This 1957 Chevrolet Corvette is well known in the Corvette community as a winner of the hobby’s most prestigious awards, including Bloomington Gold Certification, four NCRS Top Flight Awards, the NCRS Performance Verification Award and, perhaps most importantly, the highly coveted NCRS Duntov Mark of Excellence Award. The Duntov Award is bestowed upon the select few Corvettes that consistently achieve top scores at a minimum of three NCRS events within a three-year period. It has long been established as a pinnacle achievement for a restored Corvette; in fact, according to the NCRS website, fewer than 1,200 Corvettes have earned the NCRS Duntov Mark of Excellence Award since its inception in 1985. Sold new at Lellis-Brooks Chevrolet in San Francisco and a California car until 2008, it was factory equipped with the RPO 469C 283 CI V-8 engine with dual carter 4-barrel carburetors, the “Duntov” solid lifter camshaft and a factory rating of 270 HP at 6,000 RPM. Off-Road exhaust, a 3-speed manual transmission and Positraction rear end completed the drivetrain. Additionally, the car was ordered with radio, heater and soft top delete, the latter replaced with a factory auxiliary hardtop. The car was restored by prominent NCRS judge Ed Hoffman, who repainted it in the correct, original Venetian Red with beige coves, a combination complemented well by its red interior. Hoffman’s restoration included blueprinting the original matching-numbers engine with the correct Duntov cam and 997 heads. As one would expect for such a highly decorated Corvette, the car includes many factory-correct-type components, including the spare, jack, jack tools, trunk mat, trunk liner, rebound straps, spiral shocks, shifter, air cleaners, generator, starter, distributor, hoses, hose clamps, hood alignment blocks, nine fin valve covers, hood pop-ups, fuel filter, carburetors, guide Y-50 mirror and T-3 headlights. Completed with vintage 6.70x15 wide whitewall tires on red-painted wheels with full-size spinner wheel covers, this solid axle Corvette is fully documented with the original operations manual, California Black license plates, restoration photos, NCRS confirmation of awards, show awards, certificates and judging sheets. A custom-fitted car cover is also included.
