Vehicle Description
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www.classicpromenade.com Interesting Fact: Harley Earl, as head of
GMs Styling Section, was an avid fan of sporting cars. He
recognized that GIs returning after serving overseas in the years
following World War II were bringing home MGs, Jaguars, Alfa
Romeos. Earl convinced GM that they needed to build an all-American
two-seat sports car, and with his Special Projects crew began
working on the new car in late 1951. In 1952, the Corvette (C1) was
born. Reviews were mixed and sales fell far short of expectations
through the cars early years. The program was nearly canceled, but
Chevrolet would ultimately stay the course. We are excited to offer
this older fully restored 1957 Corvette featuring dual quads that
has been part of a 146 car private collection for the last 32
years. Originally a California car, the current owner purchased
this Corvette in Madison, WI in 1988. At the time of purchase, the
restoration had already been performed with only 500 miles on the
odometer. Since then, the car has been driven a short 400 miles,
with a total of 946 miles on the odometer today. This is a numbers
matching vehicle in one of the most iconic colors and configured
perfectly with dual quads and four-speed manual transmission.
Mechanically this Corvette is in outstanding condition. Feel free
to ask us for the full inspection report, but in short, this
Corvette drives and performs as it should. The motor pulls strong
and the four-speed transmission shifts with confidence. This has
the iconic 283 CID V8 with the rare 270hp option featuring two
four-barrel carburetor. The car currently has two AFB Carter carbs
installed, but the original carburetors (in box) are included as
well. The car also has a full stainless steel exhaust system and
the braking system has recently been replaced. Its also worth
noting that the stainless exhaust was custom built to the same
thickness as the factory exhaust, thus preserving the factory sound
(not the customary tinny stainless sound). The body of this
Corvette is excellent. Being fully restored, there are no issues
with rust on the chassis or fiberglass cracking. We did notice the
paint to have some very slight signs of fine spiderweb cracking
here and there, as well as some small scratches around the rim of
the hood. That said, the iconic Roman Red contrasted with Cameo
Ivory is overall in excellent condition and presents very well,
even when up close. Its a retro color combination we really like.
The interior really impressed us with its condition. The seats and
carpeting are free of stains or rips, and all interior body panels
fit as they should, with hardly any sign of wear on the touch
points. Our inspection report noted a few smaller issues, including
the instrument lights, radio, antenna, and windshield wipers not
functioning. We have ordered the part needed for the wipers and
expect them to be repaired. Lastly, we suspect a very small leak in
the bottom portion of the radiator. Though the leak is very slow
and the car does not struggle in the Phoenix heat. Lastly, the
right valve cover does have the original 270 decal still in
tact.