Description

1954 Chevrolet Corvette C1

Hugely desirable and pretty early 'E54S' Corvette C1 in classic colours with later 265CU V8 engine and 4-speed manual transmission upgrade

Imported and registered in 2018 this appealing Corvette C1 is finished in popular Polo White with contrasting Sportsman Red interior and hails from the first two years of production, arguably the most appealing years for the C1.

The chassis code E54S003592 denotes the car to (originally) be an early 6-cylinder example ‘E’, from 1954 ‘54’ and have been built in St.Louis, Missouri ‘S’ and is production sequence no. 003592. The cars from the first two years were denoted E54S001001 – E54S004640 of which just 3,640 were believed to have been built, making this a rather rare car.

However, despite leaving the factory in ’54 with the Blueflame six-cylinder engine, and mandatory Powerglide autobox the motor has clearly been swapped out for a V8 at some point in its life, believed to be 4,343cc according to its registration document. The transmission is also a 4-speed manual ‘box with Hurst shifter knob.

Unconfirmed, but it looks like the engine and box might well be from the 1956+ C1 which saw the introduction of GM’s then new 265CU Small Block V8 (4.3 litre) which was initially only available with 2-speed PowerGlide transmission and later a 3 or 4 speed manual (although only 700 C1’s were sold in 1955 making them also very rare).

That aside, the car here looks well with a few small cosmetic bits that could be improved as pictured, it’s a rare beast that sounds nice and should go well given its larger V8 and manual box over standard. Starting without the key, the car moved around well enough for these shots, but would no doubt benefit from a good service and set-up by someone who really knows their onions, or Yank V8’s in this case.

The history file includes only the V5C showing just 1 former keeper to the current of 2.5 years.

An unusual opportunity to acquire an earlier ’54 car with later V8 engine and ‘box giving improved performance and likely, usability.

For more information contact - will.daniels@brightwells.com