Ex-Drag Racer! 1959 Chevrolet Corvette

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After long-term ownership dating back to 1979, the caretaker of this 1959 Chevrolet Corvette has decided to sell it on. The car is listed here on eBay with 24 bids taking the price to over $22,600 as I write — but the reserve has not yet been met. The car has been in dry Albuquerque, New Mexico so it should be relatively rust-free under that fiberglass — right?

The seller describes the car as a “solid project” and it certainly looks the part, with straight trim and bumpers. It was driven by the seller in the 1980s and then converted to drag racing in the 1990s, only to be parked in 1997 right after the engine was rebuilt. It would still be nice to see some more pictures, and the seller has said they will be adding some to the auction listing later, including interior pictures.

Unfortunately, the rear wheel wells have been enlarged to fit those huge slicks underneath. They do give the car an extremely purposeful look from this view! Would any of you leave the vintage drag look intact and merely replace those slicks with large profile treaded tires for the street?

While no claims are made as to originality, the 283 is at least the right size V8 for this year. The seller states that the engine is “new” (presumably they mean rebuilt) and that it’s been sitting since 2000. I’m cautious about things like this and would disassemble the engine to check things before starting it. That’s a lot of work, though — would any of you just fire it up? I think I would at least spring for matching air cleaners for the two four-barrel carburetors. What would it take for you to find this project worthy? Please share your thoughts in our comment section!

Auctions Ending Soon

Comments

  1. Howard A Howard AMember

    Drew Patterson. When I was in HS, he was older the guy that did butcher jobs to cars, Falcons particularly, but he had a car just like this. I seem to remember green with white coves, and could have been a 327, but I know it had 2×4’s and a 4 speed. It was wildly uncontrollable. My favorite Vette and for once, if you got the clams, this is what to buy.

    Like 1
    • Phil

      Hello Howard. Thank you very much for your knowledge. I love the front wheels Do you know if they can still be purchased?

      Like 0
  2. Skorzeny

    My dad had a ‘59. Injected and 290 horse. Funny thing about his, Peter Fonda had bought it new. My dad was the third owner. This was somewhere in ‘62 I think. He would love this car (he’s still around and driving a Mazda 6) but he would want injection on it. He says he had better throttle response than his friends ‘59 with two 4 barrel carbs. He taught my mom how to drive a manual with it. Ha. I learned on a Ford Fiesta. Anyway, would love to have this.

    Like 3
  3. TB

    Butchered.

    Like 0
  4. Chillywind

    Butchered?
    Just remember what you have to do to a cow to get that filet we all love. Unless your some veggie eating hippie, then you probably wouldn’t be here anyway.

    I love this car. Go to a car show and see 20 corvettes perfectly stock with some sign in front of them explaining how they are 1 of 3467 that were built with a radio and 1 of 5987 that were blue Blah Blah Blah.
    this car needs no sign in front of it and I bet this sucker screams!
    Wish the seller noted how fast the car was back in the day. Without a roll bar I would say 12s? I forget how fast we could go without a bar in 92.

    Probably change the tires, rebuild the carbs and fire her up. The first burnout would be thrilling.
    Happy for the new owner already!

    Like 19
  5. Chillywind

    Butchered?
    Just remember what you have to do to a cow to get that filet we all love. Unless you are some veggie eating hippie, then you probably wouldn’t be here anyway.

    I love this car. Go to a car show and see 20 corvettes perfectly stock with some sign in front of them explaining how they are 1 of 3467 that were built with a radio and 1 of 5987 that were blue Blah Blah Blah.
    this car needs no sign in front of it and I bet this sucker screams!
    Wish the seller noted how fast the car was back in the day. Without a roll bar I would say 12s? I forget how fast we could go without a bar in 92.

    Probably change the tires, rebuild the carbs and fire her up. The first burnout would be thrilling.
    Happy for the new owner already!

    Like 0
  6. Steve R

    I doubt it was raced seriously. NHRA rules have been very strict about cars without tops for several decades. As it sits it would never be allowed to make a pass at a sanctioned track, even if it had a convertible top it would have been limited to 14.00 and slower.

    It could wind up a good cruiser if the price remains low.

    Steve R

    Like 3
    • chillywind

      I raced a 427 powered 67 convert probably in 94? It had an older NHRA approved roll bar in it, only a 4 point but still rare. I had to have the top up and I made a couple of low 13sec passes without any issue., street tires. Don’t know how fast I was allowed to go but the car didn’t have it anyway.
      Don’t remember what the law was on non roll bar convertibles but it wasn’t fast. If that’s the case, this car doesn’t need those slicks!

      Like 2
      • Steve R

        Today you would need a 5pt today roll bar and run and with the top up if you go run quicker than 13.50. Without a top, like this car presently sits, it would need would need a full cage and arm restraints regardless of ET.

