1957 CORVETTE SEBRING RACER MULE CAR

[MultiMopars]

A friend and I owned this car back in the mid-late 70s.

It was the first factory 57 Fuel Injected car built and had the famous cold air box, big brakes and suspension. It was the rest car for the Sebring racers and was supposed to have been destroyed, however as was the custom back then it "slipped out the back door" later to show up at Elkart Lake racing.

My friend bought me out on this car and collected all of the very rare hard to find parts for the car and later sold it to Tim Partridge who owned Lectra Limited repo wiring harness company. The last I knew of the car was painted up to appear as a Sebring racer and offered for sale.

Does anyone know where this car is today and who owns it?

[PeteLeathersac]

Whttp://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gifW!!!

This must be Vin # 57S100834 ?.

No idea where this car is today but if you haven't seen these pages yet there's some pics and info on this car mixed in w/ other cars here..
http://www.legendarymotorcar.com/inventory/287/Binder1.pdf

Are the pre-production cars considered in the 43 Airbox cars total or in 'addition' to?.

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif
~ Pete

[olredalert]

------If anybody does it would be Jimmie Gessner AKA: "Vettefinderjim". He has a better working knowledge of all those old racing Corvettes than anybody on the planet. I knew the car when Tim had it but honestly didnt pay much attention to it. Jim does come on this sight but he also has a website that, I believe, is some form of that "Vettefinderjim". Hope this helps!........Bill S

[RPOLS3]

http://www.vettefinderjim.com/

Jim Gessner
1346 Laurelwood Lane
Mentone, CA 92359
909-794-7905
[email protected]

[Vettefinderjim]

[ QUOTE ]
A friend and I owned this car back in the mid-late 70s.

It was the first factory 57 Fuel Injected car built and had the famous cold air box, big brakes and suspension. It was the rest car for the Sebring racers and was supposed to have been destroyed, however as was the custom back then it "slipped out the back door" later to show up at Elkart Lake racing.

My friend bought me out on this car and collected all of the very rare hard to find parts for the car and later sold it to Tim Partridge who owned Lectra Limited repo wiring harness company. The last I knew of the car was painted up to appear as a Sebring racer and offered for sale.

Does anyone know where this car is today and who owns it?

[/ QUOTE ]
There are about 15 very active owners of 1957 heavy duty race option cars that visit regularily with email and at events thruout the year like CORVETTES AT CARLISLE's recent RACE CAR REUNION.

At this years event, which occurs every five years, Tim Partridge was present with vin #832, which is his TRIBUTE #P3 race SEBRING car. Tim sold the vin #834 car to an Ohio collector back in the late 1980's who still owns the car.

That car(#834) did show up in 1977 at a NCRS event in Collingsworth, IL. See the NCRS RESTORER magazine Vol 5-4 and 13-2 for Mike Hunt's stories on the car back in the day. We lost Mike in July 2007, but his research is still being treasured by Ken Kayser, I and other 57 history freaks. Back in those days, Mike had 17 "air box" cars identified (today we have 29 of the 43 made), and this car was one that he felt was legit even thou the air box cars production fall into the vin number 3950-6339 ranged of May 57 production and later.

Today the car is presented as the # 4 SEBRING race car that Dr. Dick Thompson and Gaston Audry drove to 12th OA at SEBRING on March 24, 1957.

In May 2009, I found vin #1034 which we believe is the # 3 SEBRING race car driven by Jim Jeffords, John Kilborn and Dale Duncan.

I would like to privately visit with you about vin #834 and put you in touch with the current owner who would welcome your contact. I and five others saw the car just last September 2. I have lots of history to share.
Regards,
JIM GESSNER
[email protected]
909-794-7905

[Vettefinderjim]

[ QUOTE ]
Whttp://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gifW!!!

This must be Vin # 57S100834 ?.

No idea where this car is today but if you haven't seen these pages yet there's some pics and info on this car mixed in w/ other cars here..
http://www.legendarymotorcar.com/inventory/287/Binder1.pdf

Are the pre-production cars considered in the 43 Airbox cars total or in 'addition' to?.

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif
~ Pete

[/ QUOTE ]

Pete,
The car LEGENDARY restored is the old BOB MOUAT 57 race car, vin # 4387. The Hussey Brothers from Birmingham, AL own it. The history is below.

"AIRBOX" cars have interesting history. The original Engineering drawing goes back to June 1956, and we believe they were tested in very early 1957 on cars that raced at NASSAU Dec 7, 1956 where the 'first' fuel injected Corvettes appeared in a competition event. We also know, that the 1957 SEBRING test car #P3 TESTED the air box and discovered that 80% of the cool frontal air was digested into the engine, and not thru the rocker panel to aid in cooling the left rear brake, so the actual raced cars (# 4 and # 3) did not used the air box. The red SR-2 Bill Mitchell Corvette that Pete Lovely and Paul O'Shea drove had the 'first' air box use. This car also raced Nassau in Dec 56 with the same set up.
The fact that production models did not get the 'airbax' option until mid May 57 and later prevented many 57 Corvette drivers like Dave MacDoinald to use the item. It was to late to the game.

