Art Morrison's 1960 "3G" Corvette (Video)
 

Hello guys and gals,

My name is Zack, I'm a writer and producer for the online show "The Smoking Tire." We're just a bunch of car guys that love making funny and informative videos. They are mostly car reviews, but occasionally we do event coverage (as well as written content at our website).

It's hosted by Matt Farah. Some of you might have seen him on "The Car Show", or maybe you've seen The Smoking Tire before. I thought I was a car freak, but he's on another level.

Anyway, last week we uploaded a video of Matt test-driving the one-off creation that is Art Morrison's 1960 "3G" Corvette. We think the video came out really well, and I thought you guys would get a kick out of it. I hope you like the video. We have some more Corvette stuff we're editing together this week, and if you like this video, I'll put them up in the Corvette forums.




Watch the episode here.

OOooooooK, you asked for it.
Yes, this is a cool car (restorod) and a cool video.
BUT, this guy has NO clue!
"Meet me on the race track, and 'get the hell outa my way'"
I don't race a C1, but Paul Reinhart would probablylike to meetcha.

I think Paul would hop in this car and enjoy the hell out of it. He might pass Matt in one of his race cars, but Matt was addressing the people that think it's better to keep a '60 Vette bone stock. Show me a stock 1960 Corvette that handles like this one, and I will eat one of Matt's shoes. And he only wears one pair of shoes, year round. SO I really really really don't want to do that.

I mean no disrespect, cause the car is cool, but Matt's comments on "racetrack" were over the top in a car with no roll CAGE and no helmet.

Loved it, thanks for posting that. Funny how they never tell you how much it costs to build one like it, in any of those shows!http://s6.tinypic.com/2nhomkw_th.jpg


Hmmmmmmm........:toetap:

Art has been offered $400,000 and turned it down. According to him, it cost more than that to build.

Matt owns a helmet, race suit, HANS, etc. But when we have free reighn of a track it's not necessary. Audio is better without a helmet, and it makes for a much better show.

I've seen the car several times while it was being built and after it was finished. There was a thread here recently about the cost of paint jobs and some azzwipe stated this car has a $30K paint job. Sorry but the body seams are very visible and the metallic could have been laid better by Stevie Wonder.:U

Jim

:bs:bs:bs:bs:bs:bs:bs:bs:bs:bs:bs:bs:bs: bs:bs

Fun video to watch, but I would have loved to have seen more real info on the car. How about under hood shots and some specs. Is that a aluminum old school 427, or an LS7? How about build photos showing the chassis & more info on the suspension than just saying it's "modern".

:cheers:

I'm only saying what I was told by him. I think it cost him so much to build, with materials and the cost of man-hours, he laughed he could never make any money on it.


It's hard to find the balance between too long, short, entertaining and informative. It really is a delicate thing to shoot hours of footage, put it together into a video short enough that lots of people will enjoy it, but long enough that it's got some story and substance to it. But always give us feedback and tell us what you think. Our youtube channel is filled with comments and Matt reads every single one. Here's a few more pics from Art's Gran Turismo award.

@ZBRA - Here's some info on the pieces that went into the suspension and chassis. http://www.artmorrison.com/3gvette.php

Art Morrison - Fife, WA
Builder – Art Morrison Performance
1960 "3G" Corvette
Engine – Bill Mitchell all aluminum 427ci SBC, featuring Wilson Manifolds throttle body & fuel rails and F.A.S.T. EFI controller
Chassis - Art Morrison Enterprises Inc. “GT Sport” high performance replacement chassis
Suspension – Front - C5 with AGR 15:1 power rack & pinion, custom AME anti-sway bar and adjustable Strange Engineering coil-overs. Rear - AME triangulated four-bar suspension, custom AME anti-sway bar and adjustable Strange Engineering coil-overs. 9” Rear with Strange Engineering 3rd member and 31-spline axles.
Body - Made into a true roadster.
Side glass removed and doors capped off.
Custom door top trim made to match with the OE trim behind the seats.
Extensively modified windshield frame to remove the notch for the wing window and to fit much better than stock.
Custom inner fender panels were fabricated.
The roll hoops are secured by a cage structure that bolts to the chassis in 4 locations to provide rollover protection.
Fender-top trim was CNC machined to replicate the stock trim.
20+ feet of custom ¼” trim was made for accents in the engine compartment and interior.
5-series BMW headlights were utilized.
Custom carbon-fiber pieces were used extensively in the engine and interior compartments.
Wheels - Boyd Coddington “F09” Wheels and BF Goodrich G-Force T/A tires.
TheCorvette can out corner a Saleen S7 Twin Turbo, out brake a Porsche 911 GT3, and keep pace with a Ferrari F430 on the drag strip.

