[1]The Pro Street “movement”, if you’d like to call it that, encompassed thousands of show cars back in the Eighties. It included many well-done, professionally-modified machines, along with many others that were built in the garage, but the main hallmark was the wide tires and garish paint schemes designed to catch the eye and drag it away from everything else in the car show.
This 1985 Corvette [2] has all of the hallmarks of a true Pro Streeter – the bright yellow flames, chromed-out engine, nine-inch Ford rearend housing, and even the coil-over rear suspension and big meats riding on deep-dish rear wheels that are tucked into the wheelwells just a hair too much for our preference. The seller also states that the engine is a 427-cube big-block Chevrolet engine, but doesn’t provide much other information.
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Perhaps one of the most notable “Pro Street” attributes is the four-link rear suspension and 5.00 rear gears stuffed into the nine-inch housing. Really? Even with those tall tires, who could possibly make use of that insanely steep gear ratio, unless they’re racing from stoplight to stoplight? Especially seeing that it’s paired with a Turbo 400 three-speed non-overdrive transmission that’s sure to wind the tach up in a hurry.
The entire interior has been covered or wrapped in beige “Ultra Leather,” whatever that is. Each piece of the interior including the dash, steering wheel, console, and even the rollcage – which just might be a bit too much Ultra for us.
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Given that there are already 59 bids on the car, and it’s up over $15,000 with over five days to go in the auction as of this writing, there must be a market for cars like this. Has anyone been to a local car show lately? Is this the sort of machine that’s taking home trophies, or is it the nostalgia aspect that has this auction red-hot? Sound off in the comments…