1953 Chevrolet Corvette
- Engine
- Inline six-cylinder, 150 hp, three side-draft carburetors, two-speed automatic transmission
- Colour
- Polo White over red
The 87th of 300 hand-built 1953 Chevrolet Corvettes produced, this car retains its original Polo White over red specification and is believed to carry fewer than 6,000 miles from new — potentially the lowest mileage example of its model year in existence. Delivered new to a buyer in Orrville, Ohio, it passed to a second owner who disassembled and stored it for decades before undertaking a long-term restoration, completed to NCRS standards by a subsequent owner around 2014–2015. It earned a Top Flight award from the Bonneville Chapter of the NCRS in 2015 and remains a three-registered-owner example.
Ownership
- —Auction saleEstimate US$225,000 – US$275,000
- 1953 → 1962Factory deliveryGerald Wilespartial documentation
Original purchaser from Orrville, Ohio; repainted the exterior from white to black during his tenure.
- 1962 → 2014Private saleLyle Hillfull documentation
Fellow Orrville, Ohio resident who acquired the car at age 20; disassembled it before military service in 1968, kept it in storage for years, then undertook a lengthy restoration targeting the 50th anniversary of the Corvette in 2003. Hill's 1962 title accompanies the car.
- 2014 →Private salePrivate collector from Hill estatepartial documentation
Purchased from the Hill estate after Lyle Hill's passing and completed the restoration to NCRS standards; the third registered owner of the vehicle.
Competition
- 2015National Corvette Restorers SocietyBonneville Chapter NCRS Top Flight JudgingTop Flight award
Car was evaluated and recognized by the Bonneville Chapter of the NCRS less than one year after the current owner completed the restoration.
Maintenance & restoration
- 2003Restoration
Partial reassembly work carried out by Lyle Hill over many years, with the 50th anniversary of the Corvette serving as a target completion date; the bodywork and cosmetics were sufficiently advanced for public display, though the drivetrain restoration remained incomplete at that point.
Hill attended the 50th anniversary gathering in Flint, Michigan with the car in this partially restored state.
- 2014Restoration
Full restoration completed to NCRS judging standards by the subsequent owner, including completion of the drivetrain work that had been left unfinished by the previous owner.
Work was finished within roughly one year, as the car was judged and awarded Top Flight status in 2015.
- —Bodywork
Exterior repainted from original Polo White to black at some point during the first owner's tenure.
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