"General Motors designer Harley Earl loved sports cars and was influenced by the GI’s bringing home MGs, Jaguars, Alfa Romeos and the like after hostilities ceased in Europe in 1945. Even the small independent carmaker, Nash Motors, began selling a two seater sports car in 1951. Earl convinced GM that they also needed to build a two seat sports car. Earl and his 'special projects' crew began working on the new car later that year which was code named 'Opel'. The result was the 1953 Corvette taking its name from the Corvette, a small, manoeuvrable fighting frigate and it was unveiled to the public at that year's Motorama Car Show.
The first Corvettes were virtually hand built in Flint, Michigan in Chevrolet's customer delivery centre. The outer body was made out of a revolutionary new composite material at the time called fibreglass, selected, in part, because of limiting steel quotas left over from the Korean War. Underneath that radical new body was standard Chevrolet components including the 'Blue Flame' in-line six-cylinder truck engine, two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission and drum brakes from Chevrolet's regular car line. In 2009 this 1958 Corvette was imported from the dry state of Nevada. This impressive C1 with quad headlamps and washboard bonnet presents extremely well in silver blue with white coves following a full respray three years ago. With its original front drum brakes being converted to discs and the car benefitting from a replacement Holley carburettor, the vendor states that this small block V8 with Powerglide automatic transmission is a tremendous drive. This attractive convertible featured in James Manns photographic book The Art of Classic Sports Cars and is supplied with a removable hardtop, the original black U.S number plates and workshop manual. Presented to auction with a V5C registration document this American classic is ready to be enjoyed."