Call us with Barn Finds - 806-236-3681 Read online - www.motortrend... Resurrected to the flamboyant design that Harley Earl envisioned the 1955 Corvette should have looked like.
When a car has a history of being repainted, repurposed, and hacked about like that, it must be a nightmare deciding what moment in its history is to be enshrined in a restoration. Beautiful and incredibly thorough work!
What a great restrained interview style - asking the right questions and then respectfully keeping quiet to let the man explain, great filming and editing too!
Thank you for noticing what I try my best to do, and that is to ask the right questions and then shut up and record people that have a great story to tell. I learned this through thousands of interviews that I recorded and transcribed researching magazine articles and now to making videos for RU-vid.
It really shows! I was reminded of some of the best interviews, for example Dave Allen of 'Great British Eccentrics'. Thank you for taking the time to reply@@thewriter2549
This was absolutely amazing. As a Corvette admirer since a child, I really enjoyed watching this video. Billy Jay is an artist. An amazing artist. And the history on this car. I love the fact that you can trace the lineage of this car from the 50's to 2022. Thank you for making this video. And thank you Billy Jay for keeping this amazing piece of automobile history alive.
I knew of this car and it had became legend. I thought those couple of black and white photos where all that was left. I am so glad it was found and appreciated for what it was, a part of automotive history.
@@thewriter2549 I only knew about this car from those b/w photos. For years, what happened to it was a mystery. I never knew that this was the yellow Motorama car. Glad that it was kept as a concept car with the differences on each side and the traces of it's yellow origins. Do you know if any of the others Motorama Corvettes still exist ?
@@thewriter2549.... Fantastic Documentation & Restoration, Jerry. Where is the "Vette" now?.... Just asking as the video shows you loading it into the trailer at the end. I had a 61 (w/rag & removable hard top) in the mid 60s until I went into the service in 67, then a 63 roadster (rag top) after coming home from VN (3 "tours") the last time, which a buddy of mine sold me for the coast of the new HP long block (4 bolt mains,etc) from Chevrolet ($375.00!!), which I built, sold and bought a 63 "Split window" with the Rochester FI for $1,500.!! If my "foresight" was 1/50th of my "hindsight".... I would be a multimillionaire today, if I had kept all the 50s & 60s muscle cars that I owned years ago (coupled with nearly 20 years of drag racing FED's! lol)... and All of them were "cherry"! Watching Barrett-Jackson Auctions brings tears to my eyes & bank accounts!! lol I subscribed to your channel, quite some time ago... love your restorations, and look forward to more. God Bless & protect you, and yours.
@@thewriter2549... Thanks So Much for your rapid reply... you now hold the world record for the fastest response time to one of my comment/questions... by a couple of days, so I think you're "safe" for the rest of time. I can relate to Billy Jay being a "stickler" for "doing things right"... I'm the same way. Longevity and reliability is in paying close attention to all the fine details.... I'm a firm believer in doing things Once, even if it takes whatever amount of time, longer than most people... to do it right. In my younger years I got into metal polishing (still have most all of my equipment) "on the side" and have been in many different restoration projects myself, to that end... everything from motorcycles, steam locomotives, 1880's & 90's pullman railroad coaches, hot rods & show cars to musical instruments.. and written up in a half dozen or so (lost track, been a while now) magazines related to those various types of restoration projects. Anyway... thanks for posting and sharing your fabulous work, once again... am an ardent admirer of others who also take great "pains" to do things correctly, and whatever time it takes to "get it there". PS: Interesting that you restored "TV Tommy's" four engined (Buick), four wheel drive dragster. I remember helping lifting him out of it, back in 1978 (or,79?.. it's been a while), after he made his first pass at SIR (Saskatchewan Int'l Raceway - NHRA track) up in Canada, in the "left lane" after I suggested to him Not to use that lane due to a nasty, nearly lane wide frost heave just past the last mph beam. Considering the rigidity and weight of that beast.... I didn't think it would be a wise move for him (knowing how it hammered myself in my own, much more flexible FED - Front Engine Dragster/rail, during qualifying up there) to use it... but, Tommy, being Tommy... ran it anyway, and payed for it with a re-injuring of his lower back, which sadly put him out of commission for a short while that year, while he healed up... again.
