Given the Chevy Corvette’s success today, it’s hard to fathom that the sports car struggled early on and barely survived its first three years (1953-55). It wasn’t until the GM automobile gained a V8 engine and a manual transmission that demand began to grow. This nice-looking ’54 ‘Vette has been in storage since 1980 and we’re told it was once owned by entertainer Jerry Lee Lewis. Located in Carleton, Michigan, the seller is fielding offers here on Facebook Marketplace, so what would you toss out there? Thanks for the cool tip, JimA!
Chevrolet only produced 4,640 Corvettes in three years, with only 1,000 of them not in 1954 (the first year the car was mass-produced rather than largely hand-built). The ’54 car was still powered by the “Blame Flame” inline-6 engine paired with a 2-speed Powerglide automatic transmission, but you could get a Corvette in a color other than white. The ’54 ‘Vette was also 20% cheaper than the ’53 which may have helped in the temporary uptick in sales (that would drop again to just 700 in ’55). It struggled to compete with Ford’s new Thunderbird in 1955, but they really weren’t the same kind of car.
This Corvette looks good but has supposedly been off the road for 43 years. The seller does not refer to its running condition or what it’s been doing since it was involved in an IRS auction in 1980. That’s the only documentation that this machine was once been owned by Jerry Lee Lewis and – even if it was – does that really add any value to the automobile? The odometer reading is 23,000 miles.
Chances are the next owner will buy it because it’s a low-production auto that may be in survivor condition. And not because they’re a big fan of Jerry and his song “Great Balls of Fire.” But I could be wrong, and the buyer might be both. I find it interesting that a vehicle like this with what could be a very interesting story has found its way to Facebook Marketplace to be sold rather than a classic car website.
The Killers Corvette? Awesome. Kiss me Baby
Ahh man, I read it wrong,
thought it said “Jerry Lewis’s Corvette”
Jerry Lee Lewis is alot cooler.
“Too much love drives a man insane.” Words to live by.
Name on Title? Registration?
IRS seizure orders?
or Jerry’s Birth Certificate in the glove box?
Divorce papers, more likely.
Appellation hillbillies never got birth certificates.
Appalachian. Some of us hillbillies know how to spell.
Jerry Lee was from Louisiana.
Good car to take your cousin for a ride in.
And at least make sure she’s over 18.
Tough crowd. But I certainly wouldn’t pay more for the connection to a celebrity
I could imagine Lewis having owned this reducing its value.
I loved Lewis. I found him talented and giving with his charities. Despite that, I doubt it will add value. Did he buy this new in the fifties, or was it part of a larger collection bought later in life?
Any old pics of the Killer in the car any where???
It’s motor was called the BLUE FLAME SIX.
Was that because it’s power matched that of a gas stove burner?
It’s more of a problem of weight – the ancient stovebolt 6 in the early vette weighs 55 lbs more than a small block! & almost 200!! lbs more than a late 60s 250 OHV chevy strait 6 which has lower compression(reg gas is fine), makes 5 more hp than the tripled carbureted blue flame, & has a single/what could be simpler tiny 1 bbl carb!. It would be very interesting to transplant the later 250 into a ’53 or ’54(you would probably need a hood scoop to clear the carb) & see how such a weight reduction affected handling, braking, & acceleration. I know on my friend’s ’68 Nova with the 250, turbo muffler, taller air filter & 3:07 rear, & HEAVY back seat removed, with the powerglide held manually in 1st gear at about 25 mph, flooring the accelerator throws you back in the seat.
Yeah, no kiddin, one thing for sure, you won’t have to ever worry about “great tires of fire”.
From Bing search
Jerry Lee Lewis and his Corvettes. Jerry Lee Lewis owned several Corvettes over the years, including a 1954 Chevrolet Corvette and a 1980 Corvette convertible. The 1954 Corvette was once owned by Jerry Lee Lewis and has been in storage since 1980. The 1980 Corvette convertible was also owned by Jerry Lee Lewis and has been freshly painted with a brand-new interior.
Apparently seized, along w/ 2 other vehicles,
by the IRS for non payment of taxes. It reads
a s/n as E549003551, so authenticity should
be relatively easy to verify.
Also stated is mileage; at 21,551 in 1980…
I don’t think there were any 1980 -factory- Corvette Convertibles….
i had a 80 coupe and i don’t remember the ‘ragtop’ being an option….or ever seeing one. So, mr HJ, i stand w you…:-)
No factory Corvette convertibles from 1976 to 1985. Also, I think there were none in 1997.
Goodness gracious, great balls of (Blue Flame) fire.
Regardless of what you might think of the man’s personal life, he was one of the founders of rock ‘n’ roll, and a r&r icon.
I owned one, sold it in ’68 for $1500. It had all the rare features, grills over the headlights, plexiglass side curtains (almost opaque by then), Blue Flame 6, which was boosted over the standard Chevy/GMC 6 by the three Carter side draft carbs, which tended to leak gas onto the engine, and a true dual exhaust. Even with the Powerglide it was fast for 1954. Very front heavy, exhaust running through the back fender/bumper flowed up over the trunk and into the passenger compartment (fixed by GM by making the exhaust ports fake and dropping the exhaust down to the road just in front of the rear end of the car), signal seeking radio, but if you were over 5’8″ tall your eyes were at the height of the top of the windshield, top of head bumping the canvas top, which did not seal against the panel that flipped up to store it, a very nice feature, but not thought through. You got wet in the rain, but, my friend’s ’73 with T tops leaked even worse. This one looks like it has the original tires, and, the original rug, that needs to be redyed, a museum piece.
i had a 80 coupe and i don’t remember the ‘ragtop’ being an option….or ever seeing one. So, mr HJ, i stand w you…:-)
I’m pretty sure these first Corvettes shared the frame, suspension, and drive train with The Chevrolet Bel Air…
That’s Blue Flame, not Blame Fame.
The local Ford dealer used to say that Chevy cars had a “Blue Cloud 6”.