Corvette Online has had the pleasure to feature several cars from the 2014 Corvette Funfest hosted by Mid America Motorworks in Effingham, Illinois. For those of you who have never been, we highly recommend you make it out this year as it is quite the sight to see. Aside from the tour, various vendors, product and install tents, entertainment, industry guests, and awesome food, there is a sea of Corvettes like nothing you have ever seen before. Ranging from the earliest C1s to the newest C7s–and hopefully this year–a few of the 2015 Z06s!

One of the great things about the car culture as a hobby is that it allows you to involve your significant other or even the whole family (for those that love cars with a back seat). While this hobby attracts a high percentage of males, there is always a spare seat for your loved one, unlike many other high-performance hobbies.

 

A Fresh Perspective

For this feature however, we met a husband and wife whose Corvette interest is a little more unique and we would like to pay some attention to the female branch of this Corvette family. While sharing can be a beautiful thing, the Scotts choose to each drive their own car. Accordingly, we’d like to introduce the owner of this beautiful 2008 C6, Karen Scott, out of Canon City, Colorado.

While we are on the topic of introductions, we should also introduce “Brat,” Scott’s Corvette. Scott doesn’t keep the name to herself, as you can see it sitting proudly on the back of her car. One of our first questions to Scott was regarding the name, and she responded, “My car is named ‘Brat.’ That name was given to me by my father when I was a young girl. My father was a truck driver for over 30 years and while he has since passed away, he is my copilot whenever I take to the open road myself.”

We can see that Scott’s father made an impression on her in several ways. In addition to him riding shotgun in spirit, Scott also installed the CB Radio shown below with a custom mount between the seats. Not only can she communicate with her husband when he’s driving their other Corvette, Scott mentioned they have really come in handy on road trips for speaking to truck drivers. She has been able to avoid many sections of bad roads and weather thanks to communicating with road-smart truck drivers, while even avoiding a speed trap or two!

• 
• 

The CB Radio antenna mounts just off center from the airbrushed Corvette emblem and official title.

One of our favorite leading questions at Corvette Online is to ask the Corvette’s owner if they remember how their love affair started with Corvettes, and to elaborate should they still remember. Not surprisingly, we have yet to find an owner who doesn’t recall a defining moment of when it all started.

We asked Scott about her memory and without containing her smile she explained, “I just loved racing and Corvettes when I was a teenager. My brother Ron Kokofsky, was a NASCAR driver back then, so I learned to love cars and speed from a young age.”

She continued, “I have been into Corvettes for years. As a matter of fact, there is currently a C4, C5, C6, and a C7 all within my family. I definitely have a Corvette family.” There aren’t many things we like to hear more than a story about a family that shares a passion for the Corvette. Assuming they live within driving distance, that must be one gorgeous driveway during family functions!

 

Each time we set up for another shot of the car, we seemed to notice another detail that had previously gone unnoticed. There were custom painted emblems, Corvette lettering filled in with a contrasting color, and even some amazing features within the flames themselves. Amidst trying to find any last characteristics, we decided to ask Scott a few questions to better understand her past and future plans for her customized C6.

Corvette Online: What’s your favorite part or modification?

Karen Scott: “My favorite part would have to be the overall design and how the paint turned out.”

CO: What part would you like to change if you were to rebuild it?

KS: “Simply put, I would add more horsepower. I may look into doing that in the future.”

CO: What makes your car or your story unique?

KS: “My car is simply a driver, it has around 60,000 miles on it now. It has been up and down the East Coast through states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania. It’s also been down throughout the Southwest states like California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and most of the states in between. Basically as long as the weather is good, I’ll drive it. I love taking long road trips and Corvettes are meant to be driven, not stored in a garage or carried around on a trailer.”

CO: What made you customize your car into what it is today?

KS: “I decided to buy this C6 and complete the custom features since I have always wanted my own special Corvette, unique to me. Having that special look and lots of horsepower is what motivates me to build and drive a car like this.”

 

One Of A Kind

The paint is certainly the first thing you notice on this particular Corvette, as it is not everyday that you find a realistic flame airbrushing job on a C6, not to mention flames painted in purple and blue. Scott also opted to have the taillights, brake lights, corner markers, and third brake light all smoked black. The brake calipers were painted in a deep purple, yet maintain the white Corvette lettering, a very subtle yet stylish touch.

