Rare Sportsman Red 1954 Corvette Barn Find Parked for Half a Century

By
Mitch Talley
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4
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Rare Sportsman Red 1954 Corvette Barn Find Parked for Half a Century


You’re looking at one of the first 2,000 Corvettes ever produced.

Let that sink in for a little while.

In fact, this 1954 Corvette is the 1,509th manufactured by Chevrolet, but sadly it’s been some 52 years since this barn find was out on the road where it belongs.

Now it’s up for sale for $39,900 – which seems fair enough considering the seller says “practically everything is there and the engine runs.”

Rare Sportsman Red 1954 Corvette Barn Find


We’ve always felt the ’54 models never got quite the love they deserve, always second to the groundbreaking ’53s and the higher-performing V8 ‘55s.

But who can argue with same beautiful body, which was the same those first three years, complete with wire headlight covers and rocket-like tail fins?

Of course, we know all ’53 models came in Polo White with red interiors. This one, if it’s indeed factory original, is one of just 100 cars in 1954 that were coated in Sportsman Red paint. That’s out of some 3,640 Corvettes produced that second year, the majority of them being Polo White or Pennant Blue.

The ad on Jalopy Journal doesn’t provide a lot of detailed information, but the photos seem to indicate the body is still in decent condition, the interior is nasty but at least complete with instruments, knobs, and factory-style radio still present, and the engine looks to be a legendary Blue Flame six-cylinder that produced 150 horsepower at a time when the Jaguar XK120 made just 10 more.

Rare Sportsman Red 1954 Corvette Barn Find


“If you are looking at this ad YOU KNOW WHAT THEY ARE WORTH … and HOW HARD they are to FIND!!!!” the enthusiastic seller emphasizes. “She is waiting for YOU to bring her BACK TO LIFE and have one VERY VALUABLE CORVETTE!!!! She will leave FAST – so DON’T SNOOZE or you’ll lose the opportunity of a LIFETIME!!!!”

This writer can relate. Back in the early 1970s, my ninth grade homeroom teacher, Mr. Wages, had a rough 1954 Corvette resting under his carport, and I always wanted to buy it from him – but he wasn’t interested in selling and I didn’t really have the money or knowledge to restore such a car at that young age.

Let’s hope now someone will restore this long-ignored ’54 in the dignified manner it deserves for being a true part of Corvette history.

Rare Sportsman Red 1954 Corvette Barn Find Rare Sportsman Red 1954 Corvette Barn Find Rare Sportsman Red 1954 Corvette Barn Find
Rare Sportsman Red 1954 Corvette Barn Find Rare Sportsman Red 1954 Corvette Barn Find Rare Sportsman Red 1954 Corvette Barn Find
Rare Sportsman Red 1954 Corvette Barn Find Rare Sportsman Red 1954 Corvette Barn Find Rare Sportsman Red 1954 Corvette Barn Find


Source:
JalopyJournal.com via bringatrailer.com

Related:
Corvettes on Craigslist: Barn Find 1968 Corvette Convertible with 427/390 V8
Corvettes on eBay: Unrestored 1965 Corvette Coupe with 327/365-hp L76 V8
Corvettes on eBay: Barn Find 1958 Corvette With VIN 020

 



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4 COMMENTS

  4. I feally wish there was more to this story,who owned it. ,where was it found. why stored fo 50 years. It would make for intresting reading

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