Supercharged C2: A 1963 Corvette with LT4 Punch

Over the years, Pat Bourke has owned a lot of Corvettes, but never the iconic 1963 model. Until now.

His mid-year, split-window Vette was finished by Zac Love’s Love Kustoms shop in Burkeville, Virginia. Among the vehicle’s many highlights is the potent Chevrolet Performance LT4 crate engine* under the hood.

“The LT thing is hot, you just get so much dependable power,” Love said of the LT4 during this spring’s Goodguys Griot’s Garage North Carolina Nationals in Raleigh.

Indeed, the engine is rated at 650 horsepower and 650 lb-ft. of torque. It utilizes a cast-aluminum block with six-bolt, cross-bolted main caps, forged internals and a 1.7L Eaton R1740 TVS supercharger producing upwards of nine pounds of boost.

Yet the owner finds all that power easy to harness, especially when he is on the autocross course.

“We could’ve gone with an LS, but the [LT4]’s got 650/650 coming out of the shop,” Bourke said. “And to have a nice Z06 engine in it – that doesn’t hurt anything.”

The engine made its debut in the seventh-generation Corvette Z06, further adding to its performance pedigree.

Bourke hails from Virginia Beach and is retired from Blackstone Private Equity Group in New York, having commuted from the Old Dominion State to the Big Apple for much of his career.

He’s also a longtime automotive enthusiast. His first Corvette was a 1972 LT1 model built by a gentleman who worked at the Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Bourke has also owned 1978 and 1982 L82 Corvettes, and he has a 1969 Camaro with a 502 cu.-in. Big-Block crate engine.*

“I’m a GM guy,” he said.

After Bourke found the 1963 Corvette, he took it to Love Kustoms to continue the impressive work that had already been started by Thunder Alley Hot Rods in Harleysville, Pennsylvania.

Bourke was introduced to Zac Love through a fellow automotive enthusiast who built Bourke’s house.

“These guys do great work,” he said of Love’s shop. “They’re precise, they’re picky. It’s everything you want.”

Love utilized a Chevrolet Performance Connect & Cruise Crate Powertrain System in the Corvette and selected a package that paired the LT4 with a Super Magnum six-speed manual transmission. The transmission features a 700 lb.-ft. torque-capacity limit and is designed for retrofit applications like Bourke’s Corvette.

For Love, the challenge of utilizing the LT4 in a small car isn’t fitment, but rather where to put everything.

“The motor itself doesn’t take a lot more space than the LS does,” he explained. “The most common thing you see is plumbing. With the supercharger, just finding somewhere to put all those hoses that are necessary is the biggest challenge. But once you figure it out, it’s really just plug and play after that.”

The Corvette sits on a Roadster Shop chassis and Love’s team has made some alterations to the suspension with Ridetech coilovers. They also narrowed the rear of the car to allow for wider wheels and tires. The Corvette rides on Michelin rubber paired with Schott wheels measuring 19x8 in the front and 20x12 in the rear. Baer brakes provide the stopping power.

The exterior is finished in a House of Kolor paint called Candy Burgundy, which actually changes shades depending on lighting. Bux Customs in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, did the work on the tan leather interior.

According to Love, the challenge with every custom car is providing a unique personality. 

“Pro Touring is cool, but it’s a ‘63 Corvette,” he said. “It needs some class; it needs some style. So, we want a timeless look – something that’s not going to be trendy and go out of style next year.”

Love Kustoms is located in Burkeville, Virginia, and specializes in high-end customs across a variety of manufacturers. The business started with Love as a one-man, backyard shop. Nine years later, it has grown into a 10,000 square-foot facility where multiple projects are always taking place.

“We like to do anything that’s custom, unique, over-the-top,” Love said. “Detail and style are really what we want to focus on, and that’s why we put our twist on this car.”

Love is a Virginia native, originally hailing from Powhatan, and says cars have been in his DNA since he was a kid. He carried on that passion when he studied mechanical engineering at Old Dominion University.

Today, he’s turned his expertise into a successful business that turns out vehicles like Bourke’s LT4-powered Corvette. At every show it attends, the car draws a crowd.

“It gets a lot of attention,” Bourke said.

It’s easy to understand why.

Keep watching The BLOCK for more Chevrolet Performance builds from shows nationwide.

*Because of their effect on a vehicle’s emissions performance, these engines are intended exclusively for use in competition vehicles. These engines are designed and intended for use in vehicles operated exclusively for competition: in racing or organized competition on courses separate from public roads, streets or highways. Installation or use of these engines on a vehicle operated on public roads, streets or highways is likely to violate U.S., Canadian, and state and provincial laws and regulations related to motor vehicle emissions.