-NEW LOW PRICE- 1957 Corvette Fuelie – Cascade Green with Shoreline Beige coves and Interior w/ beige top. This is a frame-off, nuts and bolts restoration of the very best caliber! This is a numbers/dates matching car. They just don’t get much better. The body and paint were done by D&A Corvette in Gillespe, IL, and the assembly by Vintage Vetts LLC in Kansas City, MO.
1957 was a big year for Corvette. It was possibly going to be the last year of production as GM had never made money on the marque. Yet they introduced several new features. It was the first year for fuel injection. To put that in perspective, it was another fifteen years or more before “expensive” sports cars like Ferrari and Porsche began using fuel injection. It was the first time in history that horsepower equaled displacement (283 h.p./283 c.i.d.). It was the introduction of Positraction. And this car has it all.
Either this was a completely original car that was restored or someone went to extreme lengths to do the job correctly. I did not restore it but I did detail it. Please review the Numbers Sheet which is attached. Not only are all the components listed the correct model/part number, their dates of manufacture (when appropriately provided) are correct relative to the date of production of the vehicle. Details such as the masking tape which held the shims in place when the body was attached to the frame were not overlooked.
The early Rochester fuel injection systems were notoriously finicky – so much so that the dealers were not allowed to adjust/repair them; they were removed intact with the intake manifold and sent back to Rochester for service! This unit was just recently (July 2017) gone through by George Becker of Wauseon, Ohio. George is one of the best Rochester gurus in the Midwest, having been trained by one of the last GM factory FI specialists in the ‘70’s. This car starts in a heartbeat and purrs like a kitten. Actually, with the hi-lift cam and factory “off road” mufflers, it burbles and growls like a tiger about to attack. I drove it thirty miles home on a 92 degree, 85% humidity day at highway speeds and through several small, speed trap towns. The temperature gauge never broke 180 degrees.
Getting all this horsepower to the road is exciting through the originally optioned four-speed transmission. The extra-wide whitewall, 4-ply, bias-ply Firestone tires remind us of what driving was really like before radial tires!
This car – a late production 1957 (5449 of 6339) – is equipped with the late 1957 model signal-seeking radio, the Wonderbar. This is not a reproduction radio but a fully functional original radio! AM only, of course.
Moles and crooked teeth: for whatever reason, the restorer did not refinish or replace the chrome in certain areas such as the “A” pillar or the instrument cluster. I am not sure why. But whatever crazing or aging does appear is so minimal as to not be apparent. But in the interest of full disclosure, I mention it here and attempt to show it in photos. Also, there is a patch of paint about 2 ½ “x 7” long on the nose of the car along the leading edge of the hood which is slightly off-color. It almost looks like a shadow. I speculate that the edge was damaged by someone improperly opening the hood and it was a cosmetic repair.
Rather than ramble on about this awesome car, I encourage you to look at the photos. If you want a driver, this will work and it will turn heads wherever you go. If you want a show car, you are starting off at 99+ points. If you just want a car that is a thing of beauty, a page in history, and which will only appreciate, this is it.
So -- why am I selling this awesome car of which I am so dearly fond? I am getting old and I don’t want my kids to be stuck with it. This car deserves a future with someone who can preserve it for another generation!
