Corvettes on eBay: Vintage 1955 Corvette Racer

If you’d like to hit the track running with a vintage Corvette race car, this 1955 model (chassis # VE555001196) up for sale with a Buy-It-Now price of $95,000 on eBay might be for you.

The seller promises that “you can unload it off the trailer and go racing with a fast, reliable and competitive car which is eligible to race anywhere.”

Indeed, this 1955 Corvette racer has appeared at Monterey Historics/Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion five times and was invited to attend in 2014 but the owner was not able to attend. It’s also appeared at the Wine Country Classic/Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival 10 times and has been a frequent competitor at Coronado and Portland.

The seller notes that the car consistently finished in the top 5 in a race group that also includes the same period purpose-built “specials” and is consistently the fastest production based car in its group.

Honors include Best Overall Performance and Presentation of the Event award at the Wine Country Classic, 2003, Automobile Magazine True Spirit of Vintage Racing award, Monterey Historics 2002, and its share of the Motul Sportsmanship award given to its team at the 2008 HSR-West Fontan Historic Festival and the Driven to Excellence award given to its team at Coronado, 2011.

While the chassis has no racing history, the owner says he restored it from a basket case to commemorate the famous EX87/5951 Corvette that set the 150-plus mph speed record at Daytona Beach in January 1956, with the paint scheme and configuration of that car matched as much as possible in the restoration.

The car has just one weekend on a fresh and correct 265 cubic inch engine, though it’s a 1956 block with provision for an oil filter. The internal engine parts were chosen for reliability and performance, the period-correct Carter 4 barrel carburetor was set up to perform well in road racing, and a cam with the original type stamped steel rocker arms required at Monterey and Sonoma has been installed.

Other features are Doug Holmberg custom headers and exhaust system (with Laguna Seca legal Flowmaster mufflers that can replace the straight pipes when needed), Ron Davis racing radiator, McLeod lightweight racing clutch and flywheel, a Chevrolet close ratio 3-speed transmission, period correct heavy duty racing drum brakes, a VARA legal bladder type fuel cell, foam type on board fire system, three race-prepared positraction gearsets (4:56, 4:11, and 3:70), and two sets of wheels.

The turnkey car was race prepared for Monterey 2014 and has not been run since, the seller says. Will you be the next to compete with this interesting piece of Corvette history?

The auction for the 1955 Corvette racer closes in 7 days.

Source:
eBay

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