Chevrolet finally injected Corvette with much-needed power with the introduction of an all-new small-block pushrod V-8 engine for model year 1955. With 265 CI rated at the same 195 HP as Ford’s competing Thunderbird V-8, the new engine transformed Corvette’s performance and proved crucial to its survival and subsequent success over the next four decades of production. One of the historically low 700 produced, this award-winning 1955 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster is powered by a matching-numbers 265/195 HP V-8 and Powerglide 2-speed automatic transmission driving a 3.55:1 rear end. Although listed as options, it also features the required Wonderbar radio, E-brake warning light, courtesy lights, heater and windshield washers. It is one of only 120 finished in one-year-only Harvest Gold, which was combined only with this car’s Harvest Gold and dark green interior and dark green soft top. Its multiple award-winning history begins with an NCRS Chapter Top Flight Award in 2006, followed by a Regional Top Flight and Bloomington Gold Certification in 2008. In addition to a National Top Flight Award in 2010, it has also earned the NCRS Performance Verification Award and the Duntov Mark of Excellence award, two of the most coveted awards and peak achievements in the Corvette hobby. Also listed in the 1953-55 Corvette Registry and an AACA National First Prize winner, this 1955 Corvette was invited for a special exhibit entitled “Greatest Generations-Corvette- The Evolution of America’s Sports Car” at the Gilmore Car Museum, aka “North America’s Largest Auto Museum,” in Hickory Corners, Michigan; the exhibit opened April 1, 2021 and ran through March 2023. It is documented with judging certificates, judging sheets (with scores of 98.3, 98.4 and 99.1), show boards, an owner’s manual, a sales brochure and a three-ring binder, and it retains most all factory-correct-type components including the spare, jack, jack tools, trunk mat, trunk liner, side windows, side window bag, rebound straps, spiral shocks, washer system, air cleaner, generator, distributor, hoses, hose clamps, hood pop-ups, fuel pump, carburetor, radiator, radiator cap, gas cap and the Guide Y-50 mirror.
