Ray Y

Hi guys!
I live over on the C3 with my '70 BB roadster, but I have found a potential new project car that is very compelling but sounds so good it makes me have quesitons, which means I need an education.

The only reference material I currently have is the "Corvette Black Book" and a small spiral bound book that I have loaned out that has all of the referenece numbers of parts for each year of manufacturer.

Anyway I found a '57, air box, fuelie, with a 4 speed. It has been undergoing a very detailed restoration for some time by a guy that has another '57 and lots of parts, and he's rebuilt several others over the past couple of decades. I know there were only about 50 air box cars built in '57. Is there a comprehensive list of the VINs that were built that way or some other way to know it's real? Even if it's a clone it would be cool, I just don't want to pay for a real one unless it is one.

Same basic question for the 4 speed & fuel injection since it was a year one option for each.

Any help or direction to good research materials would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Ray Y

UberLegend

Good luck with your quest Ray.

DZAUTO

Ray,
To date, the BEST accumulation of Airbox documentation is that 43 Airbox cars were built. Also, according to the BEST documentation to date, the FIRST official PRODUCTION 57 Airbox car was VIN 4007 (and that seems to be pretty reliable).
So, the VIN of the car you're looking at should be higher than 4007. The FI unit will most likely be a 4960, and for sure, it will have a 908 distributor. IF, just IF, the FI unit is a 4520, the serial number of the unit should start with 2XXX, NOT 1XXX.
And of course, it should have all the associated Airbox components to include, HD brakes with air scoops up front and ducting for the rear brake cooling air. Column mounted tach with plain 8000rpm face (NO redline), no radio, no heater (heater control ***** are dummies). All other 57 Vettes had the tach mounted in the center of the dash below the radio opening, Airbox cars had that tach hole covered with a nose/trunk emblem, thus, 3 additional holes for the pins. IF it was a genuine Airbox car without a radio, there will NOT be a hole in the top of the left rear fender (quarter panel) for an antenna (open the trunk and feel under the top of the fender just ahead of the tail light for a hole repair). They came with 5.5x15 wheels with dogdish caps. It should have 5 leaf rear springs (instead of 4 leaves), fast steering adapter bolted to the center steering arm and the brackets on the bottom of the lower A-frames for mounting the shock absorbers should have the hole offset rather than centered.
There are multiple other features that are unique to the 57 Airbox cars, but those above are features that your should be able to visualize very easily.

By the way, if this is a genuine Airbox car, I just hope you are independantly wealthy!!!

Tom Parsons

Ray Y

Thanks Tom!!
Most of what you have listed I have already checked and it's correct. I need to check for:
-Possible antenae hole repair
- 5 leaf spring
-Lower A arm for off set shock mount
-all of the pertinent numbers when I get my other book back.

Everything else you have noted is there, or correctly missing (radio, heater,...). Has the wider wheels, all of the ducting, correct brakes, removable hard top.

Were all of the air box cars 283 HP?
Were there trim code tags in 57? Car has been repainted with lacquer Venetian Red.

....and for the record, I'm not independantly wealthy, but I'd like to be!
Thanks for the help!!

DZAUTO

Yes, ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL Airbox cars were 283---------------well, let me backup a little. In Ken Kayser's new book, there are pictures of a 57 250hp FI car that Zora is showing to some people. Most likely, it is not a regular production car.
BUUUUUUUUUUT, all of the RPO 579D (for MANY years it was mis-named as 579E) cars were ONLY 283hp versions.

There was no trim tag of any kind on Corvettes until 1963. ANY and ALL 53-62 Vettes ONLY GOT the VIN tag-------------and that's it!!!

Tom Parsons

Ray Y

Thanks Tom! Very helpful info.

hzz

This could turn into a very interesting thread!

Keep us posted, and if you get the car, post lots of pictures.

RatDog

Google "Airbox Corvette". Lots of links to information and pictures and details. Here's a link to a story about Airbox #1. HD TV had a show about this one that was pretty interesting:

http://www.1957corvetteairbox.com/19...rbox/HOME.html

-- Steve

63Corvette

Tom, Thanks for a great writeup!


Let me add some confusion to this discussion by pointing out the article in the current October 2011 issue of Vette Magazine, where on page 30 there is an article by Scott Ross and Richard Prince on Dominick Salvemini's 57 Air Box Corvette which seems to imply that Airbox authority Ken Kayser has inspected this car and certifies it to be genuine and that about 50 rather than 43 57 airbox cars were manufactured. (Of course, there are now 345 certified 1967 L-88s of the 20 originally manufactured, so I assume that we will (eventually) find more of EVERY rare and desirable Corvette)

Ray Y

I just read that article as well, interesting for sure.

I see you are in Granbury....my folks lived on the lake there until the mid 90's.

DZAUTO

AND, as an additional comment about Ken Kayser, here is why I really appreciate his book, and until something more authorative comes along (and I seriously doubt that it will). Ken has many years as a GM employee, he has researched and documented archival records and published that documentation in his book. His book is not speculation nor supposition, it is an accumulation of genuine GM documents, drawings and photos. Consequently, his book leaves almost no stone unturned.
I bought both the hard bound and the soft bound versions. Already the soft bound is getting a little ragged from so much use. The hard bound version seldom comes out of its cover. The hard bound versions are numbered and autographed and when I ordered mine from Ken I requested-----------and got-----------#56.
Over the years, there have been MANY, MANY publications of various types about Corvettes, but for background and history on the development of fuel injection, Ken's is a must for the library. And for overall information and pictures, Noland's Vol 1 and 2 are the second books to have in the library.
Both Ken's and Noland's books provide answers to MANY questions, BUT, they also open up discussions for more unanswered questions. For example, the hows and whys of various changes that were done to the air and fuel meters? I'd love to know about the finer details of how passages, restrictions were determined in the air meters and the changes to the spill valves in the fuel meters. Many of the GM and Rochester people are gone now, so we will probably never know some of the finer details of development.
Ken touches on the development/construction of the fresh air duct for the Airbox cars. There was no formal drawing, there was a batch of 50 made from a layup. The layup was inadvertantly destroyed in 85. Gone forever. And no details nor drawings. The airbox on my 56 was copied from an original airbox. When I received it, it had to be finish trimed and fitted. Looks like a hand laid GM part.

Tom Parsons