1959 Fuel Injected Corvette

In 1959, when someone itching to rule the stop light drag racing scene or his local road race activity only had one viable choice. To be the leader of the pack he had to make a beeline for his nearest Chevrolet dealership and order up a fuel injected Corvette.

 Of course, there were some credible and even a few incredible foreign sports cars available back then, but they were far more expensive and troublesome to buy and own.  In the January 1959 issue of Road and Track it was said of the Corvette: "It probably has more performance per dollar than anything you could buy and parts are obtainable without sending to Italy, Germany, or England."

 Rochester Products' mechanical fuel injection system first became available on Corvettes in 1957 and it immediately set new high water marks for performance. That first year it delivered a then-revolutionary one horsepower per cubic inch when bolted to a high compression, solid-lifter 283.

 The fuel system was improved in some subtle ways in 1958 and then again in 1959. Besides giving more power and better drivability, the improvements also reduced the risk of severe fuel leakage and resulting engine damage (and sometimes even fire) seen with the earliest setups.

In 1959, as in all years up through '62, fuel injection was offered in two different states of tune. For reduced maintenance and greater civility, the lower output version featured hydraulic lifters, a mild camshaft profile, and relatively low compression. This option, which found its way into only 175 cars, delivered 250 horses.

 The high performance fuel injected engine, which is the one that came with a stout 11:1 compression, solid lifters, and a relatively aggressive camshaft profile. Together these performance enhancements boosted output to 290 horses.

Exactly what did the handful of people willing to pony up the money for fuel injection get. A car that would sprint from zero to 60 mph in about six and a half seconds and turn the quarter-mile in 14 seconds. They also got a genuine sports car that would handle and brake as good or better than any other production vehicle in the world.

All 1959s made use of the same design chassis that the Corvette was born with in 1953. However, several effective changes were made to the underpinnings in order to improve handling. At the rear, two trailing radius rods were added, each anchored at one end to a bracket on the axle and at the other end to a bracket on the chassis. By anchoring the axle housing to the chassis, the trailing radius rods did a great deal to suppress axle hop under hard acceleration. In addition, shock absorbers were redesigned to reduce fluid foaming, another problem sometimes encountered under hard use.