History Heavily modified 1954 Corvette

I haven't gone to a car show in years but I'd take that to a show just to watch the purists veins pop out and try and boil an egg on their head.

 

Move this to the off topic section, and I’ll give you my opinion.

Could this possibly be an early Kindig build?

 

Just can't go there on this one. That rear wing just has to go. Then the front spoiler with the "horns" on it. See what it looks like then and go from there. That thing is uglier than the back side of a wild boars testicles as it sits now.

 

Poor Corvette. At least the front spoiler can clear your driveway in the winter!
I'd be after the whole car with a sawzall right away to get rid of the ugly wing, spoiler, and fender flares at least. Then decide how much more needed to be fixed to take the stick off it.

 

Not a gasser regardless of the D/G on it! It's something done much later, which explains why it's not a little higher up front.
Gas class required headers to end in one collector, so those 4 zoomies coming out under the front fender would have made it illegal for a D/G class car.

 

I don’t think it’s as goofy looking as the average gasser

 

Change the fluids , get the brakes working , clean the fuel system and go on an ice cream run .

 

With a big ole grin

 

Oh Geez!
Looks like Rice Rocket Jr. mated with Miss Teen Vette under the stadium seats, with some strange ingested chemicals.
“I told you to wear protection!”
Off with the atrocious, look at me, rear wing and the horny front snow plow, get the very cool SBC cleaned up and running, change out the wheels and take another look. You’ll like it. I know I would.
YOMV

 

I like the intake manifold is about the only good I can say .
the good news is a lot can be reversed or changed and you cant really hurt it doing so . Unless its got some known famous history id MAYBE keep the flares on the rear , loose the front spoiler and hood and go with a sort of drag race or maybe a road race look with those rear flares .

the car would look a lot better with some 5 spokes and not the wheels on it IMO .

That said Id love to see it lined up on the grid of some vintage class road race with some real good tires and better suspension and like 600HP with that wing and spoiler LOL . If its going to be that ugly IMO it needs to be really really fast IMO again. Imagine it doing 150MPH down some straight passing a Cobra or Porsche then it becomes cool again

 

Early gassers had the fronts up to try and get as much traction as possible. The tires back then were nothing like todays. Notice the Tijuana Taxi has modern wrinkle wall slicks. You can't judge things from back in the day using today's standards.

 

Saying something is goofy isn’t judging

is an opinion. Just as worthless as the next.

all the mods to this vette serves a purpose. For the builder/owner to enjoy.

 

One thing for certain, the reason the paint and the car is not all weathered, it was garaged kept. To embarrassed to store it outside in the open.

 

Maybe Counts Customs built it. It has horny mike horns on the front

 

As I was taught by a co-worker, "Ya can't win every time"

 

The “quote “ horns are license plate brackets
they belong more than the air dam.

 

Gotta love the "I don't like it needs to be changed!" crowd.

I not sure where I stand on this car and there are lots of vintage hot rods, customs, and racecars that I am not a fan of, but I don't think they should be changed based on my taste!

 

As far as “what would I do”
This one would be easier to mess with for ME. You can do to this vette canvas what ever ya wanted. Cruise it to a few shows to mess wth the purists. Then start whacking on it.
Packard taillights on a vette?
Bill Hines bat wings?
Dual canted headlights?
All kinds of fun you could have
At least the chassis isn’t messed up like those goofy gassers

 

I don't have any history on it, but if it were mine, I'd start working on it with that tool that's sitting on the floor behind it.

 

I’d leave it the way it is just to piss off the masses.

 

I'd say just bringing it home would have pissed off the missus........... Oh, wait. You said masses.....

 

her too! The corvette purists would be pissed, the hot rod guys are pissed, the custom guys are pissed.

 

.....the guy that built it must have been pissed........ (it has a different meaning down here in Oz. Alcohol related).

 

Paint it Black, put a Batman sticker on the door

 

I think it's a lucky find - perfect blank canvas.
No matter what you end up doing with it, whenever some restorer tells you you ruined it, you can pull out the ultimate set of 'before' photos and melt their brain.

 

It sure is interesting; but not that interesting; but it would be fun to get the mechanicals straightened out and cruise a Corvette show.

My kid's straight axle '54 Corvette drag car has it all over this one.

 

I agree.

 

I am on the fence on the looks, I think it falls under the it's so ugly it's cool.

So many people's first reaction is "cut is up because it's ugly." My first reaction is find out the history.

Just because we have never seen it before doesn't mean isn't historically significant.

My dad is 75 will turn 76 next month he started reading Hot Rod in the early 60s, but he was always into oval track racing. It wasn't until I started talked about Hirohata Merc 25 years ago that he had ever heard of it. I have never liked the Hirohata but respect the car for what it it's and its history as does he.

I always think of Clay Smith's roadster it was as Clay Smith built it, the man who bought it was told who's roadster it was, but he had never heard of Clay Smith or Clay Smith cams, nor did he care.

He cut the car up and made it a billet laden techno rod, Clay Smith's car is lost to history because there are no photos of it.

Now if the 54 Corvette was a show car or even a racecar that evolved over the years, I can see taking it back to specific period of time in its life, however it isn't my choice as I don't own it but by the same token, I would never buy a finished car that I didn't like or to completely change.

 

I have a suspicion that this car is one of those rods that was modified during the early 2000 rat rod craze. I've seen quite a few similar era cars pop up in recent years. One was actually based on a hacked up c1 Corvette chassis with early Ford front end and Ford rear wishbones chicken scratch welded to the Corvette rear. And had a hammered and bondo'd jeep body intended to look like a t bucket. Because of the authentic parts like the four carb intake and the chromed 40 Ford front end the owner was convinced it was an authentic early 60s rod. Just because a rod looks old doesn't mean it's truly vintage. There are 35 year old rat rods running around

 

I'm not a purist by any means, but this looks like Dr. Seuss and George Barris built a TV car. I would put some chrome back, and lose the wing and spoiler. Out some cragars in place of the current wheels. Or go on you tube and say it's the car the Black Ghost could never catch and let the legend begin