Just in time for Christmas!

This 1954 Corvette has a 1957 283 Cubic Inch (4.6 Liter) V8 Corvette motor that is newly re-built with new pistons, rings, bearings, etc., and the engine - including the crankshaft, was balanced by Simmons Balancing in Charleston, SC.  It has less than 250 miles on the re-built engine. 

Please click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGe_3d2UToY to view a brief two minute video of this special vehicle.

The seats, interior side panels and arm rests are in very good to excellent condition.  There is a small hole in the carpet on the “hump” between the seats that is covered by a small vinyl mat.  The seats and interior side panels are in great condition and the stitching looks excellent.  It appears to be the original interior, but looks too new to be original for a 1954 vehicle.  The car has a beige soft top in good condition that stows away under a hard tonneau cover behind the seats, and has removable windows which stow in the trunk.  The car had a complete brake job less than a year ago.  The original Corvette valve covers were recently powder coated silver with red “Corvette” lettering which really sets off the engine compartment. 

We have $54,000.00 invested in this car and have set the reserve substantially lower than that.  Please – serious buyers only should bid on this unique piece of American automotive history. 

When we bought this car several years ago, it had a problem with the fuel tank.  It had a blockage from debris in the tank that would require filling the tank and not running it past half full or the engine would shut off.  We replaced the original fuel tank with a new stainless steel tank which fixed the problem.  Instead of trying to clean out the original tank, we replaced it.  The original fuel tank, (it is nearly impossible to find an original 1954 Corvette fuel tank), stays with the car in the event someone wants to complete a concours show car restoration in the future.  The speedometer and the oil pressure gauge work, but most of the other gauges on the dash do not and we have made no attempts to fix them.  The radio makes a sound when turned on, but does not find a station. 

This is a very good looking car, and is an excellent restoration candidate, but it has some cosmetic paint and body flaws as might be expected for a 53 year old Corvette!  The paint job may be original, but the paint is cracking in a few places.  There is a small knick in the paint on the passenger side from the new fuel tank installation that touch-up paint should take care of, and a crack in the rear passenger fender from recently hitting a garage door opening.  The passenger door is in need of paint from a blemish which I intend to have done prior to the sale of the vehicle. 

The motor is newly rebuilt and balanced, and the original two-speed “Powerglide” automatic transmission shifts nicely.  We drove this car over 100 miles per hour the day we bought it and it handled fine at high speed - on the highway.  When we took it up to 100 MPH, it felt like it could have gone much faster, but we did not feel the need to go any faster.  The car runs great and is very reliable, I'll drive the car to deliver it anywhere in North Carolina, South Carolina, North Florida (Jacksonville or northeast), or anywhere in Georgia, if you provide a one-way return airline ticket to Charleston.  I would only want to do this in good weather.  It has been 70 degrees in Charleston, SC lately. 

The serial number is E54S004440, making this the 3,439th Corvette ever made.  There were only 300 Corvettes built in 1953 with no differences between the 1953 and 1954 models.  Below is additional information on the 1954 Corvette – a true American Classic! 

Corvette Original Facts from 1954 (The motor in this car is a 1957 Corvette motor)

There were 3640 Corvettes made in 1954. All were Convertibles and all had two speed Powerglide Transmissions.

Wheelbase: 102", Track: 57" Front / 58.8" Rear, Height: 51.5" Over Windshield. Length: 167.3", Width: 69.8", Curb Weight: 2,886 lbs, Tire Size: 6.70x15"

In 1954, 10,000 Corvettes were expected to be built, but only 3,640 were actually made.  Production of the Corvette was moved to a new plant in St. Louis Missouri.  Production did not begin until December, 1953. 

Serial Numbers

E54S001001 through E53S004540

On Tuesday, June 30, 1953 Corvette #1 Serial Number E53F001001 rolled of the assembly line, and production of America’s original sports car – the Corvette began.

Our Serial Number is E54S004440, making this the 3,439th Corvette ever made.

The “E” is the Chevrolet indicator for Corvette. “54” is the year. The “S” is the Assembly Plant Code for St. Louis. And the last 6 digits in the serial number is the sequence manufacture number. The VIN Plate is attached to the door hinge pillar just below the upper hinge. 

1054 Corvettes had 6 Cylinder Blue Flame motors which were 235 cubic inches producing 150 and 155 horsepower.  The engine in this Corvette – Serial # E54S004440, is a newly rebuilt 4.6 Liter 283 V8 from a 1957 Corvette. 

Rear Axle Codes

Rear axle codes are located by the use of a stamp on the front right side of the differential carrier housing. The code will be followed by the month of manufacture, (1-12 or 01-12) and then the day of manufacture, (01-31). There may also be a HT stamped, along with the gear ratio, which would stand for Hi-Torque used for Positraction Rear axles. These were rare and were only used on the 3.70:1 and 4.11:1 rear ends.

The firing order of the 283 small-block motor (1957 and later) is: 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2.

Transmissions

Located by a stamp located on the rear face of the case in the lower right corner. The C is for the Cleveland Plant. The stamp is located on the face of the case in the lower right hand corner

Code   Type    Plant Built At

C         Powerglide      Cleveland

Radiators

The Harrison Division of GM in Lockport, New York manufactured corvette radiators. This radiator has a Harrison Division identification tag soldered to the center, inlet side, of the upper core tank. The tag has the part number and a date code of the year and a letter A-L.

3130953 Copper - All Engines

Colors

Exterior                       Qty      Soft Top        

Polo White                  3230    Beige  Red    Red

Pennant Blue               300      Beige   Beige   Red

Sportsman Red           100      Beige   Red    Red

The color numbers are not from manufacture information. They are only estimates from surveys and other sources. The head lamp housings and the license cove was flat black. The trunk came in 2 colors either beige or Red to match the 2 interior choices. The rest of the interior was either metallic beige or red. The exception was the white parking brake bracket and the steering wheel rim. Both colors of seats had white stitching. One other note is the availability of Metallic Green and Metallic Bronze as other options for exterior paint colors. This is shown from the paint manufacturers records. Corvette production records do not show these colors were used. All of the tops and the bows were beige.

Price and Production

Code   Description                             Quantity          Price

2934    Base Corvette Convertible      3640                $2,774.00

100      Directional Signal                   3640                        16.75

101      Heater                                     3640                        91.40

102      AM Radio, Signal Seeking     3640                      145.14

290B   White Wall Tires, 6.70X15    3640                        26.90

313M   Powerglide Transmission        3640                      178.35

420A   Parking Brake Alarm              3640                          5.65

421A   Courtesy Lights                     3640                          4.05

422A   Windshield Washer                3640                        11.85

Glass

Libby-Owens-Ford Glass Date Codes V is the code for 1956 and would be the 2nd letter in the code. The month code is below. As an example if the code on the glass was JV the glass was manufactured in May 1956. It is possible that GM used glass from other manufacturers, however, it would not be likely, (according to the NCRS Pocket Spec Guide). Safety Plate glass was used for all of the windows. There will also be the American Standard specification code AS1 for windshields and the code AS2 for the rest of the glass.

 To view a movie of this 1954 Corvette, go to www.youtube.com and search for 1954 Corvette, or click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGe_3d2UToY .  This brief two minute video was filmed in downtown Charleston, South Carolina to the soundtrack of The Beatles song “Drive My Car”. 

There are not many of these cars left.  This is a great investment that you can enjoy!  Please take good care of it if you are the lucky bidder. 

Good luck and happy bidding!