The other day I was visiting a friend (who isn't a hot rodder) at his new shop. He rents out shop space in the back and he was giving me the "grand tour". As we walked out the back, this is what I was greeted with.... At that point, all the stuff my friend was telling me about the shop was going in one ear and out the other as I was fixated on these two beauties. Yeah, the streamliner trailer was way cool, but that Vette gave me goosebumps! Here's all I know. The Vette was purchased from the seller who was the one who turned into into a drag car back in the day. They might've even been the original owners, I'm not sure. But the guy who now owns it is going to restore it to original. Meh. I would've restored it to its g***er glory days, but I digress. The streamliner is being restored/updated, but will look entirely original when complete. As an example, the owners are going to use a modern fridge, but will keep the original door so the look remains the same. Here's the rest of the pics I took. If anyone can point out anything of interest, please share. FYI, there do not belong to my friend, but he told me the owners wouldn't mind me sharing the photos with y'all. I thought the 4 lug front wheels were interesting. Any ideas on why that was done? Pontiac rear? Olds? Sorority chick.
Oh man...there's lots of restored 'Vettes out there. That one *NEEDS* to remain and be 'restored/rebuild/refurbished' to it's G***er or Mod/Prod race car glory. I'll bet that car has some NHRA or AHRA history behind it and might be worth a whole more in its racing form and than as restored stocker. Mart3406 ================
This guy's goona be sick. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=821565&highlight=57+corvette
Rear end has the shape of the late 50's olds/pontiac. I agree that it should be restored/kept in the g***er guise. jerry
Yeah, I really dig the Vette, too. It's still got IFS under the front end, not a straight axle....though I guess that's pretty obvious with such a low ride height. I took a pic of the front end, but it came out way too dark to see anything. I'm really curious about those 4 lug wheels. All I know of the Vette is that it was purchased from the seller who owned it for a long time and it was her deceased husband who built/raced it decades ago. I'm ***uming this was in the central Texas area, but I'm not sure. The car has a SBC in it with double hump heads and it's obviously a stick car. It also came with all of the original parts that aren't shown. Holy ****, I couldn't believe how heavy the front grill insert was! Had to be 30+ lbs.! I told my buddy to plead with the owner to restore it to its racing roots, but evidently it won't happen. This car was purchased solely to be a financial investment and the current owner evidently feels there's not enough money in keeping it as a race car so it's being restored to stock. If all this is true, it's a damn shame. Reportedly, the current owner received all of the vintage photos of the car do***enting its history. Not sure what'll happen with all of that stuff. I don't know squat about those old streamliner RV trailers, but evidently this one is pretty special. Looks like a '40s model to me, but it's reportedly from the '50s. Very unique construction and has an undertray to help airflow. Pretty trick stuff! This one is supposedly VERY rare, but again, I don't know **** about it.
The trailer looks to be a late 40s Curtiss Wright Clipper. Alot of work to get that kind of shine out of an old trailer.
I wonder if the 4 lug conversion was an early attempt to get high tech light weight drum brakes from a ChevyII or Corvair??
Good thought, Frank. I wonder....would a MII suspension be done primarily for the lightweight discs? I can't think of any other reasons.
On the bright side, you could pick up all the cast-off racing parts and put them aside to build a g***er of your own, I suppose.
I inquired. Evidently, he'll want a fortune for any of it. Doubt any of it will be within my budget, but if anyone here in interested in anything they see, I can ask on your behalf....
Restore it to original-uugh! I'd get it running and drive it to work as-is! Looking at that hood opening, I wonder if it had a huffer??
All you non-restore guys. As apparently the vette was bought as an investment, contact the owner which shouldnt be too hard and offer hin 20% on what he paid for it and do as you like with it. You'd have to think restored, that car will bring more $ than if it was done as a g***er. Still I love the look of it as is.
It would be great to see the pictures of the Corvette in its race day prime. Maybe if his arm is so sore from polishing the trailer he may just sell the Vette cheap to pay his medical expenses!!
My first thought when I saw the 4 lug front wheels was Corvair suspension up front. I would imagine that the Corvair setup would be significantly lighter than the old Vette link and pin ******** they had. For those who don't know, Corvair suspensions are very, very similar to the Pinto/Mustang II design. In fact, I would not be one bit surprised if Ford did in fact copy this design. Here's a pic of one I removed a few months ago: I also thought the rearend might be a big Olds or Pontiac from the 50s, too.
Street driven g***er will still bring big money when you're done enjoying it and is a hell of a lot better and more fun than trailering it to Pebble Beach once a year for an investment' to me. Not to mention much cheaper than a restoration needed for investment. Want investment, buy silver or ammunition. Just sayin.
Alot of times- it seems an "old car investor" doesn't have the slightest idea that a car might be worth more not restored as original. They might need some forced research? What if that is some famous or local legend racers car? Might be worth a little. Either way- I 100% agree it is the owners to do with as they wish. It will still be an "original restored" car that will need a ton of investment $$$s.
LOL, well, the Vette and trailer aren't owned by the same people. The trailer is being restored to be used by the owner. The owner of the Vette is the one who bought this thing to make money. And I agree with everyone here about the Vette (shocker!). It's going to take a fortune to make get that thing fully restored and I'm not sure the investment will pay off for him unless he got it for super cheap (which he may have). I'd also love to see pics of the Vette in its heyday, but those belong to the owner, whom I don't know. So not sure that'll happen... But if anyone is interested in buying this thing I could likely put you in touch with the owner. Who knows, maybe he'd flip it for a small, quick profit instead of investing in a full restoration? But again, I have NO CLUE right now what he'd want for it.
Well - since he at least has the wherewithal to store it out of the weather - and pay for that storage at that - I'd say he'd want a LOT. lol
I'd give $100 to go back in time and see the Kappa Kappa Gamma that was driving this thing back in the day. She had to have been one popular girl!!!
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