Glad you guys like the video.

Cool car, sounds just like mine. I didn't know 60s had wing windows!:cheers:

Neat car and I for one, liked the video!

Steve

I like the car alot and enjoyed the video. Not a big resto-mod fan but that car was well done and looks like a blast to drive :thumbs:

Love the car, but not the driver/host. Would prefer if it was left more functional, like with windows and a top. I also hate the excess. Build a car for a half million bucks and then beat it to death.

Tough crowd...

love that 3G Corvette
 

What a video. loved any minute of it. :woohoo:

The 60 Vette is beautiful and modified like that it is a dream car that's for sure. :thumbs:

Sorry but I love the orginals as they were built. If I wanted all that power, handling I could have it in a C6 along with AC, Cruise, power everything and my numbers flashed on my windshield.

Love the car and all it's excesses!:thumbs:

Half the fun of building one of these cars is being able to thrash it like this. I can guarantee you that none of my restomods EVER leave the garage without some tire being burnt off of them before they are returned. It is just so much fun when you have this much power available to use. I did not build the cars to cruise, I built them to have FUN with.:D




Regards, John McGraw

Cool car and loved the video. Art Morrison makes some great products and then shows how they perform. His 55 Chevy is a testament to that and now the Corvette, keep em coming! Old school design with modern functionality is :cool:

I personally hate people that spend tons of money and/or time building a total show queen and never push the gas pedal past half throttle. Art jumped in the car and did several hot laps himself, one of which included a spin when he went in too hot. If you build/buy a car that is a dream, why not enjoy it in whatever way you'd like?

I think the host rocks. Whether or not that's because I live with him, he's bigger than me, and he owns some really sharp chef knives is open to interpretation. :leaving:

Jim, you are really showing your ignorance. The car was appraised for nearly the amount he was offered for it, and he did indeed turn it down. Now, why would a car be appraised for that much if the paint and seams were as awful as you say? Or, why would it win the Grand Tourismo @ SEMA with it's "Stevie Wonder" paint job? How about this: Why don't you put down your own cars instead of trash-talking other people's. Sound good? Great, moving on.

I'm hoping videos like this will encourage more people to drive their cars and have fun. IMO, that's what they are there for. Drive and have fun!

:lurk:

Time to dust off the PS3 and play some Grand Turismo. Guess which car I'm going to be driving!

I LIKE it...& YES, I WOULD DRIVE IT...HARD.
 

...but Hey, that's just me...

I don't care much for just sitting under an umbrella, while people look at my car...or worrying about a speck of dust, raindrop, or even a stone chip or 2...

(BTW, if you can see the seams, or much of any other details about any of my cars, I'm either sleeping or refueling...LOL)

Performance cars are MEANT to be DRIVEN.
Period.

When you can combine classic styling with modern performance,
in such a sweet blend as we see here,
you have a WINNER, in my book anyway...

'Vintage' automobiles DO serve 2 useful purposes, however;
Gives the dust a place to land,
& keeps the 'collectors' & 'legends' in the grass,
OFF THE ROAD,
& OUT OF MY WAY...LOL

Lil' John

PS. I AM an 'old guy', over 50, but STILL love to RIP IT UP,
(just pick my spots better now...lol)
& I don't plan on quitting while I have breath,
& the means to do so...
Paul Newman was, & will always be, MY HERO.

:smash:

I saw Matt's interview on adamcarolla's carcast. He seems like a cool guy.

That was a very cool video! I wished I could have seen the motor and more of the interior in the video.

Well Said Callaway.

Matt's a really good guy. I've been friends with him for two years, and the whole Smoking Tire crew now lives together. He's a good guy, knows a frightening amount about cars, and can drive. After that podcast interview he nicknamed Adam "Tangent" because the conversation drifted more than a 16 yr old in a wet parking lot. But any listener of Adam's podcasts knows that.

3G Corvette
 

Beautiful car! Great video, wish I could have been behind the wheel! Art Morrison has done a wonderful job combining heritage, horsepower and handling. I love rodstorations, you get the classic looks with today's power and handling without all the battery draining electronics that are on my C5 and my wife's C6.

I agree wholeheartedly with Jim;
It would be great to see a 'walkaround', with everything opened up...

Lil' John
:woohoo:

WOW- So I'm guessing you were dropping by Byers shop when it was painted then or did you drop by the house when Art and I were building it? Way to trash-talk one of the most respected and high quality shops in the NW.

Thanks for the comments guys - it is a fun car and an exhaustive build that kinda snowballed out of control. Like Matt said on the video it has a 50/50 F/R weight distribution so it's very well balanced and just a kick to drive.

