Generally, a 1954 Corvette wouldn’t make waves in terms of coverage. There were 3,640 made that sophomore year, not huge but not exactly rare either but then again that was 68 years ago. And in its own right, that’s a substantial achievement to have survived all of those years. So, what’s special about this example? Let’s look it over and find out. This bit of Chevrolet plastic fantastic is located in Lakeport, California and is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $26,200, reserve not yet met.
Most of the ’54 Corvettes that I have encountered are either restored or a complete wreck with lots of missing parts and lost originality. That doesn’t appear to be the case in this instance. The seller claims, “100% complete” and while I can’t attest to the accuracy of that statement, most of the trim pieces, and a rare removable hardtop, look present and accounted for. I will say that the wheel covers look like a swing and a miss, they appear to be appropriate for a ’56 Bel Air passenger car. As to what’s up with the fiberglass body, it’s hard to say from the images – it’s scruffy at best but doesn’t look cracked or broken. Surprisingly, this Chevy is currently registered through November with California DMV so it probably has some matter of roadability.
Under the hood is a 150 HP “Blue-Flame 150”, triple carbureted 235 CI, in-line six-cylinder engine that is said to be the matching number powerplant. The seller adds, “Motor sounds good. Runs and drives“. The one notable item is the color, I don’t recall this series of engines being red or orange, blue and chrome is how I remember the Blue-Flame motor. And there must be a lot of confidence in this engine’s integrity to park it over an oriental rug. A Powerglide, two-speed automatic transmission was the only available gearbox.
The interior actually shows a bit better than the exterior. The seats are faded and there may be a separated seam or two but the upholstery is pretty fair. The black instrument panel has me scratching my head but at least all of the gauges and switchgear show as being present – there’s even an original style radio. Until I saw the side glass/curtains, I had completely forgotten about this vintage ‘Vette’s lack of roll-up side windows.
The seller freely admits “needs restoring” but I suppose that’s an understatement. Well, if you’re going to undertake such an endeavor, as ten different bidders have expressed interest, you may as well start with the best example that you can find, right?
Still like the looks of the original models. This will be a good project but the going in price is going to be high. Haven’t seen one of the hard tops in a while.
A guy in Fresno who was well-known to Corvette folks, buried a 1954 on his farm during a not-so-friendly divorce proceeding. I wonder if this may have been the one?
It would have been nice for the seller to include a background story with this listing.
You know that there is an interesting one.
Ed Thiebaud, a turkey farmer in Fresno, California, liked to fly airplanes and collect Corvettes and Corvette parts. In the late sixties he formed the Vintage Corvette Club of America (VCCoA). Ed’s club pretty much centered around the 53 to 55 models and grew enough to have over 1,000 members and 10 regional representatives around the country and publish a newsletter, the “Blue Flame Special”. Included were a few articles, reprints of Corvette showroom brochures and service manual information, member ads selling cars, selling parts, looking for parts and offering some reproduction parts along with club related items.
Frank
That is such great info
Ed loved fast cars and fast women
Looks like he lost both
I read as many articles as possible
Again
Thanks for the info
Claudio- The plot thickens. In trying to discover if Ed truly did bury a Corvette to keep it hidden from his soon-to-be ex-wife, I came across her obit. She sounded like quite a lady, Apart from having seven children, she was a pilot, Corvette racer, helped get the Vintage Corvette Club up and running, and helped run the large turkey production ranch in the Central Valley area of California. There is not a single mention of Ed in the lengthy obit. I’m guessing that Ed turned out to be the biggest turkey on the ranch and that Mrs.T showed him the tail feathers on her way out.
Well, one thing is certain,
She was quite fertile !
Please continue investigating
And keep us in tune !
Mr Thiebaud continued to collect solid axle cars and parts, becoming even more well known within the hobby. He also began to gather midyear cars as he [correctly] saw the 63 to 67 cars as the high water mark in Corvette production. In the late 60s and early 70s, these cars were still plentiful and relatively cheap- my dad had to almost give his pristine 66 roadster away in late 69. Mr Thiebaud became a big enough ‘personality’ within the Corvette world to rate a story and cover photo in Corvette News in 1972.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/usr_images/6/2/0/620_5a2abc3317f88.jpg
Fast forward to 1987. Howard Kirsch from Tulsa and a couple of his NCRS buddies went to the Monterey Historics as Chevrolet was the featured marque, and the NCRS was slated to have a big ‘to do’ in conjunction with Monterey Week. Amongst all the shows and races, there was an auction held there on the peninsula that week, and in that auction, scrunched in between all the exotics and Pebble Beach winners, was a dirty and dull 53 Corvette. The seller was Ed Thiebaud, and the car was claimed to be the oldest surviving Corvette.
