Chevrolet Corvette Convertible 1958, Estados Unidos

Chevrolet Corvette Convertible 1958, Estados Unidos
Motor: 283/250HP
Exterior: Azul (Silver Blue)
Interior: Azul
Fotografia

HIGHLIGHTS

NCRS Regional Top Flight award with scoring sheet

Body-off restoration

Matching numbers 283/250 HP V-8 engine

Rochester fuel injection

1 of 504 produced with 250 HP engine

4-speed manual transmission

Off-road exhaust

Wonderbar radio

Full size spinner wheel covers

Correct wheels and reproduction bias ply tires

Silver Blue with Silver coves

Blue-Gray interior and Blue top

1958 styling cues include first-year dual headlights, 9-tooth grille, ribbed hood and twin chrome trunk spears

Built in November 1957, this 1958 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible was in storage from 1976 to 2010, when a private collector began a five-year body-off restoration. Once completed, it won a National Corvette Restorers Society Top Flight Award with a score of 96.8 at the 2015 Rocky Mountain Nationals. It is one of only 504 Corvettes built with the optional RPO 579 283/250 HP Rochester fuel-injected small-block engine using a hydraulic camshaft. More Corvette buyers chose fuel injection in 1958, but it was the Corvette’s all-new styling that grabbed the public’s attention. The most obvious change was the quad-headlight craze sweeping the auto industry; Corvette’s designers placed them on the 1958 model over two large intakes that had no function until they were opened up to cool the brakes for racing applications. Between those, a new grille insert showed fewer teeth than before, down from 13 to nine. A row of 18 simulated hood louvers were joined up front by twin chrome strips extending rearward along the tops of the front fenders and simulated side scoops with triple chromed spears in the side coves. More chrome appeared at the rear in the form of twin trunk spears resembling those on the custom Corvette built for Sweden’s Prince Bertil. Answering ongoing criticism, the instruments were finally gathered together in a cluster centered around a 6,000 RPM tach beneath a large new 160 MPH speedometer. The clock, radio and heater controls were also grouped together in a central panel, the first hint of a console in a Corvette, and a passenger grab bar spanned a curved recess in the dash, another design element that became a signature feature. Finished in popular Silver Blue with silver coves, a blue-gray interior and blue soft top, this Top Flight-winning Fuelie convertible incorporates a 4-speed manual transmission, off-road exhaust, a Wonderbar radio and spinner wheel covers over wide whitewall tires.