Possible Fuelie? 1958 Chevrolet Corvette
Corvette lovers are an engaged and vocal subset of our shared hobby. We have written about thousands of Corvettes and the stories have always been popular and are guaranteed to elicit a strong response from lovers of these cars in the comments. However, two words perk up the ears of everyone with even a passing interest in America’s sports car. Seeing the words “Fuel Injection” emblazoned on the front fender of a vintage Corvette immediately takes the car to the next level in price and collectibility. Yet, it is also hard to tell original fuelie cars from fakes unless you know the clues. Take for example this 1958 Chevrolet Corvette for sale on Craigslist in Sweet Home, Oregon. The seller takes an “I don’t know for sure” approach with this car and is offering it up for sale for a cool $55,000. Can any of our learned Barn Finds readers set us straight on whether this “Vette is legit or not?
As we have come to expect from Craigslist ads, there is not much to go on in the pictures or the description. There are four pictures in the ad. None of them are particularly revealing. The first is of the driver’s side rear of the car. It shows a dusty but complete 1958 Corvette with the two-tone paint option. The body is in Signet Red and the cove is painted in basic white. The chrome looks good but the wide whitewall tires look yellowed. The ad says that the car is a barn find but the pictures show that it must have been a climate-controlled barn that happened to have a restored Corvette in it.
The second picture above shows the driver’s front. As previously mentioned, fuel-injected Corvettes of this era had a badge on the fender just behind the front wheel that simply said “Fuel Injection.” Unfortunately, the angle of the picture does not reveal that badge nor does it show a fender without it. You would think having a clear picture of the badge might have been a priority. Seeing it wouldn’t necessarily prove anything. You can buy these on eBay all day and slap them on your old Corvette, but it is a clue. We are told some more information about the car though. It does not come with the optional hardtop and has only the convertible top you see in the pictures. It has been damaged on the passenger side and is claimed to have been repaired. Notice that there are no pictures of the passenger side. The seller does have an old picture of the car before the repair that we assume will be shared with prospective buyers.
In the third picture, we see a fair shot of the interior. The piping on the red seat covering is frayed, but the material itself is free from cracks and tears. The carpeting appears like new as does the steering wheel. By the position of the shifter, it sure looks like this is a manual transmission car. However, the ad confusingly states that a 1965-era 283 cubic inch V-8 with an automatic transmission is presently in the car. While the Corvette base engine was the 327 cubic inch version by 1965, the 283 was sold as a base engine for many other Chevrolets that year. The seller also tells us that the car comes with the correct short block for single or dual carburetors. The buyer will also receive a correct fuel injection unit and distributor. Are you confused yet? If not, add to your mental evaluation of this car the statement from the owner that it has been lowered two inches.
I wish I had more information for you, or at least information that made sense when everything was added together. If you are interested, a phone call may clear a lot of things up. We may also receive some clues in the comments from our Corvette expert readers who will surely put these four snapshots through the CIA photo analysis treatment to reveal even more about the car. If someone who knew what they were doing got to look at the car, it might be a fair deal. At least you don’t have to mail a deposit to a Nigerian prince to see the car. Not yet anyway.
Do you think this car is a legit fuelie Corvette? Why or why not? Please share your evidence and theories in the comments.
Auctions Ending Soon
2006 Ford Mustang Saleen S281 SCBid Now1 days$15,000
2002 Subaru Impreza WRXBid Now4 days$100
1975 Chevrolet Corvette ConvertibleBid Now4 days$3,000
1964 Ford F-100 Camper CustomBid Now4 days$500
2006 Jeep Wrangler SportBid Now6 days$4,000
Comments
Hard pass to little info and too much cash.
Good luck to buyer and seller.
There are small tell-tales to determine if this car left St. Louis with a fuel injection engine. Any savvy Corvette person knows what to look for. A serious buyer would be well advised to pay an expert to examine the car before pulling the trigger. Price seems reasonable but not enough information in the ad.
Look at code# 579 was 250hp and #579d was 290hp both engines were 283 fuel injection in which 1007 units were built as 283/290hp FI for 1958 corvette
Chevy did offer a 250 hp injected engine option with a Powerglide automatic transmission for the ’58 Corvette. The floor shifter shaft and ball looked the same for both manual and automatic transmissions. The 250 hp tach redline was lower than that for the 290 hp injected 283, however.
