by Gabrielle DeSantis

Designed by a former Hot Wheels employee, this strange 1973 Chevy Corvette wagon could be yours for just $20,000. Of all the “one of a kind” cars on the market, this may very well be the cheapest one available. But there are a few quirks and kinks, one of which is that the car hasn’t been roadworthy since the 90s. It’d be an intense project car, and wildly expensive, but perhaps you’d want to bring this piece of Chevrolet history back to museum quality.

What makes this 1973 Chevy Corvette wagon so special?

Let’s start by stating the obvious: it’s a shooting brake. That means it’s a station wagon with just two doors, an elongated hatchback if you will. And that rear end is entirely custom glass and metalwork, built from the ground up. And one can’t help but notice the aggressive six headlamps that’d surely blind oncoming traffic. But hey, it’s unique.

That’s what Harry Bradley, the designer, and fabricator of this piece, was going after. A custom Chevy Corvette that didn’t sacrifice the ability to turn the front wheels for style. Most modified Corvettes of the era had tires that were too large and suspension that was too low, which caused a plethora of drivability issues.

Harry Bradley himself is just as interesting as the car he designed. Born in 1939, Harry contracted polio at an early age, paralyzing him from the waist down. But that didn’t prohibit him from drawing and designing, graduating from the College of Wooster, and attending Pratt Institute before getting hired by GM.

Harry’s tenure with GM didn’t last long, but in that time he played a part in designing the Dodge Detora, a strange cab over engine truck concept. Afterward, he moved on to Matell and designed some of the very first Hotwheels branded cars. After leaving Matell, thinking Hotwheels wouldn’t be successful, he taught at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena California for 35 years.

According to GVWire, The car wasn’t designed for Harry, he was hired by Mike Betterton, who gave the instructions to build a drivable custom Corvette. The whole project cost $25,000 and took three years to perfect, but there’s a reason it’s going for just $20,000.

What happened to this Corvette wagon?

In 1997, this Chevy Corvette wagon got into an accident, mangling the front end. It could’ve been the back end, which would’ve totaled the car. But since then it hasn’t been drivable, sitting for nearly 25 years. The Craigslist ad notes that the front headlight assembly was salvaged, and the only custom job to the Corvette is the body.

Underneath, there’s still the same #350 block engine and four-speed manual transmission, which will need to be swapped for new ones. And returning the front end to its former glory may not even be worth it. But after the restoration, the car could very well be a museum piece and sell for six figures.

Or you could keep it, drive around feeling unique. Well, almost unique. I hate to burst your bubble, but this isn’t the only classic Corvette that’s been turned into a wagon.

This isn’t the only custom Corvette wagon out there

We put “one of a kind” in quotations for a reason. Because while this particular Corvette wagon is the only one with six headlamps, there are other Corvette wagons out this. The trend started with Chuck Miller, who had been commissioned to build a C3 Corvette wagon by a rock and roll drummer. They already owned the C3, but struggled to get the drums in.

Chuck Miller’s design, however, didn’t have a usable hatch. That meant stuffing the drums through the side doors, a difficult, but possible task. However, in 1976 (three years after Harry’s Corvette wagon), John Greenwood hatched a similar idea. Only this time, he’d use a later generation, make sure the hatch was usable, and refine the aesthetics. Chuck Miller’s roofline looked a bit wonky, whereas Greenwood made a point to slope the roof following the original Corvette roofline.

There are also plenty of modern-day interpretations of a Chevy Corvette shooting brake, but none hold a candle to the absurdity of the Corvette wagon designed by Harry Bradley. And more than that, neither of them is for sale. You can be the one to rescue this odd commodity for just $20,000, as well as the restoration expenses (I’d assume that’s another $10k).

So if you have an excess of cash and a bit of DIY knowledge, this could be the perfect project. Or it could be a total money pit. You decide.

RELATED: 7 Ways to Cheaply Restore and Maintain a Classic Car

The post This Custom Corvette Wagon Can Be Yours for $20,000 appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

by Gabrielle DeSantis

There’s no denying that Hondas, particularly Civics, make excellent tuner cars. They’re simple, cheap, and easy to tweak. But as cars get more techie, people may worry that the days of non-factory tunes are over. Well, fear not, for this one ECU trick can boost the output of your 2022 Honda Civic by 34 horsepower.

How do you tune a 2022 Honda Civic?

If you know anything about tuning modern Hondas, then you’ll have heard of Hondata already. But for the new kids in the class let’s briefly go over it. Hondata is a device that allows you to tweak the little details, such as air to fuel ratios. It plugs into your car and your computer, but you don’t have to be a supergenius coder to use one.

Hondata FlashPro systems are built to tune your specific car and come with certain presets. And they work on almost all Hondas and Acuras made after 1992, with varying degrees of complexity. They’re capable of turning cars like the Civic Touring into Civic Si rivals.

Obviously, you can calibrate rev limits and throttle inputs yourself, but consult an expert to learn which tunes won’t break your car. Or just go to a dealership and have them install it for anywhere between $100 and $1,000. And be sure you buy the Hondata system rather than the Hondata Race system, as the latter is only legal on race tracks. And if you live in California, tuned engines and modified code will be caught by the new emissions tests.

If you live in Cali, then you can’t tune your 2022 Civic just yet. But there are other CARB (California Air Resources Board) approved Hondata systems that can go in the car. However, if you’re anywhere else, and don’t mind the liability, then you can tune your 2022 Honda Civic. Purchase the Hondata system here, plug it into your OBD2 reader and a laptop, and get tuning!

How much power will you get in your 2022 Honda Civic?

The 2022 Honda Civic EX’s 1.5L turbocharged engine is advertised with 180 horsepower and 177 lb-ft of torque. But after being put on the dyno, the stock Civic only churned out 162 hp and 163 lb-ft. Before you cry false advertising, that isn’t true. The engine may produce 180 horsepower, but when hooked up to the drivetrain and gearbox it’ll lose a few horses. This new Hondata tune, however, gets them all back and goes even further.

The tune will add 34 hp and a whopping 50 lb-ft of torque to the car, getting it up to 194 hp and 213 lb-ft. But even that’s only the beginning, as Hondata will continue to tinker the tune to squeeze every ounce of power from that engine. Who knows, maybe they’ll crack the 200 hp mark.

Features of the 2022 Honda Civic

Whether you decide to beef up the power or keep your Civic stock, there are still a bundle of goodies you get. Inside the new, subtly styled Honda Civic EX there’s blindspot monitoring, a powered sunroof, a plethora of driving assistants. Automatic braking, lane keep assist, and adaptive cruise control just to name a few.

The Honda Civic EX costs $24,500, but if you’re looking for the base model, which comes with an entirely different engine, you’ll only pay $21,700 Provided, the Civic LX doesn’t come with the same amenities the EX does, nor does it have a Hondata tune available. How much power they’ll be able to squeeze out of that 2.0L non-turbocharged engine is to be determined, but what’s clear is that tuning is alive and well for the next generation of Honda Civics.

RELATED: The Easiest Way to Make a Honda Civic Type R Go Faster

The post Yep, You Can Even Tune a 2022 Honda Civic appeared first on MotorBiscuit.