zano

bought a 57 at barrett auction last month guy just had on window 283/283 horse fuelie . been looking at block and injection #s and i think it could be matching and an original fuelie any one know how to varify? thanks zano

emccomas

Yes

zano

lol you have anymore info ?

zano

fuel injection # 7014800 serial 1955 block #s 3731548 f626el car vin. exhaust manifold # 3733976 rh distributor 1110905 7b27 car vin# e57s105128

emccomas

Any chance you can post pictures of the engine pad, and also get the block casting date. Casting date is on rear top passenger side, opposite the block casting number?

Also post pictures of the throttle lever that comes out of the dash and connects to the FI unit. Should be a round lever with the end flattened.

This is a good place to start.

What color is the car exterior and interior?

jim lockwood

It would be pretty unusual to find a 4800 FI unit on a 283/283 engine.

The 4800 unit was intended and calibrated for use on 283/250 engines.

ohiovet

Did Barrett Jackson advertise it as a Matching Numbers car?
How much was it $$$$

AOS_L79

Some pics here:

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/Event...ERTIBLE-201794

emccomas

I seem to recall a Chevy Bulletin in May of 57 that said the 4800 FI unit was to be used on passenger cars only.

Does that ring a bell with anyone?

DZAUTO

That is EXACTLY correct. BUUUUUUUUUUUUUT, from past observations of a few units, it now appears that there were SOME 283/283 engines that did receive 4800 units which had been calibrated for the solid lifter engines.
Some of the nation's FI knowledgeable people, such as John DeGregory and Jerry Bramlett, have observed 4800 units which came from BELIEVABLE 283/283 cars.
Also, last year I rebuilt a 4800 unit which came from what was (FROM ALL INDICATIONS) a one owner 1957 Chevy Bel Air. From my understanding, the unit had not been rebuilt nor replaced.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOO, did the 4800 get installed on a solid lifter 57 engine? I'm not one that will dispute it.

Now, with that said, the 4520 unit was originally intended to be used on 57 pass cars with the hyd cam. BUT, again, that unit was also calibrated for both hyd and solid lifter engines. Ken Kayser points out that the serial number on plenum tags for hyd cam engines starts out with 1001 and for solid cam engines the serial number starts out with 2001.
Last, the forth and last FI unit for 57 was the 4960, which is virtually completely identical to the 4800 unit, BUT, for sure, it was only calibrated and intended for solid lifter engines.

Bottom line, there is still a lot of confusing and misunderstanding about the FI units that were used throughout the 57 model year. So nothing can really be taken for gospel.

jrs 427

Documentation, former owner, seller ? The " factory build accuracy " on early cars is sometimes easy to fake. The ease of information to details of fuel and multi carburetor originals is no secret. To pay the value of an original is one thing. Documenting is another. Paying a knowledgable party would be first on my agenda. This is the beauty of an auction, Quick decisions based mostly on hype and broad descriptive statements are purely in the favor of the seller and the auction service. The reason for the " not responsible for description accuracy " clause.
A sales slip from the auction company is not based on true value. Its a bidders intent on ownership. A publicized fact, .. there are more survivor 57 FI cars than the general produced. Amazingly none were crashed, parted out, or outright destroyed. Many examples have seen a lot of street action, drag strip participation, and general hard use. A percentage were crashed or involved in minor accidents. I would venture to say a huge percentage of the remaining fuel cars have perfect glass bodies, Sunday driven on sunny days and low miles.
I hope your 57 is as original as the assembly line produced. Spend some time tracing its heritage starting with the former owner and the restoration shop. The trail can be an interesting journey to its past. I would be the Sherlock of detectives if I was the caretaker.
Great looking car by the way.

vettebuyer6369

The numbers that are there might be "correct," but 1957 engine blocks did not have a VIN derivative on them, so by definition there's no numbers that "match" anything, much less the chassis/title VIN.

93RubyRedCoupe

When an auction house uses the terms " It's powered by a balanced and blueprinted 283/283hp fuel-injected" as opposed to "it's powered by it's original 283/283hp fuel-injected" you kinda know what you're getting into.. When referring to the engine as "a" engine versus "the original engine" tells the story. Gorgeous car though, regardless....gorgeous...ARA

leif.anderson93

Bingo Ara

emccomas

I suspect that any auction house or reputable dealer in their right mind would not state that any engine without a VIN derivative on the engine is "the" original engine unless there was solid evidence of this.

jrs 427

This is the reason ( no block VIN derivative ) they are cloned and passed off as original. A few extra holes cut in the cowl and additional tell tale signs outlined in technical manuals equate to a clear path of disguise. Era matching used parts purchased for a specific purpose.
If the owner purchased it for the pure classic design and likeness of a race inspired breed all is great in the world. If it is purchased to deceive another owner for greater value its considered fraud. Legal language with broad term descriptions make this practice hard to prove intentions in courts. The " I was led to believe, I thought, I'm not an expert, I purchased it on an owners word " and many additional I'm not a crook phrases soon come to light.
As long as there is an additional dollar to be made, deception will be a factor to consider. Early year production models ( for GM pre 1960 ) are prime targets offering high dollar returns.

emccomas

Agreed.

Last year a 1957 FI Corvette that was originally captured in Mike Hunt's data as a 250hp, powerglide, Copper exterior, beige interior reappeared as a 283hp, 4 speed, Black exterior, red interior car.

The 250hp, powerglide engine was assembled 515 (May 15th), the 283hp, manual trans engine was assembled 505 (May 5th).

OldKarz

Nice car! I would drive the hell out of that!

gingcars

Is Mike Hunt's data published anywhere that it can be seen?

emccomas

Somebody on the forum used to have links to the data, but the links don't work anymore.