A well-known and highly honored member of the Corvette fraternity, this 1953 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster is the very last of the 300 produced that inaugural year. Like all first-year Corvettes, it was hand built at the dedicated production facility set up on Van Slyke Avenue in Flint, Michigan. Production of the all-new Corvette two-seater began on June 30, 1953, and ended with this car, Serial No. E53F001300, which was completed, appropriately enough, on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1953. This car’s significance to the history of America’s Sports Car goes beyond its serial number. As the last of the handmade first-year Corvettes, it incorporates all of the improvements and refinements made to the production process through 1953. Because of the hectic rush to get the car into Chevrolet showrooms, the first completed cars were comparatively crude in nature. Five different methods of laying up the fiberglass body panels, comprising 30 major and 32 minor parts, were initially used, but eventually narrowed to the single best process. As the last hand-built 1953 Corvette, No. 300 incorporates all of the improvements developed in that initial production period, making it the most refined in terms of fit, finish and overall appearance. No. 300 was purchased new by a California physician, who immediately had it repainted in black, likely to distinguish it from the Polo White paint decorating all 1953 Corvettes. Among the car’s earliest magazine appearances were mentions in a 1971 issue of the Vintage Corvette Club of America’s “Blue Flame Special” newsletter and “Corvette News” in 1973. After a second owner and several years in storage, the car was purchased in 1984 by Florida dentist Ernie Hendry, who then commissioned noted Corvette specialists Sara Blake and Joe Meyer to perform a comprehensive restoration. During Hendry’s ownership, No. 300 received Bloomington Gold Certification in 1988 as well as the NCRS National Top Flight, Performance Verification and Duntov Mark of Excellence awards by 1990, and it was inducted into the Bloomington Gold Special Collection in 1991. For a time it was also part of General Motors’ World of Motion display at Disney World’s EPCOT Center. In 1998, Hendry sold the car to the Jim Fasnacht Collection. Following a freshening by the Naber Brothers of Houston, No. 300 was again inducted into the Bloomington Gold Hall of Fame in 1999. Jim Fasnacht commissioned marque expert and NCRS Master Judge Steve Newsome in 2007 to perform a restoration, which Fasnacht described as “fanatical by all accounts.” Completed with a top and interior by specialist John Kennedy, the car was then invited to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and driven on the Pebble Beach Tour in 2008 as part of the Monterey Car Week’s celebration of General Motors’ history. Subsequently inducted into the Bloomington Gold Grand Finale Special Collection in 2009, No. 300 has been prominently featured over the years in many books and magazines, including on the cover of “Collectible Automobile” in 1998 and the February 2004 issue of “Corvette Enthusiast Magazine.” This historically significant Corvette’s presentation remains in exquisite condition that once again matches how it left the factory, in a combination of iconic Polo White paint with a red interior and beige soft top. The side curtains, jack, award certificates, judging sheets and a matching No. 300 brick from the original Corvette assembly plant are included. Seldom seen by the public in recent years, as the last hand-built Corvette, it qualifies as a genuine treasure of American automotive history.
