While attending the 2014 Corvette Funfest, hosted by Mid America Motorworks, we were fortunate enough to meet up with Rollie Purifoy, owner of Purifoy Chevrolet. We first noticed the awesomely clean and customized C7 he had brought to the festival accompanied by a matching diesel pusher RV. We noticed that the inside of the RV is decorated in the same white, silver, and red color scheme as the outside, has pin-striping well placed on the exterior, and even a Corvette emblem sitting proudly on the front; quite the setup!

Upon admiring the car, we began chatting with Purifoy and ended up talking for over an hour. There is so much history between Purifoy Chevrolet, Rollie Purifoy, and his father, you could really get the sense that he is truly passionate about what he does everyday. At Corvette Online, we love to see that kind of passion and dedication in people, especially when it relates to something the we all love so much. While the cars are great, the experiences just wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t for the people involved.

Purifoy

Purifoy Chevrolet is located in Fort Lupton, CO and will be celebrating 55 years of operation this coming January. Jay Gross at Purifoy Chevrolet was happy to explain, “Purifoy and the dealership have really been into Corvettes since 1984. Purifoy told his dad that he wanted to be the best in the state for all things Corvette, but his dad said that would never happen in the small town of Fort Lupton.”

“He told his dad that it does not matter where you are as long you are passionate about the cars and the people. The rest is history, as Purifoy has been ranked as high as 30th in the nation for Corvette sales and has been featured in numerous publications.” Purifoy Chevrolet is currently the number one Corvette dealer in the state of Colorado.

Gross also mentioned that, “We like to build three to four custom cars per year within the company, and over the years we have customized over 200 Corvettes. Everything from Greenwood, charity cars, custom Callaway cars, to incredible [C7] Stingrays. It has been, and will continue to be an incredible journey. We really enjoy building these one off cars, and our customers appreciate something different, especially from the number one Corvette dealer in Colorado.” The last few Stingrays produced within Purifoy have all been spectacular examples of their creativity and attention to detail.

When we asked Gross about what motivates him along with the folks at Purifoy to keep building these cars he simply responded with, “To take an already wonderful car and maker it special.” While this may sound simple, for those of us that love Corvettes and all that they can be, this just boils it down. In reality every Corvette becomes special to its owner and these guys certainly understand that.

“P-Series” Builds

For those familiar with Purifoy’s creations, you may have heard or seen the term “P-Series.” The term and the cars essentially developed out of Purifoy experimenting with Corvettes over a number of years, by changing the aesthetics of the vehicles as well as enhancing the handling and engine’s performance.

The cars are usually not elaborate creations one might expect to see at a SEMA show or a full custom shop, and this is done so intentionally. They produce custom cars that are still usable and drivable as a daily driver should the owner choose to do so, and luckily all of these cars are ultimately for sale.

Chevrolet’s Stingray

As far as factory options are concerned, Purifoy ordered this car with with the Z51 Performance Package which is factory equipped with all of the options listed below, many of which you would expect to find on a car purpose-built for road racing.

For anybody interested in using their Stingray for any type of track use, or just happen to be a highly spirited driver, we would have to recommend the Z51 package. The increase in car control and cooling efficiency is significantly increased and this car is no exception.

• Dry sump oiling system
• Electronic Limited Slip Differential
• Brembo brakes with large slotted rotors
• Enhanced suspension: shocks, springs, and stabilizer bars
• Differential and transmission cooling
• Aero Package to reduce lift at high speed
• Michelin Pilot Super Sport ZP tires
• HD cooling
• Performance gear ratios
• Magnetic Selective Ride Control
• Performance Traction Management system

This Vette was ordered with the 3LT option package, which is almost a $5,300 option in of itself. However this gives the Stingray a custom leather and suede microfiber interior with Napa leather covering the seating surfaces, an interior matched instrument panel to match the doors and center console, 10-speaker Bose surround sound, and an optional navigation system. Additionally, this car was built with the competition sport seats covered in Adrenaline Red leather, the carbon fiber interior package, battery protection package, and a seven-speed manual equipped with active rev matching technology.

Purifoy’s Stingray

The car maintains all Chevrolet Z51 suspension components, but was lowered slightly thanks to some minor tuning in the Purifoy shop. Weighing in at 3,344 lbs, this Stingray not only feels quite nimble but really roars up to pace. While the standard Stingray puts out about 460 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque from the factory, this Purifoy creation is belting out around 624 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque thanks to an E-Force Supercharger from Edelbrock.

The awesome sound and magnificently styled exhaust tip is courtesy of B&B exhaust, while the C7 rides on B-Forged, 19 and 20-inch, three piece wheels, still wrapped in Michelin rubber.

One of the subtle yet stunning parts of the car, was the slight changes made to the body with some minor painting and accessories. The hood vent, side vents, and taillight bezels were all painted with GM’s Torch Red, while the A-Pillars, rear fascia, and a few miscellaneous parts are all now coated in GM’s Arctic White. The pin striping and air brushing was all performed in the Purifoy body shop by Striped by Louie. The side skirts and front splitter are built by ACS, and really help to add an exotic look to this beautiful machine.

Rollie Purifoy also wanted to give special thanks to James Zylla in the Purifoy service department, as well as John LaCorte and Time Borrego in the Purifoy body shop. This awesome project would never have made it to Illinois for the Funfest if it were not for their hard work and dedication to the project.

This build took about two weeks of work, wrapping up on September 16th, 2014. Believe it or not, the car was in the body shop late into the night for finishing touches in order to be ready for its first trip over to Corvette Funfest. Gross said his favorite aspects of the car are, “The custom paint work, wheel choice, and of course, the performance.”

All Good Things

We are happy to report that the car has not been involved in any accidents or mishaps in the shop nor on the road. If you have the means and feel like your life is incomplete without this car, you are in luck. Purifoy Chevrolet has the car up for sale for $89,999. All things considered, not a bad deal for an awesome piece of machinery, especially knowing it was built with the type of care that Purifoy customers know they can count on.

We can tell you that it was great to meet Rollie Purifoy and talk a little about the business and the world of Corvettes. Purifoy said, “Purifoy Chevrolet has a Corvette Showroom that displays over 20 Corvettes at any given time. We are the ‘Corvette Guys.’ It’s not just another car to us, the Corvette is an American icon that we are very proud of!”

It was not hard to tell that this Stingray was commanding more then its share of attention at the festival, whether parked in line at the show or out by the motorhome. Furthermore, Purifoy is one of those folks that really makes you feel welcome and is always happy to chat about Corvettes or life in general. We know that Corvette Online has a friend for life and we look forward to seeing their awesome P-Series Corvettes for years to come.