1957 Chevrolet Corvette Gasser Barn Find!
This 1957 Chevrolet Corvette has a story behind it that comes along very rarely. The current owner has now owned the car twice, and that’s a story in itself. After selling the car in 1969, he managed to buy it back again, but now advancing years has meant that he can no longer enjoy driving the car. So he has decided to part with his baby…again. The Corvette is located in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and is listed for sale here on eBay. At the time of writing, bidding has reached $40,100, but the reserve hasn’t been met.
The current owner of the Corvette originally purchased it in 1966, and it served as his daily driver from 1966 until 1969. He then sold it to a local guy who proceeded to take it home, park it in a barn, and never drove it. Roll the clock forward half a century, and after monitoring the car for all of those years, the owner was able to buy it back from the guy who he sold it to. When it came back to him, it still had the title listed in his name. The car was exactly as it was when he sold it, although it did need some work. The Corvette began its life finished in white, but in 1969 the owner had a local body shop perform a repaint in the car’s current black. He then sold the car only a short time later. The intervening years haven’t been kind to the paint, but the rest of the car has survived remarkably well. The frame and floors look to be rock solid, while the body itself looks to be quite decent under that tired paint. The owner says that the car has never suffered any accident damage, and once it was removed from storage and revived, he enjoyed showing the Corvette still coated with 50-years of accumulated barn dust. It was only fairly recently that he decided to wash it.
One thing that you shouldn’t expect from the Corvette is for it to be a numbers-matching car. The 327ci engine actually came from a wrecked 1966 Corvette, and while it was installed, it was never hooked up during that first stint of ownership. The donor car had been in a roll-over, and in the accident, the driver’s side valve cover was damaged. The owner installed a steel one as a replacement, and that’s what is still on the car 50-years later. When he bought it back, he had the engine rebuilt with new pistons, which are standard size, along with all of the other necessary components and a new carburetor and exhaust. It is now said to run well. The transmission is a manual, but it isn’t clear what type it is.
When the owner bought the Corvette back, the interior of the car had also remained untouched for 50-years. The only item that has been replaced is the carpet, as the original was pretty dry and brittle. The rest of the interior was just given a good clean, and it is in quite useable condition. Personally, I don’t mind it the way it is.
This 1957 Corvette has a great story behind it, and while it isn’t that uncommon to find cars that have been owned by the same person on multiple occasions (I’m guilty of that one), finding one where the two stints of ownership are separated by 50-years has to be pretty rare. I’m not sure what the next owner would do with the car, but I’d like to think that they would leave it largely unchanged and document the car’s incredible history. It would certainly be a great way of starting conversations at any car show.
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Comments
It’s good that the interior of this repainted car has been giving a good cleaning. Cool story!
What’s with the screw in the vin plate ?
The story of engine and rollover would make me check other locations for vin numbers ..frame…trans etc etc
Nice looking car though
Fantastic ’57 convertible. I love the story behind it, and it’s a 4 speed ! A little freshening up, and this Corvette is ready to give its owner more great memories. I wonder if the next owner will keep the incorrect valve cover on, as part of the great story behind this car ? Personally I would leave it as is, and enjoy the ride…..
What makes this a “gasser”? It’s a neat old Corvette, but I don’t see anything on the car, or in the ad, to indicate it was ever a real gasser.
The gasser look was extremely popular in the 60’s. To be cool, you had to have that nose high look, and everything from 55 Nomad’s to 66 GTO’s, ended up with early Ford I-beams or Bell straight axles, to get that gasser look. On 53-62 Corvettes, the complete front suspension, including the crossmember, bolts in. When I bought my 62 Corvette, a previous owner had added 2″ spacers between the frame and the crossmember, to raise the front of the car.
For someone who grew up in the 60’s, there’s something nostalgic about the nose high look, but if it were mine, nostalgic or not, I’d have to get rid of that I-beam. 56-57’s and 62’s, have always been my favorite Corvettes, and this one would make a nice addition to my garage, but I’d either put stock front suspension back under it, or one of the aftermarket bolt in rack and pinion set ups. This would just make it much safer and more comfortable to drive.
You are right, it’s not a “Gasser”. Gassers were races, this was a street car.
It’s cool as it sits. I’d clean it up, then drive it. I don’t think it should be restored, that would wipe away everything that makes it stand out from every restore early Corvette.
Any corvette from this era is a cool car!! If it isn’t a famous gasser with pedigree and race history I would put it back to a car I could drive and enjoy on the street!!!! At least the body is still in tact!!!
Great story! I have to agree with gbvette62 on this rig. Keep the odd valve cover on her also. Original Fuelie car?
Pretty sure the Serial number is to low to be an original fuelie or 4 speed. Some numbers guy can check.
The screw in the VIN Plate is correct.
Nothing to add, this is a drop dead gorgeous piece of Automotive greatness. The only thing that continues to torque me off is ” I guess I will test the waters”. Does this mean he is going to sell?? Anyhoo, good luck to the new owner!!
Cheers
GPC
Unfortunately it’s a Gasser because in its past someone installed a straight axle in place of the factory front suspension.
Hi straight axle alone doesn’t qualify it as a Gasser. Where’s the little 1 gallon gas tank? Gassers always have a small usually 1 or 2 gallon tanks soccer they didn’t run on the street no need for a big heavy gas tank. There’s too many things missing from it to call it a Gasser in my opinion. Cool car though!
Norm Douglas Built this Vette, use to be white with a red insert, im currently looking for the cars location now, id love to reunite norm with his corvette, i have photos of this back in the day, i just reunited Norm with his ‘Casual T. tbucket, next week im reuniting him with his chopped 32 that had a bolt together frame, would love to find this corvette and reunite them again.
-Trent
This is the kind of stuff that makes all this car business so much fun. Beautiful car. Agree axle needs to go on someone’s street rod….
Great story. Yeah, leave it as is including the valve cover and have the owner put his thoughts down on paper or digital to replay during the winter when the ‘vette is put away. Too much history here to be turned into one more resto that you’ll see at every cruise. Yup, ’60s guy remembering a ’55 Chevy picking up his GF from HS and needing a step stool to get her 4 ft nothing in it. Gassers, even as poser, were cool.
The ’55s back end was jacked up level to match. Come to think of it, hers was too.
The Superior (brand) steering wheel would have to go. The original flat wheel was too close as it is. A dished wheel (in this car) is only good for driving down the strip. (not too many left and right turns in the track except for the slow speed one at the end of the track) Change the steering wheel, make sure all is safe (particularly the tires) and drive it. Great conversation piece at the cars and coffee stop!
Ended: Apr 29, 2019 , 11:57AM
Current bid:US $40,653.00
Reserve not met
[ 33 bids ]
Relisted and sold this time. Ended: May 18, 2019 , 8:40PM
Winning bid:US $45,000.00
[ 33 bids ]
Does anyone know where it ended up? would love to find it and reunite the original builder Norm Douglas with it.
When norm built and owned it