My hat is off as I bough deeply to your incredible workmanship Sir Billy of J. Just incredible in every way! It’s a miracle that thing wasn’t lost to a landfill.
WoW! What a remarkable job of research, investigation, documentation and preservation--all within a full (but sensitive to originality) restoration. Thanks for both refreshing and conserving this bit of Corvette history! And thanks to the videographer for recording this commentary!
My neighbor had Number 8… He found it in a junkyard in the 70’s. The junkyard has Number 3 as well. He almost bought it for 12k. Later he found out that they never found number 1 or 2. He just passed away a few months ago. Rip Bill. He was a good man.
Do you mean a 1954 Corvette, or this EXACT car? If you mean this exact car, maybe you can help us trace its early history. We don't know what happened to this car from 1954 to 1974.
WOW!!! Most impressive, restoration bar NONE!!! Love your presentation, look forward to seeing more! Godspeed from The Yakima Valley in Washington STATE 🙏🏽🙌🏽
What I appreciate about this guy is his research and attention to detail. One can only imagine what the owner went through to obtain a title for a car that never had a title when constructed, no salvage certificate or any paper trail.
Very true. I am the sixth owner a fiberglass car from the same time period that was never completed and thankfully has remained untouched (butchered) by the various owners. We are in the process of completing the build, but the first 4 1/2 years of having it were spent researching, interviewing, and chasing leads to identify who designed/built it because that was unknown. We solved that mystery, found the designer/builder and his family and now know that he built seven to ten using various engines/chassis between 1953 and 1955. He lived in Wayne, Michigan and built the cars in a garage on in Livonia, Michigan where he was a teacher and coach. The car I have is the only currently known example, but we continue to search for other examples and the owners/former owners of them, so that we can capture and share their stories too.
Very few would take on a project like this, fewer still would see it to the end. The dedication to authenticity is truly commendable. My hat is off to you sir, subscribed.
I couldn't even imagine what this must have done to this very fine craftsman's head not to fix all the little boo boo's. After just watching I feel the need to medicate, Bravo for staying true even when it hurts.
Authenticity? They were annually changed one offs even before they retired. Some of them had different trim and handle configurations to show off possible mass production options!
I didn't know maybe free style pin striper's but in about 1977 i owned a '76 trans am 455 and i wanted it pin striped and i was introduced to a guy on long Island called little John, i think might've been little Joe but he did the entire car, free hand in a 2 tone burgundy and white, it was just beautiful! You guys are a rare breed!
I LOVE how you saved/used everything you could as is - because you should. And I hope people appreciate how much thought and effort you put into the process on every little point. And of course, your work is Stunning! Grand Slam with this project. Totally 100% blown away!
This range of car designs from the 50's are truly amazing. It's great to see this type of painstaking restoration on what must be one of the most beautiful body designs of the period. It certainly gave the Italian's a run for their money! Great work
I love this side of American car culture, it is unique to you guys due to the vast size of the country and your rural locations that enable cars to literally vanish for decades and then reappear much further down the line. That and the space/land a lot of folks have that means they can keep or forget about an old car without the need to free up the space and potentially scrap it.
@@thewriter2549 I really do appreciate this video and story, it's a shame that after the 70s the American automotive industry just didn't care about capturing the character and attitude of cars anymore. For me cars before 1974 had beauty, character, attitude, an almost spiritual effect when you drive them. It truly was and is a full body and mind experience, you and the car become as one. I was born 30 years to late because the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s were the most amazing time for cars. Thank you again.
