The Chevy Corvette got off to a rocky start, selling just 300 cars in 1953, its first year. When just 700 units were built in 1955, it looked like the sports car might be doomed. But a restyle in 1956 brought V8 power and optimism and, by 1957, 6,339 copies of the automobile emerged. This 1957 edition has some racing heritage and more recently had key mechanical components refreshed along with a new interior. From Glendale, California, this C1 ‘Vette is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $48,999.
When this car was purchased new by a California couple, the goal was to race the Corvette throughout the southern part of the state. It never left California, yet the car was titled for some reason in Hawaii. A few years later, a 1963 Corvette V8, a 327 cubic inch engine (250 hp), was installed along with a Muncie M21 close-ratio 4-speed manual transmission. This combination is still in the car some 55+ years later.
The car was sold to a collector in Glendale in 1975, thus ending its racing career. Little happened with the Chevy under 2019 when the seller bought the car and finally got it registered after so many years. We’re told the mechanicals were gone through, but nothing specific is mentioned other than it runs and drives as it should with 80,000 claimed to be on the odometer.
While the red interior is new, the black paint is not and presents well with a bit of patina. A top-notch, Concours example of a 1957 Corvette can be worth more than $140,000, but that’s for a numbers-matching car that would have had a 283 V8 that could produce as much as one horsepower per cube with fuel injection which was new in 1957.
Sweet, but lose the air cleaner. If there’s a backfire, it will burn that car down.
Nice HD tow bar,still have and use the one I made in high school shop class in the early 70s:-)
If you have been watching Mecum the last couple days, this is a steal!
not enuff price reduction for mods off oe (upholstery, drive line, tow adaptation, etc)? 20 or 25K$ instead?
My fav tho (’56/60).
This begs for a L79-spec 327 looking c. 1966/7 period-correct since it’ll never be numbers-matching. Leave the rest of it the way it is and drive the wheels off of it!
My brother had one of those air cleaners on 56 Chevy with 60 over bore 283,carb back fire melted plastic on inside of cleaner, dripped right on down the carb.
Yep, bound to happen. Bad design for sure.
Love the tow bar on this. Makes me think that the owner enjoyed the car and didn’t care what others felt.
Had a neighbor with a 911. He took good care of it and used it. Would see it with a bike rack, surfboard, and best of all a ski rack.
I can appreciate someone wanting to keep their rare Packard in pristine shape, it can hurt to see a scratch or ding. This vet looks like it is cared for and enjoyed which is what it was intended for.
Pretty much everything right on this car. Nice.
1st thing, get rid of that monstrosity on it’s nose.
Back in the day, very few people had the money to afford a trailer. We used to load up a pair of slicks and a jack in the trunk and drive to the track. The people with “big bucks” would have a NMW tow bar and the free-wheeling hubs you could bolt onto the axles. Flat-towing was the norm. Flat-tow, remove the tow bar and go racing! One of the subtle clues you looked for on a “street” car were tow bar tabs on the front, which usually signified a highly modified car. I love this car, if I didn’t have so many irons in the fire I would be interested. Drive it the way it is, it’s freaking awesome as-is!
You’re right 19sixty5 I had one of those NMW tow bars that i used to tow my 69 Chevelle to the track with wonder if they still make them
This is the first FB market place I saw with nice pictures! I love it, but not a member of FB thus its a no buy for me. Would love to contact the guy, wire the money, and ship the car…..Of course unless it is a scam…..
I’m not a FB member either but I bought a van off of there this summer. There are ways around signing up if you really want something. Just an FYI 😊
Good thing it comes with its own tow bar saves money on the tow trucks
Rare year and very nice. Some is going to get a great deal!
Never could remember when they went to four headlights. This thing is beautiful!
They went to 4 headlights in 1958.
You two are special bless your hearts.
It’d look good with silver coves ! Nice driver car, not for the “rivet a**h****” who want to find everything wrong /non-original on it.
Yay for driver-quality cars !!!
My 55 Bel-Air still has the tow tabs welded to the front frame horns, and the ladder bar mounts on the frame, It was campaigned in the 60’s with a 396-4sp combo.
I think it was common for the regular guys to flat tow. My Dad and a buddy flat towed a 56 Chevy named “Sugarfoot” to the local tracks around KC back in the late 50’s-early 60’s
This brings back a lot of memories. When I was 12, my dentist drove a metallic gray fuelie 57. I think that started my love of Corvettes.
When I was around 20 a buddy of mine had a dentist friend (there seems to be a theme here) who drag raced a red 57 Corvette. It had Hilborn injection. The dentist would work Saturdays and buddy and I would tow it out to Irwindale behind a 54 Buick wagon tow car and he would qualify it. The dentist would come out in the late afternoon and race it.
The 57’s name was Snerd.
The dentist would tow it home behind the Buick wagon. We’d take his “driver” 64 Corvette with an old roller cam engine out of the the 57 back.
The dentist lived on Chevy Chase between Glendale and LaCanada so I thought this might have been the same car. But it is not.