1957 Corvette Original C1 283 V8 Hard & Soft Tops Full Restoration Second Owner

Description for Chevrolet Corvette 1957

For Sale by Second Owner- 1957 Corvette - Original C1 283 V8, ard & Soft Tops, ull Restoration. After 55 years of ownership, e are offering our 1957 Chevrolet Corvette for sale. The car has an Onyx Black exterior with Inca Silver coves, ver a Venetian Red and Onyx Black interior. This car is a 220 HP 283 V-8, ith Powerglide transmission, nd includes both Hard & Soft Tops, IN E57S101890.

As essentially a 2 owner car, his 1957 Corvette is also one of 1393 Powerglide Corvettes built in 1957. It is a "numbers matching" car with the original equipment and options of: 220 HP- 283 cubic inch V-8, ingle Carter 4 barrel carburetor, owerglide transmission, onderbar AM Radio, eater, ourtesy Lights, uxiliary hardtop, car has both hard and soft tops), wo Tone Paint, nd, hitewall Tires.

A member of my family purchased the car, n approximately 1961, rom what we understand was the original purchaser. The seller lived about 3 miles from us. I was present when the car was purchased and the title changed hands.

The car has been in a climate controlled garage since new, y both the previous owner and ourselves. This was, nd is, one to prevent the temperature swings, nd the resulting dew point condensation which can corrode a car from the inside out. After having the car for 35 years, r so, e decided to restore it from the ground up. The car had approximately 60,000 original miles at the time we began the restoration. The restoration was personally performed by the craftsman owner of a highly regarded shop, nown for their meticulous early Corvette restorations. (At that time this gentleman had a Corvette he had painted, s one of the Calendar Cars, n that year'sGeneral Motors Calendar.)

I estimate we have invested 95,000 dollars in the car. We expect to sell the car for less than 95K however, ithout strict regard to how much we have invested. Nevertheless, he car features a: comprehensive, omplete, nd costly, rame off restoration. We approached the restoration with the intent of refurbishing each part if practical and possible, o bring to new or new like condition, oth cosmetically and structurally, nd, f not, eplacing those parts with an original part, remanufactured part, r a new replacement part built to OEM specifications, n that descending order.

Due to the fact that I thought I would never sell the car, nd that I wanted to restore it correctly, e did a lot of things in the restoration process a person may not normally do. We were careful in selecting the person to do the restoration and chose the best person we could find, nd he was not the lowest cost option. And, e tended to spend what was needed to do the car right; we did not waste money but we did not scrimp on the scope of the rebuild, he quality of the parts, r the time it took us to do the job. The first phase took 10 years. Some of the work we did more than once to satisfy ourselves, r we replaced parts more than once if we were not pleased with the end result, uch as removing the aluminized exhaust which was mistakenly installed, s we wanted stainless steel exhaust, r the gremlin redo's you find in a 58 year old car disassembled to the smallest individual pieces and then reassembled and readjusted, ll in an effort to make it better.

The full line machine shop who rebuilt the motor is highly regarded and has been rebuilding and building motors for many decades. Our engine rebuild used the original block and I recall the heads on the car are the Power Pack heads, nd original. It was an extensive rebuild, ith most everything new and of high quality. The block and heads were processed in ways to make them more efficient without modifying to an extent to cause a loss of value. Primarily polishing was a method used for example as a way to improve efficiency. The motor was align bored and balanced. The original crank was reinstalled in the original block, ith the original heads, hich are in the car at this time. We installed: new pistons, new cam, ll new bearings, il pump, ater pump, nd all the parts you would expect to be replaced, ith new high quality parts. A rebuilt Carter carburetor was installed as well as a solid state ignition. (We saved the original distributor and it works fine if you want to reinstall it.) The radiator was replaced with all hoses of course and thermostat, adiator cap. We used the original gas cap. Much of the car was preserved and is original. Everything else is new or remanufactured in the engine and engine compartment and elsewhere. We have in storage the original; distributor, istons, ifters, asteners, lips, tc. and it all goes with the car. A lot of this removed equipment looks pretty good and I think the motor could have been untouched and it would have run for another 100,000 or 200,000 miles. We have saved every old part we removed from the car so the buyer has everything from each: fastener, ut, nd bolt, s well as the old rear springs, ld door panels, eather stripping, rim pieces, tc. In some instances we utilized stainless steel fasteners as a replacement to avoid corrosion.

