Good illustrated parts catalog for 58-60?

[Bob S.]

Does anyone know where I can get a good illustrated parts catalog for the 58-60 corvette? I have a '59 I bought in pieces and am trying to use original nuts and bolts that are in cans and baggies.
The AIM gives the part numbers but no discription, ie. Bolt 1941111. Is that a 1/4-20 X 5 7/8 or a 5/16-20 X 3 1/2? I know I have a lot of these but don't know what I'm looking for.
I have the GM 1953 THRU 1982 Corvette Parts and Illustration Catalog (14A) but it has very few parts or illustrations for the 50's era cars.

This project is a lot like puting a jigsaw puzzle together but I don't have the top of the box.
Thanks - Sully

[Alan S.]

Re: Good illustrated parts catalog for 58-60?

Hi Sully,
What I have may be an earlier version of the book you mention, or may be something different. It's the CORVETTE PARTS BOOK 1953-1972. It was published by Motorbooks International. It seems to have a good amount of diagrams and part's listings for cars from the 50's.
Perhaps you could check it out to see if might be some help to you.
Regards,
Alan

[Gary C.]

Re: Good illustrated parts catalog for 58-60?

Bob, recommend acquiring the CD-ROM version as it's searchable and printable. Detroit Iron has the '58 P&A http://www.detroitironis.com/General...ilibility.html #59 on the list. Gary....

[Jack H.]

Re: Good illustrated parts catalog for 58-60?

A pro is, the '58 P&A Catalog should have Section 8.900 in it to provide a thumbnail description of various fasteners vs. their GM PN's.

The con issues are:

(1) Even with the fastener section, it's not going to detail all the differences (headmarks, finish, Etc.) for the various suppliers qualified under a given PN.

(2) It's not going to say what's considered 'correct' or factory original for a Corvette built in St. Louis back them.

(3) It's not going to give pictorials crisp enough (or many times AT ALL) for various other parts.

I know of NO good way for a novice who's bought a 'basket case' Corvette to identify ALL of the various parts he/she has inherited and/or how to 'sort' them (factory correct original/service replacement/aftermarket)...

With the AIM, P&A Catalog + a good current catalog house book with LOTS of pictorials (Paragon falls into this category), you can probably get 15-20% of the job done. But, he's still going to need a calibrated eyeball for the balance of the parts and that will take getting help from his local chapter members as well as going to meets and seeing correctly restored cars.

Bottom line, there IS NO complete picture reference source for the job outlined. You have to self-educate and that takes time to execute + there WILL be errors of omission/commission along the way!

[Bob S.]

Re: Good illustrated parts catalog for 58-60?

Thanks guys. I'll probably start with the CD-ROM. It looks like there is a lot of good information there to add to the library.
I know it is not a perfect solution but it is a start. The parts houses often give head markings in their descriptions but not size. I have half way sorted the fasteners I have and I would like to give those a chance before I spend more money for somehting I already have.
Sully

[Christopher R.]

Re: Good illustrated parts catalog for 58-60?

The '61 edition of the P & A is online. See:

http://gmpartswiki.com/w/Category:1961_Chevrolet_P%26A_39

[Steven B.]

Re: Good illustrated parts catalog for 58-60?

Bob, to be safe, I never throw anything away as I often "learn" what the part is well after the time would have thrown it away. Luckily, from this Board, we learn new things about our cars daily.