When Chevrolet introduced the Corvette in 1953, the company hadn’t thought out a long-term plan for the new sports car.  They were simply caught up in rushing a dream car into production.  That indecision almost ensured that the car would not live beyond its infancy.  Now, seventy years later, this 1954 Chevrolet Corvette for sale on Facebook Marketplace in Mt. Bethel, Pennsylvania is struggling to find a home with one of the most vague and confusing ads we have seen lately.  We don’t know what parts are missing or if the car left the factory in Sportsman Red.  We do know that it is a rare Corvette with a $29,000 asking price.  Are you willing to take a chance on a less-than-stellar ad to put one of the first Corvettes in your garage?  Thanks to justpaul for the neat tip!

The Corvette started life as a Motorama show car on January 17, 1953.  It was an immediate hit even among more radical concept cars.  Whether the car was destined for production or its success started some “What if?” discussions that germinated into limited production at a makeshift Flint, Michigan plant is still open for debate.  History tells us that Chevrolet made some mistakes getting the car from the stage at the Motorama to the streets of America.  An amazing (given the timeframe) 300 vehicles were produced by the time 1953 came to an end.  Those 300 cars were supposed to be distributed to an equal number of lucky Chevrolet dealers and sold only to those with stature in their communities.  The idea was to build an exclusive image for the car.  Then, the floodgates would open and vehicles would be sold to the hordes of customers waiting for their chance to own a show car of their own.

The problem with this plan was manyfold.  A small segment of the market wanted a true American sports car and, other than the two seats, Chevrolet didn’t deliver.  The car’s fiberglass body was imperfect, it sat on a shortened but antiquated chassis and was powered by an enhanced but still heavy version of the company’s “Stovebolt Six” that had been around since 1929.  Perhaps the most offensive slight in the eyes of enthusiasts is that every car came with a two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission when somewhat suitable manual transmissions were available.  The well-heeled segment of the population that Chevrolet envisioned as the customers for the Corvette were aghast at how Spartan the car was.  It even came with removable side curtains with plexiglass inserts instead of roll-up windows.  Chevrolet’s decision to set up a proper assembly line in St. Louis so that 10,000 Corvettes could be produced annually proved to be unrealistic.  Only 3,640 Corvettes were produced in 1954, and 700 made it out the door in 1955 despite the new V-8 under the hood.  Many of those cars sat on dealer’s lots for months on end.  Despite its potential, the car’s survival hung by a thread.

We all know the rest of the story about the Corvette.  However, we don’t know much about the 1954 Corvette featured here.  The pictures are taken farther away than necessary and the quality is poor.  In the ad, the first line is “hand laid 5 e type body.”  From there, we are told that “V8 auto mounted in car with 6 cyl & 3 carb setup included.”  That we can verify, as the pictures show a V-8 in the car and another two pictures show the “Blue Flame” Stovebolt six and the rare triple carburetor intake.  We are also told that the car has “Many like new bumpers, some rare trim pieces, take off gauges, some original seat bottoms and non original seats and interior pieces included.”  To round things out, we are given the statements “Finish disassembly and restore or make a special RestoRod!” and “Buy it now offer” considered.”

The above information from the ad is not included to poke fun at the seller.  Rather, this is what we have to work with.  The ad is unclear, but the pictures show a real 1954 Corvette and some of the rare parts needed to restore the car.  The mystery thickens when you look at the seller’s Facebook Marketplace sales and their profile.  This person is referred to as a doctor, and the Corvette shows up for sale in their feed on September 3 with a few more pictures.  The way their posts are written in their profile does not match the confusing approach in the ad.  Many of the pictures in the profile are also of better quality.

So, what should a prospective buyer do in this case?  If you are close, or if you know of someone trustworthy in the area, a visit and inspection are in order.  It doesn’t feel like this is a scam.  This is likely a situation where two people need to meet and a deal has to be cut.  Are any of you out there interested in a road trip to Pennsylvania?

What do you think about the ad and the car?  Is it worth pursuing or are there just too many negatives here?  Please share your thoughts in the comments.