1957 Corvette, One Family Ownership Since The 60s, 283/245, REAL 4 Speed

Chevrolet Corvette 1957 Description

94 photos including exterior, interior, engine compartment, undercarriage, serial and casting numbers, and pictures from over the years at this smugmug link:
https://moco.smugmug.com/Cars/1957-Corvette/Marc/
Up for sale is my #3 condition “driver” 1957 Corvette with it’s “born with” 283/245 HP four speed 3.70 rear end. My father purchased it in the 1960s, and I bought from him in 1988. Starts, runs, drives, and stops great.
My late father was a mega Corvette enthusiast. He collected over 100 Corvettes in his lifetime. At one point in the mid 70s he had in his collection an example of every year from 1953 to 1972. He bought all the great ones brand new from the dealership- a 63 SWC FI, a 65 FI Coupe, 67 427/435 Coupe, and a 69 L88 Roadster. He even started a Corvette mail-order aftermarket high performance company, Hypo, Inc., later know as Action Performance. This 1957 Corvette was his first Corvette, and always one of his favorites. It was not a “barn find”, but a barnyard find – Dad bought it from a guy in Iowa who had hidden it in a haystack from the tax collector! After driving it for a couple years, Dad earmarked it as a drag-race project. It had been picked over for many small parts, but fortunately, retained its “born with” 283/245HP motor, 4-speed transmission, and 3.70 rear end. He also left on the 7300 fuel injection unit that was dealer-installed prior to his purchase, thus the added FI emblems on the fender coves. The drag race project never came to be, and I bought the car from my Dad in the late 1980’s. After sitting in his garage for over 25 years, I spent one day servicing it and drove it 400 miles to Indianapolis from Iowa!
The car has never been restored, but has been painted in four different schemes over the years: Originally the rare and desirable Arctic Blue with a Red interior, then White with Silver Coves, then White with Black Racing Stripes and a Black interior in the 70s-80s, and then painted its current Venetian Red with White Coves in 1990. The interior was replaced in 1990 as well with the original red. A broken speedometer was replaced sometime in the 1960’s, so it has accumulated about 2300 miles on the current speedometer in the last 50 years. I estimate it had 40-50,000 miles when Dad parked it in the early 70’s (Dad maintained a collection of as many as 25 Corvettes at a time from the 1960’s until the 2000’s). It is a decent looking, maintained, condition #3 “driver” that has been driven very little over the last 50 years. It starts right up (even in February in 25 degree weather), idles and drives great.
It is an August 12, 1957 production car with its original 283/245 Hp motor, four speed transmission, and 3.70 non-posi rear end with the correct numbers and dates. It is neither a survivor nor a barn find, but instead a “rolling restoration”, as I have maintained its mechanicals and re-installed the small parts that went missing in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The non-original fuel injection unit has been recently replaced with a numbers correct 283/245 HP dual quad carburetor setup, which is how the car was originally delivered. It is a real 4 speed car, with the numbers to back it up. 57 Corvettes did not four speeds installed until late in the production year, so be wary of early cars that were originally three speed cars that had four speeds added later. Real four speed cars (664 made) were rarer than fuel injected cars (1640 made). I replaced the ORIGINAL clutch in 2014.
Numbers:
Body serial number E57S105813, “born-on” date according to C1 registry: August 12, 1957
Engine F724EH = made July 24, 1957, EH = 283 CID dual quad hydr lifter manual trans
Engine block casting number 3731548
Cylinder heads 3740997
Intake manifold 3739653
Thermostat 3837223
Water pump 3736493 rebuilt 2005
Carbs 2626 S (front) and 2627 S (rear)
Air Horns 6-1299 Main Body 0-049
Generator 1102043 dated code 7F12 (June 12, 1957)
Distributor correct 891 type, but with a 1956 date
Exhaust manifolds left 3733975 and right 3733976
Transmission 4 speed WF1972 = built June 19, 1957, second shift
Differential casting number 3725899 D257 = April 25, 1957, AH5 10 = 3.70 open diff, built May 10, 1957
I haven’t checked the fuel pump number, but it has the correct configuration and AC logo. It was rebuilt 2005.
Master cylinder is original and recently rebuilt. Original wheel cylinders needing rebuilding included with spares
Starter motor numbers unknown, but with the amount of road goo on it, there is a high probability it is the original one.
Windshield and hardtop rear window dated 1962. Unknown why replaced, but they could be replacements when the decision was made to rescue it from it’s never-started drag racing destiny.
The paint is a “10 footer”. It was painted back in the 90’s, and is still presentable. It does have its share of nicks, scratches, dings, etc. I am unaware of it ever being wrecked while in my Dad’s or my possession. The hood and front fenders were damaged slightly from a flash engine fire when it had a Holley in the 1970s, but they were repaired when last repainted. There are some traces of the fire, such as the fiberglass repair evident inside the front fender wheel wells. The frame is solid with some mild surface rust that I clean off and treat with WD-40 every couple of years. The red and white patches visible on the frame photos are the overspray from its paint jobs over the years. I was reluctant to repaint the frame, as I wanted to demonstrate that the car was unrestored. Again, this is an unrestored 60 year old car, not a restored car. Car has always been stored inside since my Dad's purchase in the 1960’s. It is a hard top only car, with no soft top ever installed.
Work that has been done in the last several years, or as otherwise dated:
Oil change with fresh filter and zinc additive 6/19/16. It has a spin filter adapter, but I have the original canister housing and a new insert filter for it as well.
Cooling system flushed, new upper radiator and heater hoses installed, new engine drain plugs installed, and fresh 50/50 Prestone coolant. Done Sept 2016, with fresh coolant again Feb 2017 when I finished installation of the dual quads.
