Is this a real 1957 Corvette fuelie?
That’s the question facing a cautious enthusiast considering the purchase of this ’57 – one of only 1,040 built that year – being offered on eBay in Walker, Louisiana. After 14 bids have been placed, the highest is $25,400, about 10 grand short of the “Buy It Now” price of $35,000.
Only one time in the listing is the word “fuelie” even mentioned, but the intake manifold shown in the pictures is indeed for a fuel injection system. But the actual unit itself is missing. Also missing are the holes in the sides of the fenders where special “Fuel Injection” emblems should have been mounted, but those could have been covered up during previous ownership.
Unfortunately, in those early days, Chevy didn’t really worry about a future owner wanting to prove the options fitted on a particular Corvette. We found this car on Barn Finds, and one of their readers noted that 1955-62 Corvettes did not have a trim tag, making it difficult to determine for sure if the car is a real fuelie.
But one thing we do know for sure is that this car has the beautiful lines of a ’57 Corvette, and it doesn’t need a trim tag to prove that.
As one realist posted on Barn Finds, “This is a hard to find car. The price is high, but where will you find another? It needs a total makeover, but the frame, body and basics are all there. Forget the fuelie system and go back to a carb. It’s a lot cheaper and less problems. Fuelie units can cost over $10k.”
The seller himself declares his vehicle to be a “full project car sold as is,” with no extra parts included. He adds that it is “fairly complete” with “a nice frame” and “a hardtop only car.”
He claims the black paint is “a very rare factory” color, but in actuality, that was the most popular color in 1957 with about a third (2,189) of the 6,339 cars built at the St. Louis factory coming in that shade.
How would you approach this ’57 potential fuelie?
Source:
eBay Motors via BarnFinds.com
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