A Fuelie question for you C2 guys

[Greg L.]

How can you physicaly verify a car to be an original fuelie car? Are there any tell tail signs some where on the body or frame or are they easy to fake with a good broach and restamp job?

The reason I ask is because this car caught my eye but since I don't really know anything about C2s I thought I better ask.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chevrolet-Corvette-Chevrolet-1963-Corvette-Convertible-Original-Feulie-car-now-carb_W0QQitemZ180246660289QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item180246660289

What would be good recommended reading for C1 and C2s to get me up to speed with all the little changes through the years and what to look for to determine that a car is in fact what it's supposed to be?

[Jerry G.]

Re: A Fuelie question for you C2 guys

The most obvious things to look at are, the radiator support on an FI car has an air inlet on the left side. But service replacemnt supports had the hole so that could be there and not be an original car, however originals are slightly different in the cross brace configuration. the air cleaner support holes and bracket on the left side would also be there. The gauges would have the high RPM redline and the oil pressure would be the higher version. The engine code on the pad would be for FI. There is nothing about the frame that I'm aware of. I have a top flight original 65 FI if you need a picture of anything. jerry

[Dan H.]

Re: A Fuelie question for you C2 guys

Hi Greg, looked at the photos, has some good points as to being a fuelie, exhaust manifolds appear correct, crossed the choke to other side for carb, RF block but would need better look at pad finish, air cleaner mounting holes are missing on LH inner fender, might be replaced? Rad support, if it's a 63 version, would be a tie-breaker. The car should be looked at by a FI guy to help with any reasonable conclusion. Can't be sure what it started out as unless history etc. comes into play.
Dan

[Jack H.]

Re: A Fuelie question for you C2 guys

It's all a matter of 'forensic' inference UNLESS there's a solid paperwork trail to the original purchase paperwork. Yes, anything can be 'faked' with enough due diligence and care...

[Michael H.]

Re: A Fuelie question for you C2 guys

How can you physicaly verify a car to be an original fuelie car? Are there any tell tail signs some where on the body or frame or are they easy to fake with a good broach and restamp job?

The reason I ask is because this car caught my eye but since I don't really know anything about C2s I thought I better ask.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chevrolet-Corvette-Chevrolet-1963-Corvette-Convertible-Original-Feulie-car-now-carb_W0QQitemZ180246660289QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item180246660289

What would be good recommended reading for C1 and C2s to get me up to speed with all the little changes through the years and what to look for to determine that a car is in fact what it's supposed to be?

As others have mentioned, some of the correct items seem to be in place such as tach and oil pressure guage etc. However, those same guages would have been used with a 340 HP so the guages don't prove anything.
As mentioned, there are no existing air cleaner mounting holes on the left fender skirt. That may indicate that the car was not an original FI, the car was involved in a collision and the skirt has been replaced, or an owner filled the holes for some reason.
If the car has original front fenders, the exact placement of the original holes for the FI emblems is often a clue
IF... the core support is an original 63 (only), that would tip the scales toward the "genuine FI car" side.
I don't have any good pic's of the difference between 63 and 64-65 core supports and it's difficult to explain but perhaps someone else here can provide a few shots?

The engine block stamp characters look a bit questionable, at least to me.

[Joe M.]

Re: A Fuelie question for you C2 guys

Look at it from a theoretical perspective. If you wanted to disguise an original fuel injected car what changes would you make?

Or take a 340 car, add some badges, ex manifolds, spacer, rad support, fuely unit and you have a FI car.

The correct exhaust manifolds and spacer if present are a plus as is the 63 style radiator support but anything may have been switched over the years.

Without some form of documentation and history it is hard to prove the heritage of a 63 fuel car.

[William C.]

Re: A Fuelie question for you C2 guys

Great picture of the VIN stamp on the trans, but NO picture of the VIN stamp on the pad for comparison. Is it the 63-only (and virtually never sold in service) rad core support? Those are the starter questions I'd ask, then what is the S/N of the FI unit and does it roughly correspond to the VIN of the car? Lots of questions that the pictures don't come close to answering.

[Greg L.]

Re: A Fuelie question for you C2 guys

Thanks guys.

I sent an e-mail about some of the things that you said to ask about and I didn't get a warm and fuzzy feeling with the answers. He says it a fuelie because the numbers show it to be a fuelie. I didn't ask about the rad support because I really wouldn't know what exactly to ask but he did say that the car has all the original panels including the inner fenders so either it's a 340hp car or the holes have been filled...

I'm more of a 68-69 guy so I'm like a fish out of water when it comes to the C2s and C1s. What would you recommend as good reading if I wanted to educate myself on these cars so that I won't have to ask silly questions. I'm still looking for a 68-69 tri-power car but a fuelie has always intrigued me so I guess I should try and learn a little about them just in case one comes up!

[Joel F.]

Re: A Fuelie question for you C2 guys

A general observation about this dealer: they always seem to have a lot of fuelies.

[Jerry G.]

Re: A Fuelie question for you C2 guys

Noland Adams books are a good starting point. Once you've done that go look at some top flight cars at your local NCRS judging meet. People are happy to help.

[John D.]

Re: A Fuelie question for you C2 guys

Great picture of the VIN stamp on the trans, but NO picture of the VIN stamp on the pad for comparison. Is it the 63-only (and virtually never sold in service) rad core support? Those are the starter questions I'd ask, then what is the S/N of the FI unit and does it roughly correspond to the VIN of the car? Lots of questions that the pictures don't come close to answering.

Did I miss something as usual Bill. What FI unit. I didn't see one.
Qt: My 63 is less than a month earlier than this one and has a 60 lb oil gauge.
The car in question is a nice driver though. I do think if it were me though I would be on the lookout for a nice complete fuel car with the unit and all the bells&whistles on it whether it be the real deal or not. I would also jump in figuring a particular car is suspicious and then pay to have it professionally appraised and not depend on just my wisdom. Your name comes to mind real fast as being one that I would want to have check the car out .And of course a host of others. Today it's big business plus being a hobby and the cost involved to restore one of these babies for the big blue ribbon is mind boggling. I could never do it again. Too fussy. My 63 drives me nuts for sure.
There are little peculiarities about a real deal 63 fuel car that can be spotted in a heartbeat. Michael Hanson mentioned some of them. Emblem placement seems so trivia but it isn't. One time Brian Futo said to me at the 2000 NCRS convention at Bowling Green. He said to me DeGregory I want to see how smart you are. He said that we were going to go for a walk and check out boo coo fuel cars and I was supposed to tell him which were the real deal and which were not. This was supposed to be done with the hoods closed. All we did was look at fender emblems. I was rather quiet about it but Brian spoke his peace. God that was a wonderful time of my life. Live for today as you know not what tomorrow brings.