Jeff Allen's automotive roots go back to his childhood, when he helped out in the family auto shop. Now he's a well-known name in car circles, with a show on CNBC ("Car Chasers" and a podcast ("Skidmarks") with a huge following. His Flat 12 Gallery has produced some incredible celebrity and show vehicles. I got lucky and spoke with him in 2017 about the car he “could have fun with," a 1963 Ford Falcon with 2014 5.0-liter Coyote engine that he calls Ronin.
All images courtesy Jeff Allen/Flat 12 Gallery/Coyne PR
But putting a modern engine into a classic/vintage vehicle is nothing new. For the 2018 SEMA Show, Allen knew he had to step up his game and “do something special—never been done before." A walk through “one of his secret weapons" (Copart) gave him an idea—take the chassis from a 2013 Chevrolet Grand Sport Corvette and put the body off a 1963 Volvo 122S Amazon. He calls this car V06, and it is simply amazing.A Special Car for a Special Cause
The Donor Vehicles Used for the Build
The Corvette Allen selected as one donor car for the build is a 2013 Grand Sport Corvette with some driver-side body damage. During teardown he and his team realized they got lucky with it because it has the Z51 suspension package. Since the Z51 package is basically a competition suspension, nothing was needed other than to make sure everything was in working order. The only changes on the chassis were the addition of big BAER brakes and Forgeline Wheels.The other donor car selected for the build was a 1963 Volvo 122S Amazon that was in near perfect condition. All that was used of this car was (most of) the body and some of the interior. Although it ran perfectly, the Volvo's original 85 horsepower drivetrain (engine, trans, driveshaft, rear-end) had to go since big power was planned.
The End Result
“The Ultimate Enthusiast Car"
I can't wait to see what he dreams up for next year.