The last time this 1954 Corvette was on the road, Jimmy Carter was still president.
Will you be the one to return this second-year ‘Vette to its rightful place on the road after spending its time in storage since 1980?
A Rochester, Michigan owner – said to be just the third in the car’s nearly 70-year life – has this piece of American sports car history up for sale on Craigslist.com out of the Detroit area for $36,000. The seller isn’t interested in trades or parting the car out but says he is willing to keep it in storage until spring and the snow melts.
Some people might chuckle over his claims that this Corvette still has its “original paint,” since some of it “has left the car,” to paraphrase a well-known reference to the late Elvis Presley’s exit from the arena.
Still, the owner’s claim that the car remains “99% complete 99% original” is encouraging, though we realize a lot of work will have to be done. The good news is that the “correct original” Blue Flame Six engine is still under the hood, though it’s described as “stuck.”
The Blue Flame produced either 150 horsepower or 155 horsepower, according to the Corvette Black Book, with a camshaft design change made during production resulting in the slight increase. Since this is #106 for 1954, it seems likely that it would be the lower figure.
Inside, the interior will need new upholstery and the dash will require fresh paint, but the instruments are still in place.
After 300 Corvettes were built in 1953, Chevy apparently was optimistic that better days were ahead for its new sports car, with a move to a renovated St. Louis assembly plant that had the capacity to build up to 10,000 Corvettes a year. They started the second model year in December 1953 and went on to produce a whopping 3,640 cars in 1954. They badly underestimated the demand, however, and many were still left over when the next model year production started, despite a cut in the MSRP of more than $700, resulting in just 700 cars being built in ’55.
Hopefully, someone will take the time and money to bring this ’54 back to life, for without a willingness to overcome those early first-three-year struggles, there wouldn’t be a 2023 Z06 that the world is raving about these days, would there?
Source:
Craigslist.com
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In storage…apparently under a shade tree at best.
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