As a youngster, Mike started out driving karts and instantly became addicted to hard cornering and the lateral g-forces that accompany the practice. That foundation of performance driving carried on into adulthood and a ’65 Corvette convertible he purchased back in 1982 with the intention of building it as a street-legal road racer. Moving forward as far as he could on the ground-up restoration, Mike needed help getting the body off the frame, so he invited a few friends over for a presumed party with complimentary food and beer, only when his guests arrived they were informed no beer until they helped lift the body off the frame and onto a cart he built so he could strip and prep for paint.

With the body stripped and wider fenders glassed on, it was time for a follow-up gathering to get the body back on the frame. This time the party attendees knew the drill and were more than willing to help, and of course consume more food, beer, and participate in a few hours of bench racing.

The ’65 was moving along, albeit rather slowly, then got sidelined when Mike came upon a ’68 Corvette SCCA GT1 race car for sale—it was a complete and running car he just couldn’t pass up. A few years of racing and autocrossing the car was fun, but the neglected ’65 still needed attention. With that, the ’68 was sold with all intentions to focus back on the ’65 but family life, raising three kids, and a day job left little time to work on the project. Then unexpected life challenges, including cancer and poor health, meant the ’65 would once again lose traction, so Mike did the unthinkable: he sold the car he swore he’d never sell.

Years later, Mike was scrolling through a Corvette group on Facebook when he came across a ’65 Corvette Grand Sport tribute race car similar to what Mike had originally planned for the ’65 he sold years prior—yeah, that one. The seller had raced a ’62 Corvette and his son, who had died a couple years ago, raced this ’65 alongside his dad. The car was sitting in the garage taking up space except for the occasional cruise, which his neighbors weren’t always thrilled about due to the car’s side pipes that featured the “muffler-delete” option.

Mike couldn’t resist and purchased the Corvette. A sudden broken heel bone and torn Achilles tendon delayed the pickup date on the car he was so excited to bring home. With his doctor’s clearance and the help of his sons, they put Mike in the back seat, propped up his leg on a bag of ice and they were on their way to pick up his new toy. “Due to my foot being in a ‘boot,’ my sons got to drive the car before I did,” Mike laughs.

As Mike’s health improved, he started with his own modifications on the car, which started by replacing the three-disc race clutch with a more streetable Ram single-disc clutch. From there, he built a small-block with larger cubic inches and less compression than the 13:1 engine it came with. “That thing required race gas that costs about $14 a gallon,” Mike relays. “That got old real quick.”

Kent at K&S Engines helped build a new 421ci small-block that comes in at 11:1 compression and makes nearly 600 hp on pump gas/AvGas mix. He updated the drivetrain with the now-popular TREMEC TKX five-speed transmission to offer more highway driveability to the rearend’s 4:11 gear ratio. “Now the car is a great street driver and is also competitive on track days,” Mike states.

The stock chassis was upgraded with fully welded seams, KYB double-adjustable shocks, and offset rear trailing arms. Keeping true to its racing heritage, white painted 15-inch American Racing Torq Thrust wheels reside on all four corners as do the GM 11-inch disc brakes armed with four-piston calipers. Old-school manual brakes get the job done as does the stock manual steering arrangement.

The cockpit is a mostly stock situation with the factory gauges accompanied by AutoMeter dials for more accurate engine info and a shift light for spot-on gear changes. The aluminum Kirky racing seats covered in red tweed play well with the red vinyl dash, door panels, and faded red carpet. The red Simpson safety harness is anchored to a chromoly rollbar installed by 3R Racing out of Englewood, Colorado, and the onboard fire suppression is still intact from its race days. The stock radio and front speakers are present but are no match for the burley-sounding small-block and highly vocal 4-inch side pipes.

The stock body was treated to a set of time-honored fender flares installed by the previous owner prior to applying the Grand Sport–influenced blue and white racing-themed paintjob that gives this Corvette a historical nod to the innovative racing mind of the great Zora Arkus-Duntov.

“I’ve since retired the car from road course racing to a simpler life of cruising and the occasional autocross and local track day,” Mike explains. “And I plan to keep the car looking just how it did back in its racing days. The previous owner allowed me to keep their son’s name on the door for as long as I wish. And honestly, I’m honored to pay tribute as I’m sure he drove the hell out of this car.”