Heater valve rebuilt with fresh seals 2016.
Front suspension, driveshaft, and U-joints lubed
New Kumho Solus 205/75-15 tires summer 2013. Much better than the reproduction bias ply tires I ran for years.
Front wheel bearings inspected and repacked, new seals 2014.
Complete brake redo 2014; Original master cylinder rebuilt by Apple Hydraulics, new rubber brake hoses, front brake short hard lines, wheel cylinders, semi-metallic front brake shoes, organic rear brake shoes, brake springs/hardware. Brakes adjusted correctly along with parking brake. Stops straight and well with good balance.
Complete clutch replacement: Flywheel resurfaced, new pressure plate, clutch disc, throw out bearing, pilot bearing, throwout arm pivot ball in 2014.
New transmission seals and linkage 2014.
New pinion shaft seal 2014.
Transmission and rear-end fluid changed 2014.
Rebuilt original water pump 2005.
Rebuilt original fuel pump 2005.
New Monroe gas shocks in the 1990's.
Installed new points, condenser, rotor, ballast resister.
New front muffler clamps.
New fuel tank, sender, rubber gas vent tube, gas filler to tank hose and clamps 2016.
New axle straps and stainless steel hardware. Original rivets included.
Refilled steering box with new grease.
Installed new shifter boot and hold down hardware.
Installed battery hold down box and cables.
Installed prof. rebuilt and re-calibrated speedometer 2016.
Installed rear brake drum anti-rattle springs.
Installed hood release cable and hardware.
Installed new correct spark plug wire set.
Clock works! Never touched.
All gauges are original and work well.
Fresh rebuild of carbs August 2016. New fuel pump to carb fuel lines and filter. New carb linkage.
Generator rebuilt/restored August 2016.
Heater, defroster, and cables all work with replacement (but incorrect) steel defroster box and new heater water and heater/defroster air hoses, and fresh air hose/clamps 2016.
Painted about 1990 with new interior at that time as well
Always stored inside with about 2300 miles on the odometer since the speedometer was replaced in the 1960s.
Obvious stuff that is not correct, needs replacement, or just a defect to be aware of:
Incorrect heater control cable.
Top ignition shield cut by throttle linkage
Slightly bent antenna.
Incorrect generator bracket
Incorrect carpet trunk mat (rather than the correct rubber mat).
No truck board- it wouldn’t fit anyway with the larger radial spare tire.
Non-original jack and handle.
Original, repainted steering wheel has a crack where one of the spokes meet the outer rim.
Missing bottom thin chrome trim on bottom of driver’s door.
Mismatched center carpet piece between seats.
Subtle scratches on inside of windshield on driver’s side, they do not affect sight.
Pitting to varying degrees of some of the chrome- I tried to show these in the photos.
I’m sure the experts can pick this car apart. As I have mentioned earlier, it is not a Bloomington Gold or NCRS frame-off restored car, but a #3 car that has been driven VERY sparingly over the last 50 years. I have tried to maintain it with correct parts when possible.
Work to be done (all parts are included, except as noted):
Install new throwout arm boot.
Install lower ignition shielding.
Replace right front headlight with correct T3 bulb (need to purchase).
Straighten crooked front license plate bracket with new correct bolts.
Install “gorilla” clutch spring if you want. I wouldn’t, as the clutch is pretty easy to push in as is.
Troubleshoot radio. Radio and speaker rebuilt and stored in my basement since the early 90s. I have it installed in the car, and it powers up, but no sound yet.
Find a correct heater control cable/knob.
Original tachometer works, but now making a whirring sound over 3000 rpm, so it needs to be rebuilt.
I’ll keep working on this stuff until the car is sold, but the car is drivable as is.
Spares:
Bag of several hundred dollars worth of new restoration hardware accumulated but not yet installed.
Original gas tank. Looks to be reusable.
Original wheel cylinders, need rebuilding. I also have a set of rebuilt non-original ones.
Misc used original factory small parts, screws, nuts, etc.
Original oil filter housing and filter.
Lower ignition shielding with new hardware.
Several shop manuals, parts assembly manual, and 30 years of receipts of the tons of parts I bought to maintain it or get it back to original.
Wooden jacking blocks for front and rear of car.
Center carpet piece (has hole cut in it for fire extinguisher mount.
The car is drivable while these final repairs are made. It is NOT a restored car, but a good driver to be enjoyed. Even when it had a non-original Edelbrock manifold and Holley carb, it was voted 3rd Best Car Overall at an all-Corvette show with 150+ Corvettes in August 2016. Why sell? It is the second longest marriage for me (The Mrs. is number one at 34 years), and I am moving on to something I can drive to work – my new white 1972 Corvette survivor, with air, PS, PB, PW, auto, etc that is just like the one I owned 1985-1994.
Hagerty valuation: $77,370#3 Condition 1957 Corvette 283/245 HP $65,200Four speed $6520Wonderbar Radio $1150Hard Top $4500
No warranty, implied or expressed. Sold as is, where is. No returns or negotiations on price after purchase- make sure you are happy with the car BEFORE you make an offer. This is NOT a restored car, but a 60 year old UNRESTORED car, so everything is NOT perfect.
$65,000, will consider offers. Clear title. Contact me if interested in seeing the car in person. I would highly encourage this- I think one is crazy to buy a 60 year old car sight unseen. Please look carefully at ALL 94 of the high resolution photos in the smugmug account at the top. Car located in Indianapolis, Indiana. No trades- I am trying to clear space in my garage.