To paraphrase country singer George Jones, this is one old Corvette that’s not ready for a rockin’ chair.
John Muller of Arizona always liked the way first generation Corvettes looked, but motoring down the highway in the 1955 he once owned wasn’t the ultimate driving experience.
Then he found a 1954 Corvette on eBay that he called “nearly a basket case.”
By the time he got through with a two-year project at Hot Rod Express in Blue Springs, however, it was a different story. Hidden under that classic body now were a 5.7-liter, Corvette LS1 engine and a six-speed transmission, along with new brakes and suspension.
Unfortunately, one of his friends drove the car into an old oak tree a few years later, and it was time for another restoration, this time at Carriage and Motor Works in Kansas City, Kan.
Workers there completely took the car apart and repaired or replaced just about every body panel. In all, the work took about 1,700 hours and included a period-correct metallic blue paint on top of a fawn colored leather interior.
From the outside, clues are few that this is a super resto-mod, other than magnesium wheels and a lowered body. Under the hood, the original six-cylinder has given way to a late-model V-8.
Source:
Kansas City Star via
http://www.corvetteblogger.com
