Medical science is accelerating at an amazing pace these days. Aided by computers and breakthroughs in technology, there’s never been a better time to be alive, or in many cases, stay alive. According to doctors on the forefront of medical technology, transplantation is one of the barometers of how far we come in the medical science field.

The first kidney transplant took place in 1950, followed by the first liver transplant in 1963, and the first human heart transplant in 1967. By 2010, doctors had successfully pulled off the transplantation of a patient’s entire face. One major organ still eludes the transplant surgeon, however: the entire human eye.

In the case of Johnny Burk and his 1973 Corvette Roadster, he’s already made that milestone, at least in the automotive world. Take a look at this C3 with high-tech, LED, C7 “eyes” expertly transplanted onto the fiberglass face of this old Shark.

This automotive journey began at a Chevrolet dealer of all places. Johnny, a retired Air Force sergeant and a native of Gilbert, Arizona, visited a local dealership to buy a new C7 and evidently ran into a salesman that was a having a bad day and didn’t want to sell a new C7. He says, “I don’t want to say anything negative about Chevrolet or it’s dealers because I’m a big fan, but I thought, ‘screw it,’ I’ll build my own ‘Vette instead.”

Johnny just happened to have a well loved 1973 ragtop in the garage his wife bought as a present 15 years ago. The car originally belonged to a friend and was a show car at one point before seeing some serious autocross duty. It was born a red car, but had since been painted burgundy and now sported dated body and interior modifications and a motor and transmission that were conspicuously AWOL.

Sporting a Greenwood-esque “turbo” hood, a velour interior, bubble taillights and a lot of gold trim, it was tired and not particularly rare. Johnny said, “On a scale of one to 10, it was maybe a four …”

So before anybody gets a bee in their bonnet about altering an old ‘Vette, know that Johnny shepherded this old C3 from away from the precipice of obscurity and reincarnated it into the bionic-eyed beauty you see here.

With the project car identified, Burk set out to find a builder to take on his project, ultimately selecting Phill Beck of Street Rods by Auto Art in Phoenix, AZ.  Johnny says a key reason he was keen on Phill’s facility was because it was a “one-stop shop” and could perform all aspects of the build under one roof. The eye transplant is the star of the show on this build but Auto Art pulled off some other really nice touches was well.

First things first, the body was set free from it’s crusty, but rust-free frame and the surgery commenced. Phill stayed with the stock frame but cleaned it up and added a coilover, Shark-Bite rear suspension, and rebuilt the stock A-arm front end, shaping the suspension up to better-than-new. A power-assisted rack and pinion steering system from Steeroids also was installed to ensure it goes safely where it’s pointed.

Johnny and Phill decided on a 385 hp, 350ci GM Performance ZZ5 small-block motor for motivation and backed it up with a ZF, six-speed manual transmission salvaged from a ’98 ‘Vette. Johnny said he went with the ZZ5 because it was “carbureted with no stinkin’ computer …”

385hp, 350 cubic inch ZZ5 crate motor provides ample grunt, no computer necessary.

The ZZ5 crate motor comes in two configurations. Per Chevrolet Performance, “The ZZ5 350 is available in an economical base form (PN 19301293), including an intake manifold, distributor, water pump, damper, and flexplate, as well as a Turn Key package (PN 19301294), which adds a Holley four-barrel carburetor, starter, fuel pump, air conditioning pump, alternator, front-end accessory drive kit, and more.” Johnny picked the Turn Key package and said, “it was a bargain as well, coming in at around $6,200 and change.”

The car exhales through GM replica side pipes Johnny got from Corvette Central, and rolls out with 4:10 gears on a set of squatty 17-inch Budnik custom wheels with 245/50R17 Nitto tires. Johnny could have gone as big as 18 inches for the wheels but isn’t a big fan of the “rims” phenomena. Agreed.

Gods live in the details. Ghost flames, airbrushed emblems and laser surgery on the headlights give this old C3 a new outlook, pun intended.

Next up was getting the body in shape and adding some custom touches. Johnny originally wanted to put plexiglass bubble covers over exposed headlights a la vintage C3 racer, but it was Phill who suggested the revolutionary C7 eye transplant. Although the front of the car looks radically differently from stock, Johnny tells us that only the fiberglass from the centerline of the front wheels forward has been altered.

The nose looks longer than stock — and it is, a little bit — but there’s some visual slight of hand going on here. With the stock headlight doors glassed in and the cutouts eliminated, the eye is tricked into seeing a longer beak. The real feat here was not only grafting the C7 headlight bezels on the C3’s famous fenders, but creating style lines that pick up the peaks in the new lenses. Look carefully and see how artfully Phill’s team pulled this off. Really nice work.

Another benefit of the eye transplant is the complicated vacuum headlight actuators and related plumbing that are retired as well. It cleans up the underhood area and eliminates a fussy maintenance item, too.

With the new peepers fitted, it was time to prep the rest of the body for paint. Phill’s team filled the door handles and lock openings, and added neat details like a custom grille and rear side marker lights that mimic fish gills. The only non-stock fiberglass saved from the pre-transplant car was the aforementioned “turbo” hood. The car is sprayed out in a 1994 Corvette coppery gold hue with a burgundy tint on top.  Burk says the car glows in sunlight and with the subtle ghost flames, it’s a refreshing change of pace from a sea of red, black, or silver ‘Vettes. All this is finished off with airbrushed badges and scripting.

Here’s a fresh take on a C3 interior. C4 seats, center mounted gauges and NAV, all covered in supple, hand stitched leather.

Again, Street Rods by Auto Art is a full-service shop and the next phase they expertly handled in-house was a complete, custom interior. As any Shark owner knows, the stock Corvette instrument panel seems miles away from the driver and is hardly an ergonomic wonder. Phill and his crew rethought the cockpit with a dual cowl design reminiscent of a C2 but with a added twist or two. Custom seats, door panels, custom steering wheel, and every square inch of the interior are covered in leather, creating a cozy, caramel-colored cocoon. Johnny’s wife thought the passenger side of the dash looked lonely, so they added a Stingray emblem.

Having the car at Phill’s one-stop shop buffered the 14 months it took to complete. No trailering back and forth and down time waiting to get into another shop or any of that. Johnny has wasted no time driving, showing, and enjoying the car. We say “right on,” as this one-off  Corvette should be out in the wild, strutting it’s stuff for all the world to see.

Last but not least, we love this car because it marches to the beat of a different drum. We all know there ain’t nothin’ new under the Corvette sun, but this car truly is a breath of fresh air. The tweaks and body mods may not be your cup of tea (and to each his/her own,) but take it from us, the car was a killer on the grass at the NCOCC (North County Corvette Club) Plastic Fantastic meet in San Diego last month. Johnny and his grandson were gracious enough to share their backstory with us. We wish the Burk family the best with their new copper confection.

In the meantime, if you’re in Arizona, SoCal, or in the Southwest states, keep your eyes peeled for the C3 with the C7 eyes.

Here’s lookin’ at you kid.