Have you ever heard of a 1957 Corvette racer called “Lil Twister”?
If you have, Bob, the new owner, would love to talk to you and find out the history of his mysterious Corvette.
Bob posted photos on BarnFinds.com
, along with the little bit of information he’s been able to discern from what remains of the paint on his ’57.
He’s hoping someone will be able to share the history of the car with him so he’ll know what direction to take with the restoration.
So far, Bob knows for sure that a fellow named Mike Stuart bought the car in the early 1970s in Michigan. It apparently stayed in his garage until his death about five years ago, when someone named Rick bought it from Mike’s widow. Rick tried to trace back the history of the car, to no avail, and finally gave up on the project because he didn’t know what to do.
If he restored the car to factory original, he risked destroying a potentially important drag racer?
Bob finds himself in much the same predicament now.
“I would greatly prefer to restore the Corvette as Lil Twister,” Bob writes, “but I have got to have at least some documentation before going in that direction.”
Hand-painted lettering on the car has offered some clues. The car apparently competed in the BM/SP (B Modified Sports) category that existed from 1961-67. Bob believes the painted-up logo and 96 race number indicate that Lil Twister was somewhat established as opposed to just showing up at a drag race every now and then and putting numbers on with shoe polish.
“327 CU. IN. 350 H.P.” is written on the front fenders, and Bob wonders if the HEADERS by CYCLONE that’s painted just ahead of the front wheels might be a sponsor.
The biggest mystery is the CHEVELAND that is painted on the back fender. A Google search has turned up nothing to indicate what this might mean.
“Oddly, CHEVELAND appears alone, as opposed to JOE CHEVELAND or CHEVELAND AUTO PARTS or something along those lines,” Bob writes. “This may indicate that CHEVELAND was well-known enough where the car raced that nothing else was necessary.”
Any racing modifications that may have existed like roll bars, engine, and transmission have been pretty much erased, though the front sway bar links are two inches longer than factory, possibly so the front would lift easier under acceleration, Bob believes.
“Two other clues are a AAA Michigan sticker and a Tau Kappa Epsilon sticker on the windows,” Bob concludes. “I’d invite anyone with any information on the Lil Twister 1957 Corvette drag race car to contact me. Any help would be greatly appreciated!”
If you can help, visit BarnFinds.com to reply to Bob in the comments.
Source:
BarnFinds.com
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