Fantasy Junction

Description

1954 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster
s/n E54S004098
Polo White with Red Interior

America’s first and longest running mainstream sports car is the Corvette. While an unequivocally iconic car today, the Corvette did not catch on initially. 300 or so cars were essentially hand built for 1953, and a new plant in St. Louis was readied to produce around 1000 or so cars per month for the 1954 model year. However, sales were disappointing, and only 3640 examples were built, simply because the American marketplace was not sure what to do with a sports car at the time. At about twice the price of a base model Chevrolet coupe, and a few dollars more than a Cadillac, the Corvette didn’t have much space, but did have side curtains that needed to be stored in the trunk. It took a while for the concept to catch on with the American public, meaning that these early cars are quite rare, in addition to being representative of the innovative and forward-thinking mindset then in force at General Motors.

This particular car has been fastidiously restored after being displayed for about 15 years in the Coker Tire museum. The restoration was overseen by an NCRS judge and is very correct, although the car has yet to be shown at an NCRS event. The car was shown at the Marin Sonoma Concours, where it placed third in class in 2011. Since then, the car has had a thorough mechanical restoration that included all systems, from the radiator to the rear end. The engine was rebuilt in its entirety, and the brakes and suspension were also rebuilt.

The car is in excellent condition, with high quality paint in excellent condition. The panels are straight and the fit is good. The chrome is in very good to excellent condition throughout, and the glass, lights, and trim are excellent. The car’s presentation is generally quite correct and complete, and the car has full weather equipment including soft top and removable side windows.

The interior is authentically presented in red with very nice upholstery and carpets using the correct materials and patterns. Both are in very good shape. The dashboard is in very good shape, with only a few small cracks in the white paint around one of the switches. The switches and controls are in good but not freshly restored shape and the gauges are very good to excellent. Some of the knobs have hairline cracking to them and the steering wheel paint has a few chips on it.

The engine compartment is beautifully restored and very correct. The “Blue Flame” six has correct blue paint on the valve cover and intake manifold, and the correct decal has been applied to the valve cover. The twin air filter arrangement fitted to late six cylinder cars is in place and in freshly restored cosmetic condition. The triple Carter carburetors still have their tags on them, and other details such as the glass windscreen washer fluid jar are in place.

The trunk and undercarriage were restored to similarly high standards. The bag for the side windows is in place in the trunk, and rubber mat is also in place. On the underside of the car, the chassis markings have been reproduced, and the engine, suspension, and brakes have been beautifully detailed.

The car runs and drives very well. The engine is well-tuned and the transmission shifts properly and kicks down when requested. The suspension compliant but controlled and the brake work reliably and without fuss.

This is an excellent opportunity to acquire an extremely nice early Corvette. Historically, they are very interesting cars, dating back to a period when most Americans weren’t quite sure what to make of sports cars. Accordingly, these early cars are quite rare, and retrospectively, it is clear that these cars paved the way for the American passion for sporting automobiles that continues today. This particular car is mechanically sorted, very correct and well detailed. It can be casually shown as is, or makes an excellent basis to compete at NCRS events with additional sorting to some of the details.

The above vehicle information is complete and accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time it is posted to this website. Corrections or additional information is always appreciated. All advertised prices exclude government fees and taxes, any finance charges, any dealer document preparation charge, and any emission testing charge. Vehicles are subject to prior sale. All advertised to be true but not guaranteed. We assume no liability for errors or omissions.

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Fantasy Junction  •  510-653-7555  •  1145 Park Ave, Emeryville, CA 94608