New book covers the unique and fascinating fuel injected Corvettes
Some 10 years ago, I made my first trip to a car show as a magazine staffer. While wondering about the Corvette area, I suddenly heard the most amazing mechanical racket I had ever heard. The sharp-edged growl was coming from a bright red '62 fuelie Corvette, and I was immediately smitten. Fuel injection isn't anything out of the ordinary these days, but in 1957 and on through 1966, it might as well have been a piece of alien technology. I dig these machines to this day, and just had to check out Fuelies: Fuel Injected Corvettes 1957-1965, by Robert Genat.
This book talks includes a good chunk of detail about the Rochester mechanical fuel injection system employed on fuelie Corvettes--for that matter, it also discusses the use of this system and others like it on other Chevrolets, including '57 and '58 fullsize cars; for that matter, it also discusses Pontiac and even Chrysler's early flirtation with fuel injection. After that, it's all about the rare and undeniably cool Corvettes that made their performance mark in the '50s and '60s with fuel injection. Genat starts off with technical details of the system, including some fascinating component photos. Personally, I would have like to see more of such detail. Even so, the photos and coverage of Fuelies is thorough, and the book concludes with a nice chapter about the racing history of these early fuel-injected Corvettes. It's definitely worth a read if you're into these cars, and even if you're not, you may be after you check it out.--JN
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. At the 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.
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.
This book fills a very special niche appealing to those who covet some of the most desirable Corvettes ever built. No other book on Corvettes is devoted exclusively to the impressive fuel injection models. It is filled with original color photography commissioned specifically for this volume.
The 9 x 9-inch softbound book (ISBN 13: 978-1-932494-52-5, ISBN 10: 1-932494-52-9) features 192 pages packed with more than 300 color and 14 black and white photos. The book may be ordered for $29.95 plus $6.95 shipping and handling by calling CarTech at 800.551.4754 or by visiting www.cartechbooks.com.