someday own something that nice. The Corvette wound up being sold, but stayed in Wichita and was eventually bought back as a project by Peterson, who had kept close track of it over the years. The Vette was basically just a collection of parts by then, only a hint of its former self.

“When Monty finally wanted to get rid of it three years ago, I was like maybe the second person he called,” Eaton said.

He bought the Corvette and about a year later, turned it over to Mark Bauer at Bauer Auto Restoration, to begin transforming it into what it is today.

They were fortunate enough to find a wrecked late model Z06 that had a usable chassis and engine underneath the shattered body.

There was no deadline pressure to finish the car — until Bauer persuaded Eaton to enter the Corvette in this year’s Detroit Autorama, one of America’s most prestigious car shows. Approximately 1,000 cars compete, with the coveted Ridler Award presented to the top entry. The show dates were Feb. 26-28, so the build pace was ratcheted up.

The car was finished the night before it was to be loaded in a trailer and transported to Detroit.

“It was quite a week … a lot of hard work,” Eaton recalled.

The body of the car was subtly modified, with the rear fenders widened by two inches to accommodate the massive 345/30ZR19 Michelin Pilot tires mounted on custom-made Budnik wheels bolted to the 6-speed Z06 transaxle. Slightly smaller 245/40ZR18 Michelins in the softest rubber compound available are used up front, with 6-piston Z06 brakes at all four corners.

The ZO6 engine had already been modified by Katech Performance, a company specializing in high-performance Corvette engines and produces more than 600 horsepower now, thanks in part to a set of electronically controlled Patriot VaraFlow mufflers that exit through custom side ports just ahead of the rear wheels.

Driving the car onto the Autorama show floor proved to be a bit of a challenge, according to Eaton.

“It was the first time we had actually driven it, the tires were spinning on the slick floor, I was using a clutch I had never used before. Let’s just say my left leg got kind of tired,” he noted.

But the Corvette proved a hit with the show crowds. The body work was drenched in 2004 Corvette Lemans Blue sprayed by Darin McCollom at the Bauer shop. And thanks to Bauer himself, the Corvette’s trademark side coves weren’t painted body color, but instead were finished in beautiful brushed stainless steel crafted by metal worker Corey Conyers.

Eaton had wanted to keep the Corvette one solid color, but Bauer persuaded him to let them do one side with the stainless cove. It took multiple tries to get it just right, but when Eaton saw it, he immediately asked when they were going to start on the other side.

“We already have,” was Bauer’s response.

“Part of the challenge was that I told them that all I want to see under the hood is motor, not wires or hard lines,” Eaton said. To accomplish that, Conyers built a one-of-a-kind engine cover and, at Bauer’s urging, used a set of fiberglass Model A rear fenders as inner fender panels. Conyers also built the impossible-to-find trim pieces for the ultra-rare 1953 Corvette windshield frame that just happened to fit the ’57 body perfectly, providing a lower, more raked look.

To finish off the clean look, the individual ignition coil packs, wiring harnesses, hydraulic brake and clutch cylinders and the Vintage Air heating and air conditioning components were somehow fitted under the cowl below the windshield, accessed by a “vent” that pops up to reveal the hidden parts and pieces. The underside of the hood is a piece of highly polished stainless steel that serves as a display mirror to show off the engine and its twin air intakes.

Inside, the upholstery job was handled by Scott Downey, who was well along with covering the original seat frames when Eaton, who is 6-foot-1, came in for a sit-down test fit.

“I said, ‘That’s wonderful, Scott, but I don’t fit,’” Eaton said. Downey redesigned the seats to allow more leg room, upholstering them and the door panels in tricolor top-grade leather, which also covers the top of the dash, the custom center console and the Billet Specialties steering wheel. By using a 12-inch Flaming River tilt steering column and a special ididit “shorty” wheel adapter, it was finally possible to fit the owner behind the wheel.

The dash is filled with computerized electric gauges by Speedhut and a Redline speedometer.

As a tribute to his friend Monty Peterson, Eaton specified that the speedometer bear the notation “Pete’s 57.”

Relaxing at the final awards ceremony, Eaton joked that the “Past Forward” award recognizing the car that best combines vintage styling with modern functionality was bound to go to a Ford, since the curator of The Henry Ford Museum was to make the presentation.

“When they announced it was car number 1008, I said, ‘Well, he picked a Chevy,’” Eaton recalled. It was his 1957 Corvette that received the heavy metal “Past Forward” script trophy.

Pointing to the stainless steel cove panels that Bauer had suggested and Conyers had painstakingly created, Eaton noted, “That, in my mind is what got us that award.”

This story was originally published September 4, 2015 at 5:28 PM with the headline "A Corvette that spans the decades."