Dasilva Motorsports: They Do It All!
The rumble of a Corvette’s big V8, supercharged, plus a cam is enough to shake the foundation of nearby buildings. It is expected at race tracks. It is not expected in a quiet village with farm country almost within baseball throwing distance. And yet that is where you will find Dasilva Motorsports. About 45 minutes west of Toronto and not even 5 minutes from the Region of Waterloo International Airport (just in case you want to fly in and visit the shop for yourself. You would not be the first prospective client to do so.) in what appears to be a small shop in a quiet, relatively new automotive mall. And it is quiet.
Until the Corvette is fired up!
Then heads snap up and turn towards the awe inspiring sound. It might be a Z06 fresh from the dealer’s showroom that has just had a Dasilva Motorsport custom cam installed or it may be a 1964 C2 that has just been through a frame off restoration. There is a chance it is a 67 Chevelle SS. Possibly a Dodge Viper or a Shelby GT500 – just to mix things up a bit. Whatever it is, guaranteed that you will feel the rumble through the soles of your feet.
Frame off restorations, suspension and brake upgrades, body and paint, interiors, and most certainly some amazing work on drivetrains and in the engine bay.In early February Dasilva Motorsport held an Open House. I have been in the front office before, but never in the shop. This was an opportunity not to be missed, because I knew from FaceBook, YouTube, and seeing the Dasilva Motorsports Cadillac at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park that there would be some incredible cars. My personal track toy is a four cylinder Japanese car, however, deep down I would love to have a car with a huge eight cylinder powerhouse with enough torque to spin the wheels as soon as I looked at the gas pedal. With that picture in mind, my buddy Dave Schlueter and I made the short trek to Breslau (Dasilva Motorsports is practically my neighbour). We were not disappointed.
This Pro Touring Camaro is impressive in its simplicity. Immaculate. Pristine. To die for! There are probably a few more adjectives I could use which still wouldn't fully capture how fantastic this vehicle is to see in person.Shocked would be the proper descriptive term. Walking to the shop door we were greeted with a beautiful, glistening black Chevrolet Chevelle SS. And then you looked up and there was a 64 Corvette, the 69 Pro Touring Camaro, a 2013 Camaro ZL1, a 2012 Corvette Z06, … and I could not count them all in the first few minutes. There were between 15 and 20 cars in the shop on this February day and they were all incredible. Staff told me it was even busier in the summer. This is a shop for gearheads who want their car looked after. Whether it is a frame off restoration, the addition of better brakes, suspension, exhaust, or a full Restomod. Possibly the addition of forced induction and a dyno-tune to raise the horsepower to what was an impossible number a few years ago. Maybe you just need to have the fluids changed but do not know who to trust to care for your pride and joy. Come and see Manny at Dasilva Motorsports because this is the place.
I wasn't counting the folks coming in and out at the Open House but there were quite a few. I had to frame my pictures carefully to avoid including folks in the photographs. I was busy examing the cars and taking pictures when I heard my name called. There chatting with Manny Dasilva (left) were Darren Scott (centre) and Doug Phillips (right) – two racers whose race trucks are captured in my Celebration of Motorsport article. Tim Hortons' coffee and doughnuts, good friends, and amazing custom cars in various stages of their build. Who could ask for anything more!V8 testosterone was flowing everywhere. I hoped my rotary engined RX8 would be safe in the parking lot. Mind you, part of me secretly hoped that when I went back to collect it that an LS variant engine would have miraculously appeared under the hood! Enough chatter, now for a photo tour of the cars in the shop during this Open House.
