NEW FRANKLIN MINT 1959 BARN FINE DISPLAY W/ CHEVROLET CORVETTE CLASSIC B11F679 For Sale

NEW FRANKLIN MINT 1/24 1959 BARN FINE W DISPLAY CHEVROLET CORVETTE CLASSIC B11F679.

BOXES AND PAPERWORK MAY SHOW WEAR AUTO IS NIB

A new body was introduced for the 1956 model featuring a new \"face\" and side coves; the taillamp fins were also gone. An optional fuel injection system was made available in the middle of the 1957 model year. It was one of the first mass-produced engines in history to reach 1bhp (0.75kW) per cubic inch (16.4 cubic cm) and Chevrolet\'s advertising agency used a \"one hp per cubic inch\" slogan for advertising the 283bhp (211kW) 283cuin (4.64L) Small-Block engine. Other options included power windows (1956), hydraulically operated power convertible top (1956), heavy duty brakes and suspension (1957), and four speed manual transmission (late 1957).

The 1958 Corvette received a body and interior freshening which included a longer front end with quad headlamps, bumper exiting exhaust tips, a new steering wheel, and a dashboard with all gauges mounted directly in front of the driver. Exclusive to the 1958 model were hood louvers and twin trunk spears The 1959–60 model years had few changes except a decreased amount of body chrome and more powerful engine offerings.

In 1961, the rear of the car was completely redesigned with the addition of a \"duck tail\" with four round lights. The light treatment would continue for all following model year Corvettes. In 1962, the Chevrolet 283cuin (4.64L) Small-Block was enlarged to 327cuin (5.36L). In standard form it produced 250bhp (190kW). For an extra 12% over list price, the fuel-injected version produced 360bhp (270kW) , making it the fastest of the C1 generation. 1962 was also the last year for the wrap around windshield, solid rear axle, and convertible-only body style. The trunk lid and exposed headlamps did not reappear for many decades.

In 1927 General Motors hired designer Harley Earl who loved sports cars. GIs returning after serving overseas in the years following World War II were bringing home MGs, Jaguars, Alfa Romeos, and the like. In 1951, Nash Motors began selling an expensive two-seat sports car, the Nash-Healey, that was made in partnership with the Italian designer Pinin Farina and British auto engineer Donald Healey, but there were few moderate-priced models. Earl convinced GM that they needed to build a two-seat sports car, and with his Special Projects crew began working on the new car, \"Project Opel\" in late 1951. The result was the hand-built, EX-122 pre-production Corvette prototype, which was first shown to the public at the 1953 GM Motorama at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City on January 17, 1953. Production began six months later. The car is now located at the Kerbeck Corvette museum in Atlantic City and is believed to be the oldest Corvette in existence.

During the last half of 1953, 300 Corvettes were to large degree hand-built on a makeshift assembly line that was installed in an old truck plant in Flint, Michigan while a factory was being prepped for a full-scale 1954 production run. The outer body was made out of then-revolutionary fiberglass material, selected in part because quotas, left over from the war, limited the availability of steel. A 55 degree racked windshield was made of safety glass, while the license plate holder was set back in the trunk, covered with a plastic window. Underneath the new body material were standard components from Chevrolet\'s regular car line, including the \"Blue Flame\" inline six-cylinder engine, two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission, and drum brakes. The engine\'s output was increased however from a triple-carburetor system exclusive to the Corvette, but performance of the car was decidedly \"lackluster\".Compared to the British and Italian sports cars of the day, the Corvette lacked a manual transmission and required more effort to bring to a stop, but like their British competition, such as Morgan, was not fitted with roll-up windows; this would have to wait until sometime in the 1956 model year. A Paxton centrifugal supercharger became available in 1954 as a dealer-installed option, greatly improving the Corvette\'s straight-line performance, but sales continued to decline.

The Chevrolet division was GM\'s entry-level marque. Managers at GM were seriously considering shelving the project, leaving the Corvette to be little more than a footnote in automotive history, and would have done so if not for three important events. The first was the 1955 introduction of Chevrolet\'s first V8 engine since 1919. Late in the model year, the new 195hp (145kW) 265 small-block became available with a three-speed manual transmission, coupled to a 3.55:1 axle ratio, the only one offered. The engine was fitted with a single 2366S WCFB four-barrel (four-choke) Carter carburetor.The combination turned the \"rather anemic Corvette into a credible if not outstanding performer\". The second was the influence of a Russian émigré in GM\'s engineering department, Zora Arkus-Duntov. The third factor in the Corvette\'s survival was Ford\'s introduction of the 1955 two-seat Thunderbird, which was billed as a \"personal luxury car\", not a sports car. Even so, the Ford-Chevrolet rivalry in those days demanded GM not appear to back down from the challenge. The original concept for the Corvette emblem incorporated an American flag into the design, but was changed well before production since associating the flag with a product was frowned upon.

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