1957 CORVETTE SEBRING RACER MULE CAR

[black69]

just for my own grins, it would be nice to know when they started really working on these cars, once I saw you guys using the mid 1956 dates in the above threads. I have always been into big brake cars (jim knows) and I have an early 1956 intake manifold for a fuelie. Would these sebring cars be the first fuelies made? Would they have any engine prototype stuff on them? probably not...except for a mule?..
side note, there is what I believe is a 57 sebring pic in the recent street scenes thread on this site. That was cool to see (I bet no one noticed). side scoops showing plain as day.

[MultiMopars]

I got a PM from Vettefinderjim and responded and thought that the text was going to show here but it didn't and it is not in my "PMs sent."

My name is Darryl Dayton my phone number is 928-277-4692 and I can be reach there up til 11:00PM Arizona time if he wants to talk about the car.

We took the car to an NCRS meet in Rockford Ill. around 1977 where it was photographed and later pictured in Nolan Adams first book showing the engine compartment. The caption for the picture was "would you buy this mess?" as the car was as found and we only had limited info as to what we actually had at that time. The late Mike Hunt, the authority at that time on these cars said it could only be the mule car for the Sebring cars with as early a V.I.N. as it had. I hope to hear if this is still thought of as true and any other documented updated info about all of this.

This will make all of you chuckly. We paid $2000. for this car when we found it. LOL! Can only guess what the value of this car is today.

[Vettefinderjim]

Thanks for the visit Darryl,
I did not realize we burned up so many phone minutes. 140 to be exact. Your ownership history will be well received by the current owner. I have sent you some photo history of the engineering Nassau and Sebring race cars. I will keep you up to date on the history as we all find more. Thanks for coming forward. We are only caretakers of these old cars, and their accurate history of ownership keeps the hobby honest.
I have added a picture of Jim Jeffords at Milwaukee in April 1957 AFTER Sebring and Marlboro races. He bought this car and drove it home to Wisconsin. He painted the car maroon (Candy Aplle Red ?) and continued racing it thru 1957. He sold it thru Dick Doane Chevrolet around Christmas 57, as in January 28, 1958 he bought the Harley Earl blue 56 SR-2 race car. Who knows, but your car may have started life as this car. My guess is that is the history, but time will tell as more of the puzzel is uncovered.

[firstgenaddict]

HD NET is getting ready to have a special on about an Airbox car... a black one. It was delivered and driven directly to MD for a race. Is this the car?

[MultiMopars]

No.

The car that my partner and I owned 30+ years ago was build very early in the 1957 model year whereas the majority of the air box cars were built around May of 1957.

Back in 1977 when we took this car to an NCRS meet where the late Mike Hunt (pretty much the authority on these cars at the time) sermized that the car had to be a mule car (test car for the later to come Sebring cars) It is now suspected that this car along with a couple of other cars raced at Nassua earlier in the year.

I sold out my interest in the car to my partner about 1 year after we purchased it. He sold it to the previous owner of the current owner. When it was sold to the current owner it was represented to have been a Sebring racer of a certain number/driver. That is probably unlikely but that does NOT mean that the car was not also raced at Sebring as a "P" car. I personally think the the previous owner to the current owner made a mistake in representing the car as he did and that the car as the true Nassau racer I believe it was/is is more valuable than any of the other regular Sebring racers.

[firstgenaddict]

The one on HD NET is supposed to be a PILOT car.

[firstgenaddict]

this is the car...
http://www.corvetteblogger.com/index.cfm...to-Former-Glory

[Vettefinderjim]

[ QUOTE ]
just for my own grins, it would be nice to know when they started really working on these cars, once I saw you guys using the mid 1956 dates in the above threads. I have always been into big brake cars (jim knows) and I have an early 1956 intake manifold for a fuelie. Would these sebring cars be the first fuelies made? Would they have any engine prototype stuff on them? probably not...except for a mule?..
side note, there is what I believe is a 57 sebring pic in the recent street scenes thread on this site. That was cool to see (I bet no one noticed). side scoops showing plain as day.

[/ QUOTE ]
If you really want to get into the history of these cars and Rochester Fuel Injection, buy Ken Kayser's book " The History of GM's Ramject Fuel Injection on the Chevrolet V-8 and its Corvette Racing Pedigree"

Yes, the title is a mouthful, but the book has 594 pages of text and photos and is full of imformation never before published.

In 1975,Ken purchased a 57 Corvette "Pilot line fuel injection model", vin number #162 that was built the first week of October 1956. That purchase sent him on a hunt for more information. He was a GM Powertrain engineer with Chevrolet since 1968 (Just retired in 2008), so he knew his way around the company.

His records indicate Chevrolet began the engineering of Fuel Injection in 1955 with John Dolsa's (the creating engineer of Rochester Fuel Injection) US Patent #2871842 filed on May 31, 1955. In October 1956, 4 fuel injection cars were made.

Ken tracks every piece of history up thru the end of 1957. It is a great source for history lovers. You can order the book at his email address [email protected].