Richard Huxley’s unrestored Fuelie ‘Vette is roadster driving perfection

The latest Terminal Apex video from Heavy Metal Concepts features a great story of an enthusiastic owner and his car enjoying the drive. Richard Huxley has owned his 1957 “Fuelie” Corvette since 1971 and has put the roadster to good use ever since. “I’ve never understood why people with convertibles think that they’re out of season from October to April,” he says.

Fuel injection was a novelty in 1957. It had been used on exotic sports cars, but it wasn’t something you’d expect to see at your corner car dealership or under the hood of a station wagon. Chevrolet and Pontiac changed that in 1957, offering up two different versions of Rochester mechanical fuel injection on Pontiac and Chevrolet V-8s.

The Chevy 283 V-8 in Huxley’s 1957 Corvette came equipped with a hydraulic camshaft, which combined with the fuel injection make it good for 250 horsepower. The solid lifter version was rated at 283 horsepower, one horsepower per cubic inch, impressive for the time. Huxley’s 283 now uses a solid lifter cam for the extra lift and duration to get the fuelie heads breathing to their full potential, as well as a custom dual exhaust to eke out a bit more power and get the proper sound.

The video has some great shots and beautiful sounds from the Corvette, but it’s Huxley’s passion for his car that really make it sing. We particularly like his story about a thoughtful gift he received for the car… and never used. “My wife gave me a reproduction interior in 1984 for Valentine’s Day and it’s still in the closet. It’s moved to two apartments and three houses since. It’s still in the box.”

For Huxley there’s simply no need to restore the car. “I like driving it like this.”