THE HISTORY OF MOUAT'S 57 IS:

From delivery until 1965, Bob Mouat raced the Corvette, primarily in SCCA
National events throughout the Northeast. over 69 race records show he raced at
Lime Rock, Bridgehampton, VIR, as well as smaller tracks that no longer
exist such as Cumberland, Marlboro and Thompson. While most other
racers were trading up to newer models, Bob continued to race his 57.
This may be one of most extensively raced Corvettes from the period. In
SCCA points, Bob ranked as high as 2nd in B/P in 1963 and 3rd in B/P in
1964. This 3 owner car has Title Conveyance from Mouat/Huffman to 2nd owner(Three owner car), Copies of 8mm movies taken of the car over its racing history, Interviews with Mrs.Mouat, and 2 fellow racers/ pit crew (recorded), Authentication by NCRS judges at NCRS meet in Orlando, Bloomington Gold Special Collection in 2007, Amelia Island Concour winner, 2008. For Sale at World Auction, Houston, May 4, 2009.

[PeteLeathersac]

Hi Jim...

Really great info you've provided as usual and I agree the Airbox cars are definitely some of the coolest 'Vettes ever built!.

I was aware that the Airbox Legendary restored was a different car than the subject vehicle but included the link as there's a blurb and some pics of Vin #0834 starting around page 32..

The internal GM Engineering documents at the start of the link are great reading too and it makes a fella wonder if GM would've ended up w/ the troubles they have today if that kind of simple logic was still being used?.

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif
~ Pete

[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]

[ 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].

[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 (http://www.corvetteblogger.com/index.cfm/2007/12/17/Rare-1957-Airbox-Corvette-Found-and-Restored-to-Former-Glory)

[MultiMopars]

I believe THAT car is V.I.N. 4007 which is much later than my old car which is V.I.N. 834. 4007 MAY have been the earliest air box car of the cars that were available for public sale or order in May.

I believe that there is an eariler V.I.N. than my old car that has surfaced according to member VettefinderJim that he says would likely have been built the same day or 1 day either side of mine which would have also been a "P" car and raced at Nassua prior to Sebring. Those cars were not available for sale to the public and were built for race testing, hence "mule cars" These questions are better answered by Jim. I will let him know about this question and he can correct anything that I have mistaken here if so. He knows far more about what has been uncovered since I owned this car 30+ years ago and knows all of the people in the article you linked.

[firstgenaddict]

cool....

[Kurt S]

As an related aside:
I used to work at Rochester Products; my manager in Product Development was the guy who developed and patented GM's fuel injection system. I don't recall his name right now, but it wasn't John Dolsa. I also remember pulling up the patent and seeing my manager's name on it.
He was a inventive-type genius with a good memory. That was 20 years ago, I'm not sure he's still around.

They also had an original mechanical fuel injection system in the lobby, next to all the new-fangled electrical ones. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[bashton]

[ QUOTE ]
A friend and I owned this car back in the mid-late 70s.

It was the first factory 57 Fuel Injected car built and had the famous cold air box, big brakes and suspension. It was the rest car for the Sebring racers and was supposed to have been destroyed, however as was the custom back then it "slipped out the back door" later to show up at Elkart Lake racing.

My friend bought me out on this car and collected all of the very rare hard to find parts for the car and later sold it to Tim Partridge who owned Lectra Limited repo wiring harness company. The last I knew of the car was painted up to appear as a Sebring racer and offered for sale.

Does anyone know where this car is today and who owns it?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not sure if it is the same car, but Tim Partridge still owns a factory fuel injected 57 with extensive race history that he showed at the Chevy Vettefest show several years back after I met him and invited him to be a special feature, right up front.

Tim is not the owner of Lectric Ltd, as Ken Hannah is, and Ken is also the former co-owner of the Chevy Vettefest show. Ken has owned many 57's Corvettes over the years and he now has a really neat "Resto-Mod" 57 Corvette that sits on a modern chassis, that is white with blue coves and Halibrand style wheels.

Cool car, any way you look at it!

Bashton
MCACN managing Member

[Vettefinderjim]

[ QUOTE ]
As an related aside:
I used to work at Rochester Products; my manager in Product Development was the guy who developed and patented GM's fuel injection system. I don't recall his name right now, but it wasn't John Dolsa. I also remember pulling up the patent and seeing my manager's name on it.
He was a inventive-type genius with a good memory. That was 20 years ago, I'm not sure he's still around.

They also had an original mechanical fuel injection system in the lobby, next to all the new-fangled electrical ones. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Would that be FRANK SCHIBKA ? Frank passed a few years ago. He was a welth of information.

This 834 car has great past history. And this history search is on going for all these cars as all we do when we buy one of these cars is care for it until it is time to pass it to the next generation of collectors. I think it is really neat that Darryl has come forward to tell us about the past.

[Kurt S]

Nope, not Frank either. I can picture him - tall and thin with grey hair.
I did pull up some old reports I did and he was high enough up that I didn't send him copies. Not sure I have an org chart from back then....

[Vettefinderjim]

[ QUOTE ]
A friend and I owned this car back in the mid-late 70s.

It was the first factory 57 Fuel Injected car built and had the famous cold air box, big brakes and suspension. It was the rest car for the Sebring racers and was supposed to have been destroyed, however as was the custom back then it "slipped out the back door" later to show up at Elkart Lake racing.

My friend bought me out on this car and collected all of the very rare hard to find parts for the car and later sold it to Tim Partridge who owned Lectra Limited repo wiring harness company. The last I knew of the car was painted up to appear as a Sebring racer and offered for sale.

Does anyone know where this car is today and who owns it?

[/ QUOTE ]

HI DARRYL,
MY PC IS IN THE SHOP AND I LOST JERRY'S PHONE. CAN YOU SEND IT IN A PM OR I WILL CALL IN THE MORNING. I TRIED TWICE TO CALL HIM. NO LUCK. I WANT TO TRY AGAIN THIS WEEKEND.
THANKS,
JIM