Sometimes, the internet rabbit hole leads far deeper than one might imagine – who would think that a grainy, short YouTube video demonstrating the “finesses” of a custom C3 Corvette show car would lead all the way back to 1976 and as far away as Norway? But that’s just where it took us…

It seems that an old issue of Hot Rod showing the GM concept Mako II Corvette inspired Norwegian Einar Valsjø to build his own. According to The Amazo Effect, he didn’t start with just any run of the mill C3 either; the car started out as a 1969 L88! By 1976, the first iteration of the car was complete, but over time the car continued to evolve (though not to become any more tasteful).

A 1983 garage fire destroyed the car, but Einar rebuilt from the ashes, and that’s apparently where we find him in the video above, adding touches of automation to the car, like a roof that raises automatically when the doors are opened, rear window louvers that operate via remote control, a rear bumper that extends and retracts, and “gills” that conceal driving lights when they aren’t in operation.

The multi-hued paint job reputedly consumed ten gallons of laquer, and it’s clear from the second video that it was the labor of many hours spent masking and airbrushing. The rework was completed in 1985, and the car is still being exhibited at car shows today, though our Norwegian is not quite up to par and we have to rely on a Google translation for certain facts… Nevertheless, it’s interesting where the trail of this custom Corvette took us!