From the standpoint of appearance, the 1958 Corvette was more excessive than it’s predecessors. While the car still reflected the design changes implemented in the 1956/57 model years, the 1958’s added simulated hood louvers, nonfunctional air scoops on each side of the grille, and fake vents in the fenders behind the front wheels. They also had twin chrome fins that run the length of the decklid and quad headlights for the first time. Some folks favor the 1958’s because of the extra flare, some disfavor them for the same reason. It’s simply a matter of taste. This 1958 Corvette is listed here on Craigslist for $50,000. The seller will consider interesting trades. The car is located in Everette, Washington.
This Corvette came from the factory equipped with the 250 h.p. version of the 283 cu. in. fuel injected engine. The seller doesn’t say whether the transmission is a 3-speed or 4-speed. The car was taken out of service in 1982. I suppose it could be reassembled and displayed as a survivor, but in my opinion, it’s been messed around with a little too much to be a real survivor. This car is worthy of a complete restoration anyway. Out of the 9,168 Corvettes built in 1958, only 504 were built with the 283 cu. in. 250 h.p. fuel injected engine. I checked the 1958 Corvette registry on c1registry.com. There are only 31 “FI 250hp” cars listed.
The seller reports that the car is 95% complete. Hopefully, most of the missing parts are available in reproduction. The body appears to be in good condition. There are no pictures of the undercarriage and the seller makes no claims about the condition of the frame. Interested parties will want to look under the car to check the condition for themselves. According to the owner, only 729 of the 1958 Corvettes produced were painted in this charcoal with silver coves color combination. Charcoal painted cars could have been ordered with either charcoal, beige, or red interiors. This one came with a red interior.
There were two different fuel injected 283 cu. in. engines available in the 1958 model year, a 250 h.p. version and a 290 h.p. version. As stated earlier, this car came with the 250 h.p. version. The original engine is missing. The replacement is this rebuilt 290 h.p. engine with a fuel injection unit from a 250 horse engine. The transmission was rebuilt also but that was back in 1982. It should be OK as long as it was full of lubricant all that time. Are there any 1958 Corvette fans out there in the market for a restoration project? Is the $50,000 price tag justified?
Not a chance without the original engine. $25,000 maybe,
Thank you. No #’s matching block? No thanks. Had it been complete & correct, $50K in this shape would be cheap. As it is, your $25K might even be a bit high.
As classic car fan & collector I was Never sports car fan but whenever I see these classic late 50s early 60s Corvettes I auto link with 60s Route 66 Tv series starring Martin Milner & George Maharis exept that was convertible I have all series on dvd see it regularly I also avid fan collector of vintage Tv shows & movies !
The hardtop is removable.
Steve R
As Wayne Carini would say. “ top goes down, price goes up”. $35k at best.
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What about the condition of the bird cages?😉
Send a tweet next time you ask about bird cages!
ok first i am not an expert in c1 values at all.
having said that after looking at the color combo (black on red is best possible combo in my estimation) and reading the description of a non-original engine (but replaced with a higher hp version of same fuel injected engine), no under chassis pictures, acknowledgement that it is 95% complete (parts missing?), no discussion of frame condition, it makes me wonder – is it really worth $50,000?
No. It is not.
Sorry, but I think the seller has been sniffing too much White-Out when figuring out his selling price. Too many unknowns and work to do on this one to justify that kind of $$. IMO the price is more than double what it should be for a car in this condition without even the original engine in it.
In fact I saw one last year that had NCRS awards up the butt along with so many other ones and the seller wanted $80K for that one.
This is one time when I’m of the inclination for a car of this year to put out the $$ and get one finished rather than one at this price that’s in this condition.
This one in this condition is more for someone with more $$ than cents IMO.
From the pictures I saw, that’s a big 5% left unfinished. Going with that and his asking price my guess is math wasn’t a strong point for the seller.
I’m no Vette expert but am I reading something odd? Looking at the picture of the take it is labeled in increments of 10. The scale then reads “Rev. Thousands”. I doubt that little engine was spinning 10, 20 or 30K.
If it did, it only was once.
That tach is also a sort of hour meter with the odometer digits reading actual engine revs in thousands. My guess is that first digit on that would be constantly moving even at idle . I’m not an expert on ‘vettes but I’ve only seen that gauge one other time. Not sure if it’s a ’58 only option or what. Anyone have any info on that? It’s an odd feature.
For $50,000 I don’t want any car that is “some assembly required”.
Also the fact that it is an original fuel injected car, would mean it would haver to have the original engine and fuel injection set up to be worth any kind of money.
With out that, it is just a normal Corvette.
Hello
I have a 63 ragtop Corvette I always get a someone asking if I want to sell it My Vette nice but far from prefect. I had a dealer offer me 65k I was shocked because I don’t think it’s worth that much. I probably have that much in it over the years I owned it. I paided 30k for it in 2004 you be hard pressed to find a complete mid year for 30k these days. They aren’t going down in price.
Mine is and original triple black car. Black was not a popular color in 1963
Corvette DNA sees it for 37,500. Based on the info here.
Best colors on a C1 for me! I painted mine the same and charcoal was a late color for the year. I am so over the FI card!
For another $30k you can get a finished FI car in showable shape; and this one will take more than $30k to get to that point. This looks to be a decent car but it is nothing special (like big brakes).
Looking through the window the gear selector looks to be for a powerglide. No under hood fotos, no frame fotos. The FI motor is nice but…does it have all the FI fluff as in air intake, distributor, etc, plus all the long block stuff as in water pump, starter, etc.
IF the frame looks good and the parts boxes are over flowing I would be a player at $35k.
Is it worth it? Here’s my take based on prices I’ve seen in tecent posts.
$ 30,000.00 Rolling chassis, no motor
5,000.00 Rebuilt motor
5,000.00. Fuel injection unit
3,500.00. Factory hardtop.
So, maybe a $ 45,000.00 car. Perfectly restored will never be matching numbers or survivor. Will probably cost upwards of 35k to make it the most that it can be.
At least at that price you would know what you had as opposed to an unknown 80k car bought from an ad.
My credentials? Such as they are I’ve had my 58 since 1985. Not an expert but a real fan of the car.
The add says that he “knows all the tricks”. If that is so, maybe that has something to with the price.
What do you think it’s worth,just going by what I read about it,some parts missing,different motor,rebuilded transmission,I don’t think $50.000.