My ninth grade freshman homeroom teacher had an unrestored 1954 Corvette parked under his carport for years back in the 1970s – the Holy Grail for a fledgling enthusiast like me back then.
I don’t know what happened to that particular car, but the odds are 1 in 3,640 that the ’54 currently up for sale on eBay is the same one, I guess.
That’s how many of these second-year Corvettes that Chevy made back in the day, after all.
So far, interest has been steady on this particular car, as 38 bids have been placed and climbed all the way up to $33,300 with activity scheduled to come to a close on Sunday night.
Apparently those bidders feel confident that they can work their magic on this car and bring it back to life the way it was 68 years ago, or maybe even better.
The seller, while admitting the car “needs restoring,” believes it to be 100 percent complete, though we’re not expert enough to know if that’s the case or not. Based on the photos, though, it does appear that the major pieces are there.
He says the Blue Flame 150 horsepower inline six-cylinder tri-carb motor “sounds good,” though if it is one of the original engines, for some reason, it’s not painted blue now the way these cars left the factory back in the day. The only transmission available was a two-speed Powerglide, and it’s apparently still in place.
The body seems to be in good shape, with no glaring damage visible in photos, though obviously, it’ll need a new paint job – or a new owner who’s satisfied with the existing patina earned over nearly 70 years of life.
By the way, the car runs and drives, the seller says, though it was in storage for many years. We’re not told where that was, but the car is now in the Lakeport, California area.
Moving to the interior, we find the upholstery to be in fair condition, though a new set of Al Knoch seat covers and carpet would make a big improvement in the appearance. The original-style gauges are still there, so that could be a plus if they’re still working – or can be made to work. What about that dash that’s been painted black for some reason, though?
For what it’s worth, we’d paint this car a non-factory color and add some custom wheels and an LS engine, which we think would add greatly to the fun factor. What do you think?
Source:
eBay Motors
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Corvettes for Sale: 1965 Corvette Convertible Has a Little Bit Of Everything
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“He says the Blue Flame 150 horsepower inline six-cylinder tri-carb motor “sounds good,” though if it is one of the original engines, for some reason, it’s not painted blue now the way these cars left the factory back in the day.”
See Steve Burns’ April 7, 2022 article about now restored Shop Order #2151, an early ’53 Motorama show car body (EX-129) later transplanted onto a ’54 frame and running gear and used as a styling car. That car’s inline 6 engine was also painted red, not the usual blue. According to the video it came that way from the factory and the red colour signified that there was something new and different about the engine — likely that it was one of the first few higher hp solid lifter inline 6s. It is possible that this car’s engine was also red from the factory and was also one of the first few higher hp solid lifter inline 6s, or represented one of the first few engines following some other engineering change.
Mitch — take your custom paint, custom wheels and LS engine and step away from this potentially historically important ’54 Corvette!!!!!
I noticed that this ’54 is serial no. 1127, whereas S.O. 2151’s ’54 frame bears serial no. 2092, much later. Given that the 2 cars are almost 1,000 cars apart in sequence, that would seem to suggest that this car’s red engine, if factory, would represent one the first few examples produced following a different engineering change than the one represented by S.O. 2151’s red engine.
Glad they told me it was unrestored. Wouldn’t have known otherwise.
Where is the 54 being auctioned?
…restore to original…..bleuprint that stovebold six and have fun……there are enough ls swaps around…..
just mi 10 cent’s
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