Fuelies - Fuel Injected Corvettes 1957 - 1965

By: Robert Genat .

Throughout American culture, there have been people – and sometimes objects – famous enough to be recognized by a single name. In the automotive world, such words of greatness include Hemi, Shelby, and Fuelie.

Corvettes manufactured between 1957 and 1965 and equipped with fuel injection systems atop their small-block engines are given special respect by enthusiasts. In that era, “Fuelie” was the slang term used to describe any fuel injected Corvette. And at that time the fuel injected Corvettes were the fastest cars on the street, road course, and drag strip. In addition to the rough exhaust note created by the high compression ratio and long-duration camshaft, gearheads could identify Corvettes with the fuel injection units by the distinctive hiss they produced at idle.

Developed by Zora Arkus Duntov and built by GM's Rochester division, this fuel injection unit turned the docile, small-block engine into a super performance engine with as much visual impact as it had horsepower. When released in 1957, the fuel injected 283 cubic-inch engine developed 283 horsepower – one horsepower per cubic inch. The last of the fuel injected Corvettes made 375 horsepower.

Fuelies: Fuel Injected Corvettes 1957-1965 celebrates the nine years of production of the Corvette, the Corvette engines, and the fuel-injection units that transformed the car into a performance icon. The book also covers passenger car installations (Chevrolets from 1957 to 1959. Pontiacs and Chryslers) and other fuel injection oddities.

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