At the time of restoration the car was original and had a perfect frame with no rust or corrosion. Once the frame was removed from the car it was sent out to be cleaned and restored. The frame was dip cleaned and media blasted. The interior of the frame was treated with a special purpose coating and rust proofing. The exterior of the frame was painted with 3 coats PPG DP-90 Epoxy Prime and 3 coats PPG Delstar Black Enamel with Urethane Hardener. When the frame was returned the rolling chassis was built and we have included a picture of the frame when it was returned and the rolling chassis when it was completed.

All new bushings were installed from the: frame to body, very body bushing, uspension bushing, o every other rubber component which was replaced rather than reuse or refurbish. The front and rear: suspension, rakes, hocks, prings, pper and lower A frame bushings, way bar, verything in the entire suspension was completely disassembled, ebuilt and, r, he components replaced. Shocks were replaced, rakes, rake cylinders, ere all replaced, e used stainless steel brake lines throughout, nd, ear axle travel limiting straps were replaced. Every: fastener, lip, art, iece, ut, nd bolt, as refinished or replaced. A complete stainless steel exhaust was installed. The transmission was disassembled and inspected with new seals and gaskets installed. The rear differential was rebuilt, new bearings were installed and the drive and pinion were adjusted. All wheel bearings were replaced. The drive shaft was balanced and new u joints were installed. New engine, ransmission, nd all other mounts and hangers were replaced. The brake system components were replaced. We took off the Dual 90's tires and put on Coker radials, n the bias tire correct wide whitewalls.

Certain items, uch as some suspension components, r a master cylinder for example, ere media blasted and clear coated to preserve new unpainted bare casting or metal appearance without the corrosion found on uncoated parts. All other partswere: cleaned, nbsp;media blasted, rimed, ainted, nd or coated in what was thought the most appropriate or best way.

Most of chrome was re-plated and is original. The windshield wipers are new stainless steel I believe or chrome, ut new regardless and a really pretty part. The wiper motor was re-manufactured I recall. The chrome distributor and ignition cover was replaced. The air cleaner was re-chromed I recall. A new wiring harness was installed according to my recollection.

The exterior paint is black acrylic lacquer with silver acrylic lacquer coves. Car has new convertible top and frame, new seats, new carpet, new heater box, tc., new cables throughout, he gauges were are refurbished and are original. The interior upholstery components of seat springs, eat upholstery, arpet, oor panels, ash trim, nd hard top liner, runk liners, anels, nd, ubber trunk mat, ere all supplied by Al Knock Interiors. Wonderbar radio is stored, nd aftermarket stereo is installed in the car with a new OEM speaker in the dash. Hardtop was completely refurbished and is black with red new correct headliner, eather stripping,and, new rear window. I intend to install the Wonderbar but I need to send it out to be refurbished. I have not done this as of this time.

We have an original 1964 Michigan Title that we happened to save along the way, n addition to a wide rangingrestoration history of photographs, eceipts for product, nd other costs, s part of the car's records.

The restoration process was completed about 8 to 9 years ago. From that time to the present we have enjoyed tuning and adjusting the car. We have driven the car 8900 miles since the restoration. The odometer was reset to zero when gauges were refurbished so the car reads 8900 miles at the time this was written. Please notice that in the photographs some places or parts of the undercarriage need to be repainted black. I intend to do this but at this time the car is as pictured. Since the restoration we have driven the car and washed the top and bottom sides. The top side has been hand washed and waxed but the bottom side, he undercarriage has not been hand washed. I would hand wash and dry the undercarriage and then recoat the areas where needed with rough service primer and black enamel.

