Mark Gustetter's 1959 Corvette

(Alternate Participant)

    From the time I was about ten years old, my ideal "dream car" has been a 1959 Corvette. There has always been something about the shape, styling and proportions of that model year (and, to be honest, the 1960 model year, too) that has held my fascination. It is also, coincidentally, the same year I was born, which lent that particular model year Corvette a personal "specialness" that no other car could have for me. Growing up first in south Florida and later in central Florida, I would occasionally see cars like the one I always wanted. And, after nearly thirty years, my dream finally came true. In July 1998 I purchased my "dream car" from The Corvette Collection in Pompano Beach, Florida. However, as much as I had always wanted a 1959 Corvette, I almost passed on this particular car when I first learned of it; I really wanted a Crown Sapphire (turquoise) car. One look at the car above, however, instantly changed my mind.

    Although not in the condition she is in today, she was still a looker: Roman Red body with a red interior (1,542 made), white coves (805 made), four-speed manual transmission (4,175 made), factory power windows (587 made), and, unbeknownst to The Corvette Collection, she still had her original (August 1958) 290-HP, fuel-injected (FI) engine (745 made), although the FI unit had been removed and a single four-barrel carburetor and matching intake manifold had been installed. However, the "unusual feature" that really pushed me over the edge was that she was car number J59S10003, a "pilot line car," and reported to be "the oldest 1959 Corvette in existence." I was instantly infected with the "I gotta have this car" virus.

    Although she appeared to be safe, sound and driveable, there awaited me the past three years of mechanical, electrical and cosmetic rebuilding that continues to this day. Her most recent restoration project has been the re-installation by Dewey's Just Vettes of Longwood, Florida, of a numbers-correct Rochester 7014900R fuel injection unit, air filter, fuel filter, intake manifold and all of the sundry parts and accessories that complete this major assembly. The FI unit was purchased in June from Jack Podell in South Bend, Indiana, and is now sitting atop the engine in all its splendor.

    I am honored to be the current caretaker of this car, driving her to Corvette shows near and far away, and I look forward to enjoying her company and pleasures for the next forty-two years.

    Mark Gustetter
    Longwood, FL
    NCM #6496

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