Ever since the limited edition '96 Grand Sports were announced, we've dreamed of the day when we might own one. One of only 810 coupes produced, GS #633 is an awesome automobile in every respect! The LT4 engine is perfect for the street, providing gobs of power, plenty of torque, and responds well to performance tuning.

We recently took the opportunity to have the entire car repainted by the expert craftsmen at Burke's Corvette in Orlando, Florida. All the original decal tape stripes were removed and masterfully replaced with painted Arctic White stripes over a new Admiral Blue base. The whole shebang was then covered in multiple coats of hand-rubbed clear for a baby-butt smooth finish.

No more wax build-up along the tape edges or nicks in those famous hash \\ marks. From a distance it looks just like the original factory Grand Sport paint job, but up close you notice the blue is a bit deeper, the white is a tad brighter, the stripes are razor sharp, and the reflective shine is brilliant (especially after a few fresh coats of Zaino).

But of course, just looking good wasn't enough so the was treated to a healthy dose of bolt-on performance goodies. Our first dyno test verified our LT4's oomph with a very respectable 320.3 RWHP and a 13.2/112 MPH at the strip (yeh, I need lots of practice!). But of course, we still wanted a bit more...

We then installed CNC heads and intake manifold plus a Competition Cams roller camshaft. No 1/4 mile runs just yet, but a dyno test yielded 364.3 RWHP and 358.9 ft/lbs torque! That equates to over 428 HP at the flywheel using a 15% correction factor! Not bad, but we think we can still do better...

Finally, we pulled the motor and stroked it to a mighty 396 cubic inches using quality forged bottom end components, installed a Forenza aluminum flywheel, Spec stage two clutch, 58mm throttle body, aluminum radiator, and blueprinted the ZF-6. We are still tweaking but 419 RWHP doesn't sound too bad, does it?

We are active members of the Central Florida Corvette Association (CFCA), the largest (and the best, IMHO) Corvette Club in Florida. When you find yourself in Orlando, if you see a blue Corvette with a huge white stripe zip by and a couple of folks grinning like wild Cheshire cats, be sure to return our wave! Oh yeah, I'm the CFCA webmaster, too (go figure).

I am also the webmaster @ rogerscorvette.com for Roger's Corvette Center here in sunny Orlando, Florida.

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