1958-1961 Hands-On Corvette History
When the newly-bodied '58...
When the newly-bodied '58 was introduced it took a while for all to grasp the quad headlights, washboard hood and chrome spears on the trunk lid. In all, the '58 out-sold the '57 by 2,829. Many today are still 1956-57 purists
Most of us who grew up in the fifties and sixties remember what every new Corvette was like as well as every option. In the 1958-1961 time period, the 1956 and 1957 Corvettes were now affordable to many as used cars. The Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed transmission arrived in mid-'57. Positraction was also a new '57 factory option. The optional 2x4 induction was the hot set-up along with Edelbrock and Offenhauser 3x2 tri-power intake manifolds. Hedman tri-y headers were now on the scene. Nothing in the new car scene could run with a solid-lifter V8 Corvette. My youth from 1956-up was consumed with nothing but sports, rock & roll, motorcycles and fast Corvettes and Chevrolets.
Within a 30-mile radius of my rural northeastern Illinois town were a dozen or more '56-'61 fast Corvettes-plus a few dozen potent 283 and 348 Chevys. Late in 1960, my Dad decided to shop around for a Corvette. His employer in Chicago had a fleet discount program with General Motors. We visited almost every large dealership in Chicago but nothing struck his fancy. While he checked out the new Corvettes, I scanned the used car lot. I'll always remember a white '59 270 hp, four-speed. It was without a radiator fan. A salesman told me it had a "special" radiator. Right. We then visited Doane Motors-a small dealership about 25 miles from home. Its owner, Dick Doane also owned Meadowdale International Raceway-an SCCA road race track. I had gone there many times in 1959 and 1960 to watch the Corvettes race but never knew Doane owned it. When Mr. Doane heard that my Dad was a WWII B-29 veteran, a bond was created. Sitting in the center of his showroom floor was a new Sateen silver '61 Corvette with red interior, 270 hp engine, 4-speed, 4.11 Positraction, with serial number 100438. Doane's used car lot had a few fuel-injected Corvettes. When I mentioned them to my Dad, he sternly replied, "What do you want to do, kill yourself"? He obviously thought that fuel injection was far superior to the 2x4 WCFB Carter carb induction. It would prove to be just the opposite. A short time later we were heading home in the new '61-with me at the wheel. I've never forgotten the thrill of that day!
When you saw this script on...
When you saw this script on a 1958-61 Corvette, three things happened: You were overwhelmed with envy, you pulled over and then you listened for the "hissing" induction sound from the Rochester fuel-injection.
My Dad liked horsepower and performance but speeding and street racing was totally out of the question. If my grades in school were good, we'd go up to Great Lakes Dragaway in Union Grove, Wisconsin (45 miles away) on the weekend. Our first-ever time-trial race was on a Saturday night in early 1961 against a D/Gas '56 Chevy. Our rear tires spun badly off the line and we ran a 15.45 ET at 90 mph. We got down to the 15.20s but lost in eliminations. Weeks later, our first modification was a set of $29 Traction Master traction bars. Then came a set of Hedman tri-y headers with short lakes pipes welded on. All work was done at a friend's Skelly gas station in nearby McHenry. Soon, Dick Doane and his service manager, George MacKendry were telling us all about engine "super tuning". We also purchased a set of six-inch recap slicks for $15 to replace the Atlas Bucron softer tread rear tires. With a quicker timing curve, Packard 440 copper core spark plug wires, extended-tip spark plugs and short velocity stacks on the carbs, the car dropped from its 14.90 - 15.00 ET's to 14.60s at 98 mph with 4.11 gears. Immediately we began winning every time out. There were usually 10-20 other Corvettes in our class. Unbelievably, we never ever broke anything. Our quickest and fastest was a 14.45 ET at 100 mph with 4.56s-at night.
The Doane Chevrolet mechanics were whiz's with Rochester fuel injection. For a 1961 test bed, they took a new Honduras maroon fuelie and dropped in a bored and stroked 352 cubic-inch small-block. With slicks and some fuel injection tuning, it ran 12.50s at 112 mph and was a terror. I also learned that factory injection was generally tuned on the lean-side-evidently for better fuel economy and overall drivability. Over two summers at Union Grove, U.S. 30, Cordova, Illinois and Kahoka, Missouri drag strips, we never lost to a fuelie. Most understandably were factory tuned. From 1961-on, I too got interested in Rochester fuel injection and rebuilt and tuned them from then 'til now.
We raced some during the summer of 1962 but I was now a freshman in college. Our racing continued over the summer of 1963 in CM/SP. Modified Eliminator was unbelievable. Stay tuned.
The hottest engine on the...
The hottest engine on the street in stock form was almost always the 270 horsepower, twin Carter WCFB carb Corvette 283. It pulled strong from 2,800 to 5,800 rpm. A whopping total of 9,636 were sold from 1957 - 1961. Parts department induction and cam sales probably quadrupled that
The '57 283 hp fuelies were...
The '57 283 hp fuelies were top runners too but as we remember, a lot were factory-tuned too lean for max power. But with the turn of an enrichment adjustment screw the Rochester fuel-injection came to life big time. The 6.70-15s were no match and the car would immediately spin sideways upon full throttle
My father bought this '61...
My father bought this '61 Corvette new at Doane Motors, Dundee, Illinois, in December, 1960 (serial number 100463, 270 hp, 4-speed, 4.11:1 Positraction). We drag raced it from 1961-1963
Great Lakes Dragaway, Union...
Great Lakes Dragaway, Union Grove, Wisconsin: Two '59 Corvettes go at it in 1960. Left car is running Atlas Bucron soft rubber tires. Balls of rubber are smoking off the tread as the car launches. Note vintage flagman starter.
Great Lakes Dragaway, Union...
Great Lakes Dragaway, Union Grove, Wisconsin: Two 315 hp '61 fuelies going at it. Both have recap slicks, engines are tweaked and both run mid-high 13s.
Except for the width of the...
Except for the width of the seat pleats and a few other incidentals, the 1959 and 1960 Corvette were identical. Sales were 9,670 and 10,261 respectively. Chevrolet parts departments nationwide sold thousands of Duntov cams, dual quad set-ups, Rochester injections, four-speeds and Positraction units to owners of earlier Corvettes as well as to 1955-1960 Chevy big car owners.
During this time period, Chevrolet...
During this time period, Chevrolet Engineering was loaded with high performance talent. Long-time pal, Lou Cutitta (shown) was Zora Arkus-Duntov's dyno man for decades. Here he is tuning the '57 SS Corvette at Laguna Seca Raceway in 1987 - Chevrolet's featured year.
Back in Corvette's early years,...
Back in Corvette's early years, each new Corvette owner was given an official factory Corvette pin and a gold embroidered patch like this one.