1960 - George W. Young's 1957 Corvette Fuelie at the 2nd Annual International Autorama at Dinner Key Auditorium
Miami, Florida
According to George this was a rare car because only something like 250 were produced in 1957. Not all of them had 4-speed transmissions and positraction. The Autorama was held at the Dinner Key Auditorium September 16th thru 19th, 1960.
I remember George Young very well. Knew him from the Pizza Palace on sw 8 st. Made my first trip to the Daytona Speed Weeks with George and a friend of his , Harry Walsh. Also bought Firestone Tires from him when he worked at the warehouse and also as the manager at a Firestone store in West Hollywood. I had a ‘57 Tri Power Pontiac and seems like it was always needing tires.
Al Zangenberg
24-Nov-2010 12:16
Wasn't this the year that James Dean's wrecked Porsche 550 Spyder "Lil Bastard" was on display here? I attended this show in 1960, & saw the car. His car was taken from the car show by truck when it was over, & has never been seen since...To the best of my knowledge, Dean's car has never resurfaced, & remains a mystery to this day what became of it...
Also...Chevrolet advertised it had 1-H.P. per cubic inch (283c.u. /283 H.P.), on their fuel Injected engine, but this was an optional engine. The 1957 Desoto "Adventurer" model, was the first base model U.S car to provide one horsepower per cubic-inch of displacement, as the Desoto's 345 c.i. motor, & 345 H.P. was "NOT" considered optional equipment. "That's-a-fact!"
It took the 1965 Corvette 327/375 h.p. "fuelie" to match the '57's zero-sixty (0-60) time of 5.7 seconds! No styling change for the 1957 Corvette, as the only difference in appearance in a '56. & a '57, was the rear view mirror retention. IIRC, the '56 had a "thumb-screw", & the '57...a bolt! The 1956 & the 1957 Corvette outwardly are identical in every respect. (granted a '57 fuelie, would have a "Fuel Injection" chrome script name plate). The 4-speed manual trans was a 1st for Corvette in 1957.
Guest
01-Jun-2007 11:48
Chevrolet really lit the fuse in 1957, bringing the world the first fuel-injected V8 in a production car ! Making a record-setting 1 hp for each cubic inch, a 4-speed Corvette could rocket from 0-60 in under 6 seconds, and rip through the quarter mile with 100 mph trap speeds . This amazing performance, coupled with styling changes make the 1957 Corvette among the most sought after by collectors and knowledgeable enthusiasts. With just 6,339 Corvettes made in 1957, and only 1,000 or so ordered with fuel injection and the same number with a 4 speed or positraction, this car was a very rare combination that might represent only 2-300 production number you note. Today a car like this would easily bring $150,000 at auction.