“Dingy” was not normally an adjective associated with the [few] cars Ed Thiebaud sold, so Mr Kirsch and company looked the owner up to discuss the car. The story goes that for some reason – cant imagine why – Mrs Thiebaud got tired of her and the 7 kids living wedged in between the hundred or so Corvettes and mountains of parts stuffed in and scattered around their residence. For some strange reason, she thought that some of the money spent on old Chevrolets should be frittered away on things like furniture, new clothes, the occasional vacation, a bigger house and the like…Some people…:rolleyes: Anyway, the Missus filed for divorce and specifically named Corvette 003 in the suit. Fearing the loss of the car given the tilted nature of the US courts, Mr Thiebaud [I]buried the car on a neighbours property, rightly then claiming that the vehicle was no longer in the collection, and left it until the statute had run. [disclaimer – I was not privy to the divorce pleadings or proceedings – the reasons set forth are reasonable suppositions and are based upon {admitted} hearsay from those who allegedly knew…the burying part is fact tho] Anyway, with Corvette prices on the rise, Ed decided to sell the car to help him recuperate a bit financially from the devastation of divorce.
Kirsch and crew talked to Thiebaud at length and pored over every inch of the car. Several times. There were several things not ‘right ‘ about the car, including the fact that the frame had no numbers stamped on it. Furthermore, the brake and fuel lines were run inside the rails as opposed to outboard, thru drilled – not punched- holes like other early 53s. The top mechanism was ‘wrong’, as were the limit straps on the rear end, plus numerous other little things including a replacement block. But the car appeared genuine and Thiebaud had a good paper trail for it. The consortium from Tulsa took the risk, stepped up, and bought the car for huge-at-the-time money.
So Ed had the oldest know Corvette in exisistence- 003. 001 and 002 have never been found.
Regarding the turkey farmer: Never thought about this before, but a turkey ranch is a bit odiferous! The owners would get to where they couldn’t smell it anymore. But could it permeate a Corvette?
I saw this one near Bonneville in 2016. I love this car. I would drive it just as it is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW9JZpcR-XU
Having the hardtop and windows is huge. The correct bullet ” air cleaners ” and steering wheel are rare too. It would be a good deal at current price if the numbers are close on the mechanicals, but over 30k you’ll have to suck it up at sale time.
I’d love to buy and drive as is.
It would likely drive the purist’s out of their minds…
Probably not. The purists know there is room in the hobby for all kinds of tastes.
Wheel covers are wrong, originals had fake “spinnners”, valve cover should be blue, why not wash it off so we can see if the fiberglass has crazed and cracked, mine was at only 10 years old, but, I did have all the original trim pieces and plexiglass sidecurtains so scatched up you could barely see through them. I even bought one of my wheel covers back (for $20) from the guy who stole it from me, and no, I did not call the cops, he was reputedly part of the local mob, as were some of the cops, and he was a lot bigger than me. Since the Feds had deemed the fake “spinners” dangerous, the replacement I had first bought from Chevrolet just had holes where the “spinners” were attached. Now they allow the Acorn lung nut covers on semi’s – even if they are made of plastic they could really rip your shins if in motion.
<Now they allow the Acorn lung nut covers on semi’s – even if they are made of plastic they could really rip your shins if in motion.
I ride a bike a lot, and they would do a lot of damage to your leg. can't believe those are allowed.
Looks like a manual trans switch out. I can’t see the pedals but the shifter is wrong. Ebay ad says manual.
The shifter knob does look like it has a shift pattern etched upon it and agreed, can’t spy the pedals. If there is a manual gearbox in place, the “100% complete” claim is a bit misleading. Yeah, it might be complete but not the way it was in 1954.
JO
Gear lever looks to be in the wrong position. I thought the OEM one was more on the side of the tunnel.
Do you have to sneak up to drive this one?
Its very plane jane or plane bob 😉
Hope it gets painted soonz
Patina with no rust
I would leave the body as is
But totally restomod it
Aftermarket frame and all
I nascar , i dont drive
So an old carburated 6 with a 2 speed glide are dinosaur parts for me
But the old dirty 2 door topless would be left alone for a few years more
To each his own
YOLO
You can get the “enlarge” picture feature on Ebay – funny the seller didn’t click that feature so we could get a better look.
Yeah, 100% complete doesn’t mean 100% original.
How could it have been a modified manual trans if only auto was available in ’54?
And didn’t matching numbers not start in ’63?
I guess I’ve never seen one with the side curtains in place. Never realized they had wind wings. Cool!
Great writeup, Jim, lots of good info being passed here. its what makes barnfinds great. Interesting that its never been molested. Like Jim says, if you want one get the best one you can find. A good “vette bodyman could have that body fixed up right quick. I’m kinda thinking the first ones will continue to grow in value, like all ‘vettes. up to 41 large . Lots of coin but if you always wanted one this might be it! Good luck and happy bidding!
Corvette News in 1972.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/imagehosting/usr_images/6/2/0/620_5a2abc3317f88.jpg
Are his pants included?
<Fast forward to 1987. Howard Kirsch from Tulsa and a couple of his NCRS buddies went to the Monterey Historics as Chevrolet was the featured marque, and the NCRS was slated to have a big ‘to do’ in conjunction with Monterey Week.
I remember a story about the trip from Tulsa to Monterey in a GMC Motorhome. Everything that could possibly go wrong, did go wrong.
I’m thinking the pants played a big part in his divorce.
<I’m thinking the pants played a big part in his divorce.
Exactly!