I’m not sure what to make of this 1954 Chevrolet Corvette. It’s rough looking, to say the least, and difficult to determine what the seller or some previous owner’s intention was. It’s not all a mystery – some is very evident and there’s more on that to follow. But the aesthetics, ouch! Still, it’s intriguing to let’s dig deeper into this Miami, Florida domiciled Corvette. It’s available, here on eBay for a current bid of $25,600 with sixteen bids tendered so far.

The seller states, “what you see is what there is” as a sort of look it over and take it or leave it proposition – but he does invite questions which is good as the listing is very detail limited. While there’s not any obvious body damage, this thing looks like it was painted with a roller and a brush. Obviously, the bumpers (mostly), tail lights, turn signals, and things of that nature are missing. And since this car is being sold “as is” all those components will need to be sourced. The grille, headlight buckets and bezels, and the slim stainless side molding are all that appear to have escaped removal, and probably disposal one way or another. It is stated that there is a convertible top frame present – that’s a help.

The interior has fared a bit better with an intact instrument panel, and it gives a clue as to this ‘Vette’s original hue. Speaking of the instrument panel, it appears to be housing a collection of mismatched gauges. Obviously, the outsized original steering wheel has been replaced with one from a much later model. The seats are pretty well shot and that’s some really lumpy-looking carpet – note the lack of a Powerglide gear selector.  A bungee cord to keep the doors closed? Hmmm…

OK, we don’t need no stinkin’ Blue Flame, in-line six-cylinder engine, this Corvette has gone the V8 route a year early. So, besides being one of one hundred million Chevrolet small-block engines created over many years, what is it? It’s hard to say unless you can glimpse the two or three-digit engine code and even that’s not definitive as they had a tendency to be recycled. The safe bet is that it is an emission-controlled era 350 CI motor topped with a Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor but that’s just speculation. In its current state, it’s obviously not a runner as it’s missing too many parts. There’s no indication if it will even spin over. Transmission? Said to be an automatic but nothing further descriptive.

The seller suggests, “car needs full restoration” and I’d suggest that it needs more than that as there’s enough of it missing so that means lots of parts sourcing too. And then there’s the entire matter of the engine… But I get his sentiment, it’s going to need a lot of help before it becomes a viable ‘Vette, wouldn’t you agree?