Bob Dye purchased his 1957 Corvette (E57S100806) in 1965. At the time of purchase, the car was a stock 283 with a four barrel carb and four speed transmission (which might have been an upgrade from an original three speed tranny). Bob was a race fan and sometimes pit crew for friends. In 1966 Bob decided to race himself. After considering his options, Bob decided to convert his 57 Corvette into a race car. Bob knew that he would likely be out-muscled on the race track somewhat, but believed that he could be competitive nonetheless.

Bob added a rollbar to his 57, and dropped a 327 into the car. He put an early FI unit on the car, and added Corvette racing brakes with cooling fins. As a rookie driver, nobody complained much about the incorrect 327, but Bob eventually went back to a 283 as he became more serious. Like any racer, Bob continually tweaked his car, and many of the pictures will show differences.

Bob said that he raced his 57 Corvette about 50 times from 1967 to 1972. Bob's 57 was surprisingly fast. Bob won a few races, and finished in the top four many times. Bob's high-water mark was 1972, when Bob finished 6th in National Points in the SCCA Northern Pacific Division - B Production Races.

Looking thru the available race results, one thing catches the eye. Bob had some very fast lap times - oftentimes faster than Stingrays that finished above him in the ultimate race standings. Thus, Bob's 57 could certainly get around the race course pretty fast, and he was for the most part very competitive, notwithstanding the age of his car. Bob's story is told below: