|
Todd Wiley (Owner) has been "CAR CRAZY" since he was 7 or 8 years old and could not wait until he was old enough to get his drivers license and start racing. In 1986 it finally happened and he has been drag racing and building his own Hot Rods ever since. Just one day after his 16th Birthday April 4th 1986, he took his first car, a 1975 Olds Cutlass or "gutless" as Todd called it to the drag strip. Not impressed with the stock performance of course, Todd added headers, a Holley carb and dual exhaust. Not fast enough, Todd sold the Cutlass and in 1988 he purchased a 1979 Z28 Camaro, and with his friends Brian and Scott's help, built and installed a 400HP 406CI small block with 125HP nitrous oxide kit and that car ran 12.8x et in the 1/4 mile, spinning through all gears on street tires. Once the fun wore off of the Camaro Todd sold it and in 1991 Todd found a nearly perfect 1966 Chevelle, Sea Foam Green. Todd had done so well with the 406CI small block in his Camaro, he built another one with the same 125HP nitrous kit and with decent tires, the stock looking Chevelle with hub caps ran an 11.86 et @ 113 mph. Todd sold the Chevelle in 1993 and in 1995 Todd found a 1970 Chevelle that needed an engine and trans. Todd had been working on small block Chevy engines and now decided a big block would be a fun new experience, after installing his 468CI Big Block and tuning the car a little, Todd's 1970 big block Chevelle ran 11.86 et @ 114 mph with out nitrous and this was a very drivable street car. Once Todd started racing the C5 Corvette for WCC in 1998, his Chevelle sat in the garage most of the time and thats when he decided to sell it and focus strictly on the C5 Vettes he was racing.
Todd has now been involved in the C5 and Z06 Corvette Parts & Accessories business
for over 7 years, not just in Sales, but more
importantly in Product Development and Racing.
In 1998 Todd started working with West Coast Corvettes,
working in the warehouse, helping with shipping
and receiving, answering phones, taking phone
orders and what ever else needed to be done. Early in 1999 the owner of WCC and Todd agreed that attending some of the larger national Corvette shows would be beneficial to the company and within Todd's first year he was given the opportunity to go to truck driving school. Todd accepted the challenge, received his Class A CDL license in less
than 1 month and started representing and driving the WCC Race
Car Hauler to some of the largest Corvette Shows
and Races in the country. These shows are where
Todd really had the opportunity to shine in the
Corvette Community. With Todd's drag racing backgound, he was the perfect choice to test parts and
drag race the company's Research and Development
1997 Sebring Silver C5, 6 Speed-Coupe at some of the largest
National Corvette shows in the country, inlcuding...
- C5 Birthday Bash - Bowling Green, Ky. 2000,
2001, 2002 Drag Race, 2003 1st Place in Corvette Drag
Race, 2005, 2007
- Labor Day Corvette Reunion – Bowling
Green, KY. 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005
- Route 66 Corvette Show – Joliet, IL.
2000, 2001
- Bloomington Gold Corvette Show – Bloomington,
IL. 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004
- Corvettes at Carlisle – Carlisle, PA.
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
- Corvettes on the Isthmus – Wisconsin
2002
- Corvette Chevy Expo – Houston, TX. 2001,
2003
Todd also worked with:
Fun facts about Todd:
In 2001 Todd found a great deal on a low mile
Black 2000 Hardtop 6 Speed. This car turned out to be
another great learning tool. Todd built this car
and for the next two years, raced it at all of the major Corvette shows
around the country and at home in Southern California.
In 2002, Todd offered to loan his street prepared
Hardtop to a friend, Scotty B. White who is a
National Auto-Cross Champion driver, during the
C5 Birthday Bash, where he won first place in
the Super Tuner Shoot Out - Auto-Cross (Street Tire
Class) and at the 2003 C5 Birthday Bash, Todd
him self drove this same car to a 1st Place win
in the Corvette Drag Race. Todd's 2000 C5 LS-1
Hardtop ran a best of 11.88 et @ 117 mph, not
bad for just bolt ons!
You see, Todd has been drag racing since the
first weekend he received his driver’s license
at age 16 and has been racing ever since and in
2001 Todd received his Super Comp(8.90et Class) and Super Gas(9.90et Class),
drag racing licenses from Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School in Pomona California. Instructed by "Fast Jack" Beckman, Todd's best pass in the Super Gas Firebird was 9.41 et @ 140 mph and his best pass in the Super Comp Dragster was 8.58 @ 152 mph.
These experiences are what brings us to now and what has helped him learn even more about the car he was
selling parts for and recommending to customers.
There is no substitute for first hand experience!
Todd left WCC at the end of 2004 to be closer to his family in Florida and begin his newest adventure. Todd's self motivation and drive to succeed is what feeds East Coast Corvettes and is the beginning of a new adventure and his goal is to leave a positive mark on the Corvette community for many years to come.
Fun Story about Todd's love of Racing and
Corvettes:
During the 2000 C5 Birthday Bash, Todd was pleasantly
surprised to see that a Corvette legend had decided
to attend this years show and Todd was finally
going to meet someone he had looked up to since
reading articles about him during English class
rather than studying for his test. Which needless
to say, did not go over very well with his teacher.
Todd met and got the chance to race John Lingenfelter;
this is one of those events you never forget.
Although this was a very close race, John missing
third gear in his 650HP Twin Turbo Monster Z06 and
Todd running out of Nitrous toward the end of
the run in his 520HP Coupe, John pulled out the
win by less than a .10 tenth of a second. Todd
never seemed to mind loosing this one. He always
said “It was an honor to meet and race someone
I had respected so much for so long.” Rest
in peace John. John Lingenfelter, Decatur, Ill., long-time drag racer and owner of Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, died on Christmas Day, December 25, 2003. He had been badly injured in a racing accident on October 27, 2002 in Pomona, Calif. and had been in hospitals since that time undergoing various medical procedures.
A note from Todd Wiley:
“I understand that you have worked hard
to get to where you are in life, as I have. My
goal is to work hard for you, to help you get
the most out of your hard earned money! I will
give straight answers to your questions, I will
not sell parts I know are not worth selling and
I will provide you with the kind of customer service
you deserve.”
Thank you, Todd Wiley – East Coast Corvettes
|
