1958 Chevrolet Corvette

1958 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible To mark the fourth birthday of the Corvette, its proud parents, the Chevrolet Motor Division, have announced the 1958 model which has undergone some extensive but not too important changes on the surface and a few rather interesting ones underneath. Designed by engineers who built the industry's first high compression V8 the 283 cubic inch Corvette V8 is the very heart of its sports car performance. This is the world's first mass built engine to develop so much power for its size, up to more than one horsepower for each cubic inch of piston displacement, a hitherto unachieved goal. Car and Driver, December 1957 and corvettemuseum.org For consignment, a 1958 Chevrolet Corvette convertible, a resto mod version with unknown miles and a Blueprint Racing crate motor. Don't be fooled by the narrow, white wall tires and instead, take note of the cowled hood with pins securing it place! Exterior Beginning in 1956, Corvette introduced the horizontal scallop into the body known as the cove and perhaps unknowingly created the iconic design that more often than not, used a contrasting color as we have here with Snowcrest White inside the Roman Red exterior. It's an unmistakable feature, framed in stainless and augmented by a trio of strakes inside the duct, home to the cross flag emblem, and directly coordinated with the canvas top. Up front, dual headlights appear in '58, instantly creating a more aggressive look surrounded by a thickly toothed chrome grille. This car features a cowl hood with an L88 style molded design. In back, torpedo shaped tail lights lead to a fender that cascades to the chrome bumper from which the exhaust escapes. 15-inch American Racing wheels carry staggered width tires with an early 2024 date code. Imperfections are few and include chips, cracks, and the occasional bubble. Interior The unique door panels are of a handsome design with vertically stitched black vinyl enhanced with horizontal trim pieces around smooth vinyl, dual round lights and knobbed hardware and both present cleanly. This leads to black vinyl seats, also in great shape, and a sport steering wheel fronting a clean, modern digital dash that looks piano black when off, and lights up with blue digits when on. An AM/FM/CD, along with other functions are displayed on a center screen over a simple aluminum knob panel ahead of a T-handle Hurst shifter on the transmission tunnel covered with tight weave black floor covering. The trunk is also clean with a fitted rubber mat finishing it off. Drivetrain A wonderfully clean engine bay houses a Blueprint Racing 383ci stroker V8 motor with MSD EFI fuel injections. It's mated to a Tremec 3550 5-speed manual transmission that sends power to the rear axle where it finds 3.55 gears and Positraction. The engine features a showy Spectre Performance dual air intake plenum and features air conditioning and power steering. Undercarriage We find a clean environment underneath where headers send pipes into glasspack style mufflers and tailpipes that find their way to the rear bumper. Four wheel disc brakes are employed and suspension consists of coil springs up front and leaf springs in back. The underside is rust free and dry. Drive-Ability Our short lap around the test loop proves fruitful as this American classic on steroids performs well with strong acceleration, good handling and braking, and straight tracking. With modern conveniences, it provides an above par driving experience for a C1 Corvette and this is one we could live with and drive! All functions with the exception of the odometer operate as they should and it's back to the showroom for this stroker powered Vette. While Classic Auto Mall represents that these functions were working at the time of our test drive, we cannot guarantee these functions will be working at the time of your purchase. Just 9,168 Corvettes were produced in 1958 and although Classic Auto Mall has represented h