We reached out to Robert “Cope” Thompson Jr., of COPE Design, regarding the custom paint work on the C6, and he was more then happy to fill us in on some of the details that went into this Vette’s eye-catching color scheme. “COPE Design had a blast working on Scott’s corvette. It’s always a challenge when doing a Corvette for a woman, since most of the time you think it’s going to be a ‘Barbie’ corvette. Karen Scott loved my airbrushing and flames so she wanted some true fire on the front flowing to the sides. Easy, normally, but not on a white car with dark colors.”

Thompson continued, “So I called up my dear friend, Ken at Badger Air Brush to get a few new guns for the job. A few special purples and blues were mixed in-house, using BASF Carizzma bases and dyes that we dubbed ‘Viking Purple’ and ‘Conner Blue’. After coming up with the paint colors, it was time to give the car a fresh base coat of BASF white. ”

With the prep-work, mixing, and base coats complete, the talented work ensued. Thompson explained, “Now it was time to get into the booth, crank up the music and get to airbrushing. To get into my zone, I just look at the car’s shape and the way the body flows. I started with Viking Purple and loosely laid out the design, then worked tighter in from there. I followed up with the Conner Blue, adding depth and contrast.”

“We didn’t stop there, we added the same colors to the brake calipers and rear diffuser. We tinted the taillights and side markers with our COPE Design tint, then color-matched the engine covers to match the exterior.”

• 
• 

Ultimately, this is definitely one distinct-looking C6. Whether or not you would do a similar paint scheme on our Corvette, you have to appreciate Scott’s desire to make her Vette her own creation. Scott expressed much gratitude with the folks that helped her through building “Brat” and would like to extend a special thanks to Robert “Cope” Thompson Jr. at COPE Designs for the airbrushing as well as Corvette Center of Colorado Springs.

The Brass Tacks

At the time of the 2014 Corvette Funfest, the car had also been outfitted with racing headers and a Vortex Ram Air system from Breathless Racing, as well as a great-sounding Corsa exhaust system. Scott shared with us that she purchased the car new in 2008 for around $60,000 and has truly enjoyed every minute of owning it since that day. While every Corvette owner appreciates what GM rolls out of the production plant in Bowling Green, some folks just need to put a bit of their own spin into it.

Accordingly, Scott has put another $10,000 into her C6 over the course of three years between the engine and styling upgrades. The work on her 2008 concluded in January of 2013, but she wouldn’t rule out any potential additions in the future.

When Scott strapped her C6 to the dynamometer, it produced 406 rwhp, which equates to about 487 hp at the crank. The LS3 was said to produce 430 hp from the factory, and Scott’s increase in power is all a result of the bolt-on breathing improvements for the engine. When we asked Scott if she planned on doing anything else engine-specific, she told us that while she has no concrete plans to do so, she is interested in having the motor built to produce more power in the future. While there is certainly a limit of what you’d want to do to a car that sees this type of use and everyday driving, there are a lot of options available today that can add safe, reliable power for most any application.

• 
• 

The Vortex Ram Air system helps this LS3 with breathability while the engine covers carry on the brilliant white-hot paint scheme of this C6.

For those unfamiliar with the pivotal change on the 2008 Corvettes, this was actually the first year that the LS3 engine was bolted into America’s sports car. The LS2 was certainly no slouch, but its replacement generated a bit more power and had some improved oiling characteristics amongst other more technical changes.

While finding out the truth can sometimes sting, Corvette Online always strives to get the full story. Therefore, we ask the owner of every car we feature if they have any knowledge of the car being involved in an accident, or “an incident” if you’re into road racing. The stories have ranged from minor acts of vandalism or negligence, up to the car being nearly totaled and in need of extensive repair. Luckily, Scott’s C6 has escaped all such havoc and maintains all of its factory parts.

We really enjoyed getting to meet the Scott’s at Corvette Funfest 2014. We found it very cool that a husband and wife team could enjoy the same hobby together while still maintaining their independence and originality as their cars are each suited to their own personal tastes. We certainly hope the Scotts are still running about the country in their Vettes, and we look forward to meeting up with them in the future and checking out Brat’s other half. After all, the only thing better then having one Corvette in your garage is having two!