The door panels of EX-5023 are like those of an early fourth-generation Corvette, thus differ from those used by 1990-1995 Corvettes and ZR1s.
EX-5023 has a PhaseII engine “with Simplex chains and different castings. The castings are fairly rough and have no Corvette identification. There are very few production LT5 pieces that will interchange with it.
Henderson purchased a 1987 Corvette with the blue exterior and interior color scheme to get the interior and everything else needed such as trim, the blue-tinted glass top, instrument panel and small under-hood components.
“The top fit like a glove on the first try,” he said. “The geometry of the tub was not compromised when they tried to crush it with the front end loader.”
Other facts regarding this car that Henderson noted is that the build sheet for it refers to it as “KOH” and it has a PhaseII engine “with Simplex chains and different castings. The castings are fairly rough and have no Corvette identification. There are very few production LT5 pieces that will interchange with it… it is not an engine you ever want to run for very long — certainly no more than 4,000 miles due to its delicate internals; they are
very expensive to rebuild.”
Here is how EX-5023 appeared with the damaged body panels removed and ready to go to the frame shop.
Photo -Brett Henderson
Henderson left no doubt he is not going to be driving this Corvette, “No driving on the open road for this PhaseII LT5... Just on and off the enclosed trailer… just one big conversation piece,” he said. EX-5023 is currently residing at the Lingenfelter Collection where it was photographed for this story.
The Corvette ZR1 went into production for 1990, but only as a coupe. Characteristics which distinguished it from other Corvette coupes included its wider tail section, 11-inch-wide rear wheels, its exclusive convex rear fascia with four square-shaped tail lamps and a center high-mounted stop lamp installed at the top of the hatch glass instead of between the tail lamps.
At this point EX-5023 was well on its way to being a functioning car again.
Photo - Brett Henderson