Fascinating story about this rare car! I love how you go into the weeds! Great story, but even better, great explanation about the restoration of this vehicle! Thank you all for sharing!
I’ve got a few pictures of one of the first meets for 1953-55 Corvettes, put on by the Vintage Chevrolet Club of America at the Sloan Museum in Flint, Michigan in 1966 or 1967, before the NCRS was formed. One of the cars in the group was the 1953 owned by Sam Folz. I was the lone Canadian with my 1954, and being from Toronto had a brief encounter with one of the Motorama Corvettes that presumably was sold by General Motors through a Toronto dealer. As a young man I looked at the car on a used car. It was green and had one if the later hardtops and push button door openers. That car disappeared but stayed in Canada until 15 or 20 years ago when it was acquired by Terry Michaelis. I found this video very interesting......brings back a lot of memories.
Awesome car! Great story. Bought my 75 vette in 77. Still have it 45 years later. Still cherry with 80,000 miles. Get a lot of thumbs up. Must be the bright orange original paint.😎🇺🇸
Wow! What an AMAZING video. The story, the car and the restoration were just incredible. This was like watching a documentary about automobile archeology. Simply loved the whole video, from beginning to end. So cool how he kept the fit and finish the same and how he kept the left side of the car different/same as it was originally. I was a little confused about the ending. I was under the impression that the guy who restored the car, ended up becoming the owner. Am I mistaken. Was he giving it back to the owner at the end?
@@thewriter2549 The painstaking restoration of this museum piece 53//54 CorVette is beyond description. The devotion & attention to this project is phenomenal. Perhaps I missed the explanation during the video...BUT...why was it painted Bermuda Green...rather than yellow; as it was first presented at Motorama? I mean the 1 piece body began life as a "yellow" 1953 "Chevrolet"//Corvette. OK, the '53 body was reused, restyled & mounted on a 1954 frame. But I didn't hear any mention or see a color photo of the 1954 "restyled" CorVette. ...not complaining just wondering. Respectfully, Ben
@@duygukayhanisaskank4915 A large group of GM photos, passed down from GM to George Campbell through the famous author Noland Adams - and you will see these photos spread out over the trunk of S.O.2151, all are black and white. None were color. However, there is no question Harley Earl's Art & Colour Section painted S.O.2151 Bermuda Green. As we said, there is a lot of documentation of Shop Order 2151. Although not necessary, Billy Jay actually photographed Bermuda Green in black and white and compared his photos to the original black and whites and they looked the same. In other words, a black and white of a yellow car looks different than a black and white of a green car.
Jerry - I met you and spent some time with you years ago during a photo shoot at a friend's shop. Life changed for me and I'm no longer active in the hobby, but really happy that you still are. We need the quality research and in depth coverage you've always done. And finally, an absolute jewel from the era restored exactly as it should have been.
Wow, stunning, the mans an artist, great restoration, great story of an iconic car in the making, how they used to decide what they wanted on the actual car, these days all done on computer. Another great video Jerry.
Great video, just shows that the electrics in newer cars can be a very large headache even for some specialists. The Turbo R can have a few electric niggles as well that can be very expensive to put right. Glad you found the right part and fixer!
Great coverage of an amazing restoration! Nice work! So it was literally done and being shipped to the owner? Amazing you got to capture it doing that as part of that story. I was a bit surprised to see it not painted yellow until all those factory photos came out showing the green car.
This guy: amazing freehand detail artist, master mechanic, automotive historian/archivist/restorationist/detective, not-too-shabby presenter. I miss anything?
This is a rare peek into the mind and the mind's eye of a true conservator... a masterclass in the conservation of history. This is how it is done folks.
I'm a retired master mechanic your research and dedication really makes the restoration great My parents lived next door to a neighbor who had a complete 54 when I got back from Vietnam I tried to buy it but he wouldn't sell it because he said his son was going to restore it but his son died in Vietnam. I never knew what happened to it.
