1973 Corvette Mako Shark Found in Field and Promptly Fixed Up

Sitting in a field without a front clip or rear end, this 1973 Corvette Mako Shark has since been fully restored.

As most Corvette fans are well aware, the Mako Shark was a GM concept that first surfaced way back in 1962, previewing a number of design elements that wound up appearing on production versions of the car later on. Otherwise known as the XP-755 concept, the Mako Shark I would change quite a bit in the ensuing years before the Mako Shark II (or XP-830) debuted at the 1965 New York Auto Show, previewing the C3 Corvette‘s styling changes. Car customizer Joe Silva and Joel Rosen of Baldwin-Motion later teamed up to create the Phase III GT performance package that gave the C3 that show car look, but this 1973 Corvette Mako Shark featured in a recent video from Barcroft Cars wound up sitting in a field somewhere, somehow.

The owner of this 1973 Corvette Mako Shark, John, remembered seeing the original concept car in various magazines when he was just a kid, and always dreamed of owning one. He’s also a big time all-around car guy, and is always on the lookout for old vehicles sitting around while he’s driving through town. That’s precisely how he came across this amazing find, too – he spotted it sitting in a field missing its rear end and front clip, but he still recognized exactly what it was.

John wound up bringing the C3 home and treating it to a total makeover that involved 1,700 hours of work. He found an old SCCA racer that he used as a parts car, but he still managed to keep it as close to original as possible. Some of the parts had to be recreated from scratch, however, including many of the brackets and the Mako Shark emblems.

There are some modern parts present, however, including an updated air conditioning system, electric fuel pump, and a more modern power steering system to make it a bit more manageable and comfortable to drive. There’s also a set of 1980s style seats inside the cabin, but these are all things that only the discerning eye would catch. The end result is obviously an attention grabbing machine like no other, but we’re just glad to see it back on the road again.

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