Where are the pictures of the build? That makes it more exciting. I personally like to see what you all started off with! :thumbs:

:iagree:
I second THAT request, Jim!!!
:iagree:
Would be SWEET to see this BEAST being 'born'...!!!
:iagree:

I saw the car at the shop and at Sema years ago. I never really paid much attention to it because I'm not a resto-mod fan. Someone posted here that it had a $30K paint job so when I saw it at GoodGuys this summer, I took a closer look. From 20 feet away you could see the seams that run from the inside of the headlight openings down to the grill opening and in the same area, the metallic was sprayed way too heavy, sagged and shows up as a dark area. I'd seen enough.
I never said a single work about Art's shop. I and many of my car builder buddies have bought many of his products and you're correct, they are the highest quality on the market.

Jim

Enjoyed the video and the build, thanks for sharing.

Since you are going to be at SEMA again this year, you might want to stay away from the North Hall entrance, if not you will be asked to give honest opinion on type of car(s) you don't like and what you don't like about them as well as quality...LOL

I've taken on task of quizzing people about quality of vehicles HRIA has selected to be Reception cars in both their Booth and at the front entrance to North Hall as part of the SEMA 2011 Opinion Leader Program.

So if you see an old man standing with a good looking Lady (20 years younger than me) with Lydia on her name tag at the North Hall entrance you might not want to stop and look at car(s) as you will be quized...:D

Having been invited, and going, to SEMA for the last few decades, I'll be happy to give my opinion. I've built, including paint, several nationally recognized cars so I feel qualified to judge the quality of ANY build.
In your avatar, which one is you? I'll keep my eye open for you. There are so many "booth babes" that I never get a look at their name tags so Lydia really isn't much of a help.:D
See ya in couple of weeks.:cheers:

Jim

Lydia is not a Booth Babe, she will standing with me near the North Hall entrance where the taxis drop off people.

I'm the good looking one with hat in the Avatar...:rofl:

They are both very attractive, in a "Deliverance" sort of way. Can you be more specific? :rofl::rofl:

The other one has a cap on...:rofl:

I'll be wearing my flat lander T-Shirt.:D

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...P5150016-1.jpg

I'll introduce myself.

Jim

Here are some pics-
http://www.artmorrison.com/gallery/m...g2_itemId=8373

A lot more pics-
http://public.fotki.com/CraigMorriso...vette_project/

This is what we started with-
http://images12.fotki.com/v155/photo...1010802-vi.jpg resale red with a lot of different colors underneath.

http://images49.fotki.com/v394/photo...SC03486-vi.jpgone of my favorite pics just before it went off to paint and body.

http://images12.fotki.com/v203/photo...MG_4561-vi.jpg
http://images110.fotki.com/v615/phot...65light-vi.jpg
http://images51.fotki.com/v278/photo...lightgg-vi.jpg

A few shots our photographer did for our catalog just after the car came back from SEMA

http://images32.fotki.com/v1060/phot...rison_B-vi.jpg And here's a screen shot that Polyphony Digital did for us for a possible catalog cover shot - pit road at Daytona.

Just wondering who sponsors A/C restorations such as this??

Thank you! Thats very :cool:

Back to the original post, thanks Zack for taking the time to post the video and pictures of the car. Certainly, restomods have their following and those folks are on this board, as well as folks that like other versions of these cars.

I like the car a lot. And I LOVE the TV show, The Car Show. PLEASE DO NOT CANCEL IT!!! I love the personalities and the dialog. It seems REAL to me, and not "produced" or "manufactured". I like the content and the variety of cars covered. I wish it was on more often. I have been recording and watching every episode on my DVR.

As for Matt Farah, he adds a great perspective to the show. Keep it up buddy!

I'm glad you like the show. Whether or not it gets cancelled is out of my control. I'm glad you like that selection of cars. Occasionally someone complains on FB there aren't enough cheap, American cars, or complain we're talking about cars normal people can't afford. I for one watch car shows to see the cars I can't afford. If I wanted to see a Taurus I could go outside.

I have no idea what is happening with the future of the show. We haven't heard word on a season 2, but the producers and network have made some strange choices that the fans are not that happy with (check our FB page for hilarious evidence). I hope it continues, as long as they fix several big issues we (me, Matt, car people) have had with it. It has a lot of potential, but it's like a teacher saying "You start this semester with a 'B'. It's yours to lose." and it seems they've lost a grade. Time will tell.

GREAT pics!
THANX for sharing!

does anyone have any idea what the color codes are for this car. It looks like grey with a touch of gold?

I thought the video was great!!!