There’s no denying that a 1954 Chevrolet Corvette is a desirable specimen. However, there’s likely a limit as to how much of a project one can justify even if a car like the ’54 Corvette is a rare bird. This example is an incredibly challenging project to justify in terms of the costs involved with bringing it back to road-going status. The seller doesn’t offer any details as to what transpired to leave the Corvette in this state, but it wasn’t good whatever it was. What remains is essentially a gigantic jigsaw puzzle, and one has to wonder if it’s just the VIN tag bidders are after. Find it here on eBay with bids to $1,050 and no reserve.
What you see is what you get with this listing, a statement the seller repeats once or twice to ensure there’s no mystery about what will show up on a pallet when this carcass is delivered. While I understand the significance of a 1954 Corvette, I really do wonder if there’s a population out there that still loves them enough to put one like this back together. And among the clientele that would potentially restore one of these for profit, I see no way you make your money back should you choose to embark on this ambitious restoration. Was this Corvette wrecked and then parted out? That’s the only explanation I can see.
The seller notes that the VIN tag may be removed, but that the interior panel where the tag was originally mounted is also included. I am sure this was removed and put somewhere for safe keeping to ensure the most valuable piece of the whole kit was never lost. The missing chassis is intriguing to me – where did that go? Was it so deformed from an accident that it wasn’t even worth saving? Who knows. I can see the drivetrain and interior being sold off if they were still salvageable shortly after the Corvette was wrecked, but peeling the body off of the floorpan seems excessive if someone began parting this Corvette out back in the day. Still, even if the cabin pieces were there, they’d likely be in terrible condition by now.
The trunk lid appears to be the one bright spot among the messy remains, as it looks largely straight underneath. As you start to piece things together and see that the nose is completely gone, it could be that the Corvette suffered from a severe front end impact, bad enough that the engine compartment was sheered right off. The good news is that if you can use the VIN plate for another project, you may also get some useful spare panels like this trunk lid as they’re certainly not making reproductions, and it looks like the dash could be used as a template as well. Do you think anyone expects to restore this Corvette back to new condition?
I support the vin tag theory.
Not sure what you would do with the VIN on a model that they didn’t make very many of with no special variants. The only reason buying it for the VIN would be that the car you have is stolen.
Garage art!
Blank canvas!
We have heard this story so many times on BF,
“My wife wants it out of the living room so I have to sell!”
Where was it stored? Underwater?
I’ll bet this vett hit a pole or tree on the passenger side, I hope no one was sitting on that side, with that I’d say the frame was bent beyond repair is the reason someone peeled what was left of the body off of it, just my 2 cents on here
this car will be back on the road in two weeks with new paint
Either an accident, or was stolen some time ago.
i see quite often about buying the vin#… assuming you are putting the vin on another car… ??? it is not the car it came on… i guess im just uneducated on the vin thing…
Stand by for some learnin’ BF-style!
It only needs a little TLC..
I would tend to think that switching the VIN is illegal.
Vin switching is very illegal, felony jail time illegal. The Highway Patrol had to inspect the vehicle and will then issue a vin number and attach it to the body.
if its illegal then what is all this ‘buyin it for the vin’ deal… ??? buy the vin and frame it to just show it off… ???
Because there are scumbags in the world who have no regard for the law and have no issue passing off a counterfeit as the real deal to line their pockets.
It’s like accidently running over a dog….and when you find out there is a $1000 reward for its safe return, you take the collar off it, go to the pound and after buying a similar looking dog for $50 and slapping the collar on it, you “return” it to the owner for the reward.
Yeah, Mark that is exactly what we were thinking too.
This a very early car and the hardest part about fixing it is the rear tail light area. Taken for obvious reasons. The rest is doable. You can buy a entire front clip with dash for about $6000, doors you can get. I have a rolling frame for the car the body can go on but there is a lot of work for sure. Unless you can do the fiberglass work yourself no upside on the financial side.
I wouldnt give $100.00 for the whole thing unless I needed a trunk lid.
I have heard there was a fairly well-known Corvette salvage yard in the Rochester, NY area. I have also heard the owner of said salvage yard dabbled in VIN hi-jinks. Maybe not the end of the world except he was also the Town Constable. That is the story I heard. Way before my time. I would not fool around with VIN tags. My guess is if you do get caught you don’t get to take the Tag off your pride and joy and get a Do-Over.
Pieces of sh*t.
Sketchy.
Why ? its just not worth doing anything with, the vin big deal .
There are possible situations where you own a car with the Vin tag missing ( stolen ? ) or your local dot can’t find the records since your car has been unregistered for so long. Youbuy a junk car to get a vin tag that the dot has on file to register it. If no one is defrauded, there is no reason for any unpleasantness
Crawdad,
Because there is no ability to point out the car is rebuilt from multiple cars, what happens when the owner of the rebuilt car dies, and it’s sold to someone who then believes he has a nice original car?
The back portion is a Corvette Man Cave Couch. The rest is wall art.
Ended: Aug 29, 2021 , 4:30PM
Winning bid:US $3,567.00
[ 46 bids ]
Located in:Madison, Alabama