Rick Spina
During a college summer break in 1981 I purchased this non-running car as a project to accompany my ’54 Chev Four-door daily driver. In 1954, Chevrolet produced over one million cars but only 19,383 of those were convertibles. This car sat in my garage for the next 40 years until I “got around to it” at retirement.
This car is a mix of 1954 and modern parts. The entire chassis and electrical system from the original car has been modernized. It has a four-link coil-over front suspension, four-wheel electric power disc brakes, 17” radials, air conditioning, a GM 700R4 4 speed automatic transmission, and Ford 9-inch rear axle…….but ….it is powered by an original 1954 235 cubic inch “Stovebolt” 6 cylinder with a ’54 Corvette camshaft and a pair of modern weber carburetors. It is no powerhouse but it stops and turns alarmingly well!
Minor appearance changes were made and an all-leather interior was created. Visual changes include lowering the stance, eliminating most emblems, hiding the fuel fill, hood revisions, and reducing the height of the convertible top.
My good friend Leigh Scott of Detroit Automotive Restoration and I handled the assembly and engineering of the project. A great deal of decayed metal was replaced and the dash was modified for A/C vents by Neal Ottaviano and ’21 Chevrolet “barbed wire” paint was applied by Dave Thorpe.