        If a track let someone run without complying with the NHRA rules and the driver was hurt or killed, insurance wouldn’t cover the track and any resulting lawsuit would likely bankrupt it. Some small tracks don’t care, they want the money, others do, they prefer to stay in business.

        Steve R

        Like 3
      • Dave

        Steve, you make a great case for the extreme prevalence of street racing in many towns today.
        60 years ago, the magazines were full of articles about how the NHRA and AHRA were trying to get racers off the streets and onto their sanctioned facilities. It was a noble idea, at the time.

        As suburban development pushed many legendary tracks out of existence, racers returned to the streets. When nitrous oxide began making inroads none of the sanctioning bodies of the time would allow it on their tracks. Once again, racers returned to the streets. Sanctioning bodies got the message and changed their minds.

        Today, it is truly about avoiding lawsuits for negligence. This is why we’re all stuck at home.
        Racers, on the other hand, being squeezed out of safe, sanctioned facilities left and right by rules they don’t agree with, have returned in large numbers to where it all began: the streets.

        The cries of municipalities beset by street racing is being heard at the state legislative level, and the result will be ever more Draconian laws regarding the modification of motor vehicles.

        Like 3
      • Steve R

        Dave, street racing has always taken place regardless of the availability of a local track. I lived near Fremont dragstrip, when it was open there was a road in an industrial area, less than a mile away with a quarter mile marked off with painted start and finish lines. It was referred to as little Fremont. It would often atract hundreds of people on any given weekend night.

        The tracks aren’t imposing rules for their enjoyment, it’s the result of people suing them. My tracks manager, with 35+ years of experience would often tell stories of lawsuits and people wanting them to pay for the car they plowed into a wall. Racers understand the hazard, it’s the guy with the street car that thinks the track is going to insure their ride if something happens to it, or them.

        I sometimes help when they are short handed, some of the cars should scare anyone with a lick a common, yet the more unsafe the car was the louder they whine when told they needed to fix something before you would sign their tech card. The most common reason I would fail cars was that the drivers seat wasn’t bolted to the floor on all four corners. This happened every time I was in tech. That was closely followed by missing lug nuts, cords showing in the tires, drivers door wouldn’t open, missing seatbelts, it was also common for cars to have a fuel cell mounted in the drivers compartment (most often in place of the rear seat).

        It’s one thing to sit at a keyboard and point fingers, but your opinion might change if you are responsible for signing off on a car where you let something safety related slide and the driver get hauled off in an ambulance or worse. That will change your perspective.

        Steve R

        Like 4
      • Dave

        Steve, I was actually agreeing with you. Yes, street racing has been around ever since there were streets.
        What I wanted to say is, as far as this Corvette is concerned the only place you’re going to race it is on the streets, and even so, with a 283 2×4 you’re going to be looking at a lot of taillights. So, was that setup a factory deal? If so, how rare is it? If it’s not that rare, I’d go a restomod route, improving the brakes, suspension,and electrics while staying close to original with bodywork and interior.
        “Safety never takes a holiday!” so says Paul Blart .

        Like 1
  7. 19sixty5Member

    This car could be a ton of fun. Drive it and have a blast. Other than basic safety updates, the only thing I would change is that Grant Challenger steering wheel. I’ve alway hated them, from day one. Obviously Grant sold zillions of them, you find them everywhere, on just about everything, and they still sell them new. Rant over…

    Like 2
  8. Bill Hall

    EONS AGO (Mid Seventies) I was going to school at a local CC and the lead instructor decided to turn his 62 Vette into a dragster for a school project. All I recall is the name Homework. I got no clue what happened to it, This when I started taking general ed classes.

    Like 1
  9. Mike ballou

    This would be a blast, I am sure that 283 has a nice bark, and what a great time on a sunny day! With the performance available from the factory today, I would simply enjoy the nostalgia and style! Hot rods are art, they can be screamers too, but for me, the thrill of operating these is pure pleasure. I have never been a racer, but have loved my hot rods!

    Like 1
  10. Desert rat

    Other than swapping on a set of slot mags to go with the fronts and street tires that,’s about the size of the slicks, ( go through the mechanics to be safe) I’d enjoy it just as it is.

    Like 1
  11. RONALD c Simpson

    Steve R…I used to go to sleep to the lullaby of cars drag racing on the weekends. I lived about as far south as Fremont went in 1964…Durham and Grimmer i think were the streets.[I lived on Balmoral PK CT…and my 93 yo pappy still there] Not even recognizable any more…8 lane Auto mall parkway, and dozens of malls, and hundreds of stores. Blows my mind, i can’t imagine that we need all those stores…dont see how they survive

    Like 1
  12. chrlsful

    yep, this is the 1 I like:
    ’56/60 w/the nice rear 1/4s.
    If its not fast, Y not “style” in it, “profile” in it? I think it’s a lill later grill (still C1) and the ol truck motor they had “Blue Flame”. Like those YH side drafts too.
    Sorry – a mish mosh but so’s my ’70/77 bronk.

    Like 0

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