Time to grab your powder blue leisure suit, your best white leather loafers, and hit the town. Mecum’s Glendale auction takes place this week and this truly unique custom Corvette is on the docket.
This Barrister is purportedly one of just seven built by legendary customizer George Barris inside his famous Hollywood shop in the late ’70s and early ’80s. The more you look at it, the more you can easily see Barris’ influence throughout. The Barristers were sought after by celebrities as Motor Trend reported in an article a few years back that Bo Derek, Sammy Davis Jr, and others had an interest in them. They go on to talk about a black and gold example once owned by Liberace which sold for $51,000 in 2019.
Lot R319 at Mecum Glendale is Barrister number 2. It’s listed as 1969 on the Mecum site, but we believe it began life as a 1979. Check out the blue engine block and later C3 features in the interior such as the glovebox and high-mounted door release handle. The car was reportedly built for Barris’ good friend Frank Monteleone. Monteleone’s name and 002 can be found under the Barrister logo on each of the front fenders.
Overall, we see a Corvette that’s been lengthened and built for excess. The two-tone blue and white paint, split windshield, exposed headers, and wire wheels elicit visions of Duesenberg’s of the 1920s. The epically long hood and sweeping rear fenders recall front-engine Ferrari’s of the late 60s and early 70s. Then there’s that prominent chrome grill right upfront.
Inside, the donor Corvette is much more evident and the blue and white theme continues. A wood steering wheel frames the speedometer and tachometer. The old-school analog dials have been converted to digital units along with the other gauges in the center stack. Light brown wood trim is seen throughout the interior giving the car a more “Hollywood” (and 1970s) feel.
The listing states that Barrister number 2 is powered by a 350CI Corvette engine that’s mated to a 700R4 automatic transmission. Four-wheel independent suspension and ventilated disc brakes keep the car on the road. Looking at the photos, the powertrain looks to be pretty much stock late C3-fare and no performance modifications are noted. Mecum indicates that the car has won several car show and cruising awards including at Hot August Nights in Reno, Nevada.
The Barrister Corvette is a bold take on the 3rd generation of America’s Sports Car. We know its looks aren’t for everyone, but if you want a unique Corvette that your neighbor certainly doesn’t have, grab a bidder’s pass for Mecum Glendale next month and hold up high.
Mecum’s 2022 Glendale auction runs March 16-19th at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Source:
Mecum Auctions
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i sure hope a vette body, was not used for that crap!!! How many times stupid, needs to be said?
Could use some more “bling” in my humble opinion! 🙂
It’s a SWR. Split-window roadster.
Barris at his worst.
I WON’T BUY IT, OR EVEN WANT TO BE SEEN IN IT
IT’S A JOKE
They built seven? That’s about eight more than they should have built. Ugly with a capital F!
Looks like it was inspired by the Johnny Cash song “One Piece At A Time.”
OMG Superfly is back.
To paraphrase Big Enos Burdette from Smokey & The Bandit (1977), “A guy that creates a custom Corvette like this would go to a minister’s funeral dressed in feathers . . .”
. . . ‘Amusing, but not in a good way.
A great deal of work was obviously done to create this one-of-a-kind custom.
But I’m too much of a purist to embrace this one . . .’seems to be an escapee from a parade.
The time-honored phrase “To each his own” also comes to mind.
You guys said it all.
Has to be one of the ugliest cars I have ever seen. If that started out as a Vette, wow what a shame and a waste.
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