The best clue that this is probably a factory-injected ’58 is the firewall throttle linkage. The vertical lever was unique for injected Corvettes until late 1958. This car has the right lever for a factory injected ’58.
I would be surprised if this car sold for $55,000 in its present condition.
#1 1958 Corvette
#2 1963 Split Window Corvette
I would have to see more information and do a personal inspection of this one before pulling the trigger at the asking price. Buyer beware.
I find it strange that someone would advertise what could very well be a high dollar car and only include minimal information as well as very few pictures. Even if it is a true factory fueler, the asking price is too high. Including what is claimed to be the original block is a plus, but there is no way to tell if it came with this particular car. Besides the difference in tach’s that Jerry mentioned, if the car was originally a 270 horse or 290 horse car, there would be an oval hole in the firewall behind the distributer for the tach drive. All others didn’t have the hole as their tach was driven by the generator. It is a shame that the seller didn’t provide more pictures as well as information. I’m originally from the Willamette Valley, and still have some contact with some of my old street racing buddies from the sixties that are pretty car savvy, so I would be tempted to call in a favor and see if one of them could go take a look at it, but the price is so unreasonable that I’m not sure that it would be worth the trouble.
Agree…..could be a scam with the lack of info/pictures.
You are correct, Oldrodder. If the car was a factory-injected automatic, it would have a generator-driven tach that was ink stamped as measuring “cable speed”. The 915 FI distributor didn’t have a tach drive.
The 290 hp FI engine wasn’t offered with an automatic. That FI engine came with a 908 or a 914 distributor. Both of those came with a distributor-driven tach stamped as measuring “twice cable speed”.
I think a much more thorough ad would have gotten the buyer an offer in the $40,000 range. I just can’t imagine a Corvette restorer who would consider buying this car for anything close to $55,000. A non-running, repainted, injected automatic ’58 with a replacement block doesn’t typically sell for that much.
I think this is a ‘Honey, I put an ad in Craigslist for the car but nobody answered’ ad.
Maybe they inherited the car, maybe it is someone who knows little about cars
and just wants to sell it. Everyone out there is not a “numbers” know it all and it really doesn’t make a rats behind. Looks like “another” cobbled together
vehicle that has been “around the block”. Who cares, if you want it, cough up the cash and get in over your head like most “numbers correct” guys today!
There isreally no way to tell if the fake was well done. I know of a top flight ’58 FI that was never an FI. The quick ways to tell on a car not messed with are listed many places.
The correct FI unit is worth a ton alone.
There are numerous ways to find out if it was an original fueler or not. You seem to be saying that you know of a NCRS top flite car that is a counterfeit. While I, nor anyone else can say that a given car, particularly an older car, is definitely not original, I don’t believe that NCRS would give a Corvette that was proven to be a counterfeit a top flite rating. As a matter of fact, one of the best ways to authenticate a Corvette is to buy a NCRS judging manual.
There are numerous ways to find out if it was an original fueler or not. You seem to be saying that you know of a NCRS top flite car that is a counterfeit. While I, nor anyone else can say that a given car, particularly an older car, is definitely not original, I don’t believe that NCRS would give a Corvette that was proven to be a counterfeit a top flite rating. As a matter of fact, one of the best ways to authenticate a Corvette is to buy a NCRS judging manual.
Interesting comments provided by some of the corvette enthusiasts here…The advertisement also states that the seller is old school, utilizing a friend to advertise the car, and the seller will only accept phone calls. Easy solution, call up the seller with any questions one may have, and I’m sure he would happily tell you the story behind this ‘58 Vette…Sometimes you have to dig a little deeper for answers to those curious questions…Continue to Innovate not Duplicate 🛠
I’m no expert, but can’t you just look at the engine and see that it’s carbureted?
I’m no expert, but can’t you just look at the engine and see that it’s carbureted?
Sure you can, but no one said that it is currently injected, only the claim that it was originally a fueler, and that a early model injection unit is included in the sale. Cheers.
Sure you can, but no one said that it is currently injected, only the claim that it was originally a fueler, and that a early model injection unit is included in the sale. Cheers.
Sorry, I accidentally tapped twice.