The car is very: smooth, ound, nd, ependable. This past fall I filled the tank on the car with 16 gallons of gas and got on the expressway. I ran the car for 2.5 hours at 70 to 75 mph. And, hen you need to pass, ou squeeze the right pedal and it goes to triple digits very quickly and the motor pulls strongly. The engine was kept as an original motor so the heads were not reworked for a bigger cam, tc. The engine has a lot of torque and freely and quickly turns up the revs. You can get in the car and drive it with a reasonable expectation that you will arrive on time and enjoy the experience.

However, fter all of our caution using high quality parts, nstalled by experts, e had a problem with the cam. We rebuilt the engine again in 2014 as we developed lifter noise and found a lobe on the cam had been damaged. There is a common problem with early flat tappet motors using the new oils with less or no zinc, nd this causing the cam to fail. We do not feel our recent cam problem was due to improper oil however. When the engine was first rebuilt we used a Zinc additive meant for break in and we used a special correct break in oil. Also at each oil change we used a purpose built oil for early flat tappet cams with zinc and additives specifically for that motor, nd the zinc additive in addition. We continue to use this oil and additive in the 2014 motor rebuild. The engine rebuild done in 2014 was done by the same machine shop. They disassembled the motor and thoroughly cleaned the block and all oil galleries and components, nbsp;replaced the internals and completely rebuilt the engine again, nstalling a Comp Cams Nitrided camshaft, hich is a hardened cam, ith better oiling design, nd superior technology to ensure long cam life. We also installed: new lifters, ll new bearings including: cam bearings, od bearings, nd, ain bearings, tc.

We also had a pre-oiler system installed on the car at the time of this rebuild. With this system you turn the key on and wait for the engine to be filled with oil and pressurized before starting the engine. It is not thought to be necessary, specially with a nitrated cam, ut we installed it as a precaution. When you are ready to start the car, ou turn the key to the ON position, his triggers an in-line solenoid to open below a remote oil tank, hich is fitted to the side wall of the engine compartment, nd which has a line connected to the engine oil gallery. After 20 seconds or so of the key being in the ON position, he oil pressure gauge will climb in pressure. When it reaches maximum pressure, ou turn the key to start and start the engine as you normally would. The oil tank is automatically refilled at the highest oil pressure the car will experience in this run cycle.

Notes, isclosure, isclaimer.

Since we got the car back from restoration we have driven the car 8900 miles. Over this time we have transported the car to the machine shop and restoration shop on several occasions to improve the car. We now feel we have the car operating as well as is possible. I would not hesitate to drive the car any distance and feel it is as dependable as a new car.

As mentioned we transported the car on an open trailer when we took it to the machine shop for rework a few years ago, nd to have the drive line rebalanced, joints replaced, nd some miscellaneous work done. When we were trailering, pparently a small amount of road salt splashed on some of the front grill teeth and left small pits or raised marks or imperfections.

I noticed there are a few small bubbles in the chrome on the tail light housings close to the lens.

The driver's seat cover is cracked and needs replacing. There is no wear really but somehow this happened. It is an Al Knock replacement part and easy obtained and replaced.

In the summer of 2015 we removed the transmission and replaced the flex plate and torque converter due to a defect in the flex plate. A bolt had loosened in the flex plate and the flex plate appeared to be imperfect. We replaced the flex plate to ensure it was correct and that we would not have another problem.

We also replaced the radiator in October of 2015, nd the starter, ue to a defect in both items.

Although the transmission was rebuilt in the process of the restoration, n August of 2015 we removed the transmission and installed an O ring set to remedy an intermittent fluid leak which is common with cast iron powerglide transmissions. Our research into the solution to this problem appears to be successful as there are and have been no leaks. And, t this time, here are no leaks from the motor, ransmission, r rear end.

The information contained within is from memory and thought to be accurate. However, e cannot be certain of total accuracy due to the 55 years we are reflecting on. Any interested person should inspect the car, r make their own determination, nd ensure it meets their expectations before purchasing.