While walking around at the NSRA Southeast Nationals in Tampa, Florida, earlier this year, we found this time capsule of a ’57 Corvette. It is a completely original car, right down to the gas and radiator caps, and only shows 72,000 original miles on it. The current owner, Jay Wisler is the second owner, and he bought it 41 years ago in Leesburg, Florida. The Street Rod Nationals was the first time it has been out since Jay owned it. We spoke with both Jay and his friend Mike Larocca, and got a better idea of just how cool this car really is. Mike is a close friend to Jay and knows the car just as well as he does.

Jay is not only into cars, but vintage aircraft as well. Mike tells us, “The car only sat as long as it did, because Jay was too busy working on vintage airplanes.” It didn’t take much to get the car back on the road once Jay finally started on it. According to Jay, “We changed the oil three times, changed the transmission and rearend fluid, rebuilt the water pump and the carburetors, and it was ready to go.”

The original owner was a colonel in the Air Force, and he told Jay about many of the things he had done throughout the years with the Corvette, unfortunately, Jay has forgotten his name. That is one of the challenges they are facing while trying to find him o gather more information about the car. What Jay does know, is the colonel bought it early in 1957, before the four-speed transmission was available. The colonel once told Jay that the Chevrolet dealership he bought it from in La Jolla, California, even asked him if he wanted to wait a few weeks for the four speed to be available. The colonel responded by asking, “Now why would I want to shift another gear? That’s just stupid.”

When he bought the car, the colonel was stationed in Tuscan, Arizona, and selected the color Aztec Copper, so that it would conceal dust so he didn’t need to wash it very often. During the time that the colonel owned the car, it spent time in England, where it was actually driven by a chauffeur for the colonel.

Two different museums have asked if they could put it on display, and the NCRS wanted it entered at one of their events. “Jay isn’t really interested in trophies or attention like that,” Mike says. “The American Pickers even contacted him about picking his warehouse and buying this car, but he turned them down because he didn’t want to be on TV.” This Corvette still sports its factory dual four-barrel carbureted 283 cubic-inch engine and three speed manual transmission.

It also has a few factory goodies. Jay told us, “It’s an almost a fully-optioned car.” The only two things it doesn’t have, are power windows and the higher horsepower engine. What it does have is a rare hydraulic-driven folding top, and the factory hardtop, an AM Wonderbar radio, a park brake indicator, courtesy lights, and a complete windshield washer fluid and sprayer assembly.

Although the NSRA show was the first time Jay has really had the car out, he drove it each day from his house to the fairgrounds. Jay recalls a time he did have to move it, “The first time I moved it, I had my uncle help pull it to my new house just a few miles away. He had a big old Pontiac Bonneville, and we just used a rope.”

While Jay will not be changing the car much, he is trying to get his hands on one piece of elusive memorabilia tied to his car. “The original owner took it to El Mirage in California, where he took it up to 154 mph.” Jay continues, “He even got a plaque for it that he had made into a coffee table. Right now I am trying to figure out who he is, so that I can try and get that plaque.” Since Jay doesn’t know anything else substantial about the owner, he plans on taking a picture of the car to the community college where the colonel taught, in hopes that someone will recognize it.

Finding an old car in this good of shape are few and far between. It’s not just the rarity of the car that makes it so cool though, it’s the story behind it. Tell us what you think of the story behind the car and if you know the nameless colonel that was the original owner. Can you think of any military colonels that had a Corvette like this? Let us know and maybe we can help Jay find him!