Sanders Street Rods 59 Corvette

Posted On: November 9, 2021

Josh Sanders of Sanders Street Rods has built an incredible car and was considered for the prestigious “Battle of the Builders at this year’s SEMA Show. The talented young fabricator, at 24 years old used an Art Morrison Corvette C1 Chassis with Morrison IFS and MultiLink IRS as the platform for this build. 

The other parts used in this car’s construction reads like the who’s who of the automotive aftermarket:

  • Wilwood brakes: 14″ rotors should stop this car on a dime. We almost exclusively use Wilwood products on all our projects.
  • Classic Instruments: Classic instruments gauges are one of the highest quality gauges you can get and there direct fit series made it the obvious choice. We were able to customize them and even order a matching three gauge set for the engine bay which I will go over later. The electronic gauges will pair with the outputs from the ECU of the LS7 to give a modern style gauges with the classic look. 
  • Chevrolet performance: The LS7, T56 Transmission and ECU all work together so well with the chassis and produce a consistent powerful drivetrain. They make the ECU very user friendly and easy to hook up with a basic understanding of engine electrical. We have used the LS7 on other projects and after tuning they produce over 600HP… plenty for this little car. 600HP and a 6 speed will make banging through these gears an absolute blast. The chassis and the drivetrain make or break a build like this and no expenses were spared to make sure they seamlessly work together. 
  • Modern Driveline: Supplied the clutch components and knowledge to make marrying the engine and transmission smooth. They have supplied us with many transmission parts and the know-how on this project and many others. They machine their own adapters for using a modern slave cylinder for the aftermarket transmissions.
  • PPG: We used PPG paint products on this vehicle because of their high quality, beautiful colors and workability. The DBC system and high solids DC clear layout well and cut and buff flat, not to mention the countless hours we put into the body work of this car. The car should be in paint next month and I can supply pictures at that time if requested. This car is sure to turn some heads when that deep black shiny paint job. 
  • Vintage Air: Compact mini evaporator, control options and hose kits make this the easy choice. We used a couple of there dash vents which look great in the custom center console. Not much to see on the car from Vintage air but I guarantee you will feel that cold air on a hot day cruising around!
  • American Autowire: Their highway 22 kit is what we use in all our projects. It has enough circuits for this car to power the ECU, power windows, a stereo etc. The kits are easy to follow and adaptable to most any requirements. The fuse panel is set up in a way you can easily organize and route the wires to make it look neat and clean even in the areas that are not as visible. 
  • JL audio: Undeniably makes some of the best sounding speakers there a custom made areas in the car to house all the speakers. 
  • Lokar: Made a few parts for the car from a beautiful hood latch cable and handle to the E brake cables we regularly use their products around the shop. 
  • Paragon Corvette: Supplied all the necessary reproduction parts for the project from trim pieces to taillights. All the parts we receive from Paragon are good quality and fit well. 
  • Evod Industries: Supplied the beautiful machined billet wheels and steering wheel. These components will really set the car apart, I think the pictures will say the rest.
  • Flaming river: Supplied the beautiful steering column, firewall support, and steering joints. They build high quality steering components with unmatched quality. We regularly use their products and were happy with the fit of their polished corvette steering column. The salesman Kevin is very helpful and always makes things right.
  • Strange Engineering: Supplied the coilovers and the Center section that Art Morison uses with a Strange with Tru Trac posi. All great proven products we use on high end builds. 
  • Magnaflow: We plan to use polished stainless Magnaflows for the best sound and performance paired with fully removable polished stainless exhaust. 
  • Ultimate Headers: We used their LS7 headers which are absolutely stunning. The detail in the cast flanges and polished couplers are impressive. 

Please click the link below to watch the YouTube video that goes over the car in detail and provides some insight behind the scenes at Sanders Street Rods: