Chevrolet is one of America’s oldest, and most popular, car brands. The company was started in 1911 by Swiss race car driver and automotive engineer  Louis Chevrolet alongside his brother Arthur Chevrolet and William C. Durant, one of GM’s original founders. By 1916, the company had been profitable enough to allow Durant to buy a controlling stake in General Motors. In 1917, Chevrolet was merged into GM and became one of the company’s subdivisions. Throughout the years, Chevrolet has made some of the most iconic and recognizable names in American vehicles like the Bel Air, the El Camino, the Blazer, the Nova, the Chevelle, and many, many others.

The Corvette was Chevrolet’s first foray into the sports car market. While 1953 was the Corvette’s first production year, the 1955 model year marked the debut of Chevrolet’s 265 cubic-inch small-block V8 that made 195 HP. In addition to the new V8 engine, the electrical systems were upgraded from 6-volt to 12-volt. The V8 was originally paired with a two-speed “Powerglide” automatic transmission although a three-speed manual was introduced later in the model year. The addition of a V8 engine in the Corvette, the idea of Belgian engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov, made Chevy’s new sports car a viable competitor to the Ford Thunderbird and Studebaker Speedster of the time. To signify this power upgrade, The “V” in the Corvette emblem was enlarged and colored gold. Only 700 Corvettes were produced for the 1955 model year making it the second-lowest production year after 1953.

The example on display here, Chassis No. VE55S001106 is a numbers-matching vehicle finished in Polo White with a red interior and beige soft top. It features the aforementioned small-block V8 and the early two-speed “Powerglide” automatic transmission. While Corvette engines were not stamped with their correlating chassis numbers until the 1960 model year, this vehicle’s originality was verified through the various stamps found on the engine. The engine casting is 3703524, which decodes to a 195-horsepower, 265-cubic-inch V-8. The casting date is L-7-4, which decodes to December 7, 1954, and the assembly stamping is 0093292 F55FG, which notes the production sequence as assembled in Flint, Michigan, and built for the 1955 model year. The FG suffix decodes to a 195-horsepower 265-cubic inch V-8 mated to an automatic transmission. All of these numbers coincide with the production of this chassis number. 

From 2009 to 2012, the vehicle underwent a $65,000 body-off restoration at Corvette Repair Inc. of Valley Stream, New York. The magnificent restoration work was certified by Kevin Mackay of the National Corvette Restorers Society (NCRS) in 2012 who also verified the numbers matching engine and bestowed this Corvette the NCRS Top Flight award. This award confirms that all of the vehicle’s details were completed exactly or nearly exactly as they were when the car came out of the factory in 1955.  According to the NCRS website, only 17,124 Corvettes nationwide have earned this mark of superiority. 

The car has been carefully maintained since its restoration and remains in factory-fresh condition. The exterior paint is in excellent condition with the only area of note being a small crack in the paint on the top of the passenger side rear fin. The glass and trim are undamaged and the wheels still have their original hubcaps. The interior shows little to no wear and the leather is clean, smooth, and uncracked. The only area that needs attention is a very small tear in the stitching section of the driver’s side seat cushion.  All of the gauges remain functional and the Wunderbar radio works as it should. Under the hood, the car shows no signs of issues either cosmetic or mechanical. All of the painted surfaces are smooth and like-new and all of the hoses, wiring, and tubes appear newer and well taken care of. The trunk area retains its original mats and shows no signs of wear or aging. Lastly, the underside was restored alongside the rest of the car and was treated with all the correct finishes.

This 1 of 700 1955 Chevrolet Corvette is the ideal candidate for club events or an all-American cruise down Route 66 and is guaranteed to turn heads wherever it goes. The car is accompanied by its original side curtain windows, jack, extra keys, restoration receipts, and the NCRS documentation and certificate.

The Details