ON Cave's ‘57 ‘vette belongs to the first-generation Corvettes, also known as the C1 and the “solidaxle” generation. Production ran from 1953 through 1962 after GM's head of styling, Harley Earl, an avid sports car fan, convinced GM that they needed to build an all-American two-seat sports car. The Corvette was rushed into production in ‘53, but sales fell far short of expectations, and reviews were mixed. The whole Corvette program was nearly cancelled, but Chevrolet decided to make necessary improvements. By 1957, the body was visually unchanged. The smallblock V8 was increased to 283ci, and the magic “One horsepower per cubic inch” milestone was reached. GM
