Car of the Week: 1954 Chevrolet ‘Test Bed’ Corvette

Like many automobile enthusiasts in 1953, Roger Crispell had his sights set on the Corvette, Chevrolet’s brand-new sports car. Even though he worked at General Motors, Crispell lacked the VIP or celebrity status that it took to own a new Corvette. Chevrolet had reserved the 300 produced for the model’s introductory model year for high-profile figures who would help make the new fiberglass two-seater more visible to the public. Crispell did not qualify.

Nearly one year after its 1953 introduction, the Corvette became more widely available, and in 1954, GM employee Crispell finally landed his Corvette, a 1954 model purchased new from Matthew Hargreaves Chevrolet in Royal Oak, Mich.

Crispell worked for GM at its Industrial Design Studio on Cass Avenue in Detroit and was eligible for an employee discount on new-car purchases. Unfortunately, the still-new ’54 Corvette was not eligible for the employee discount program. Buying a second-year Corvette meant paying the full sticker price and not benefiting from the employee discount.

Crispell’s out-the-door price for the Corvette was nearly $ 4,000, plus finance charges. That was a lot of money for a GM designer, but Crispell knew this was not just an automobile. It was arguably the first truly “American Sports Car” and laid down the money to own his dream car.

On a rainy day, Crispell picked up his new Corvette from Matthew Hargreaves Chevrolet. By the time he arrived home, the interior was soaked from a leaky convertible top. Even with the wet interior, he and his wife, Ann, enjoyed it and were proud owners. The pride continued for the first 1,000 miles, and Crispell enjoyed soaking up the admiration he and his wife received from onlookers and “soaking up” the water after each time it was driven in rain. Crispell said he was once offered $ 5,000 for the car and politely turned it down. “We liked the Corvette’s road and snob appeal,” he later recalled.

However, along with the leaky convertible top came mechanical issues. The engine hesitated at 85 mph, and the tappets were noisy. The dealership attempted to correct the concerns, but they never seemed to have a handle on it. During one visit, the service manager replied, “The car is experimental, and with sports cars, you have to put up with stuff.” Disturbed by the comment and feeling let down, Crispell wrote to the Chevrolet chief engineer, describing the issues with his 1954 Corvette. A once-proud and enthusiast owner, Crispell had turned into a disgruntled owner.

The Chevrolet chief engineer arranged for the car to be dropped off at the General Motors executive garage for repairs. Crispell was then given a Corvette loaner while the mechanical concerns of his 1954 Corvette could be diagnosed and corrected. Enter GM performance contributor and three-time Indy 500 winner Mauri Rose, who had been hired by GM as a consultant around this time for his engine-building expertise and knowledge. Rose made the unusual proposal to GM leadership that they use Crispell’s 1954 to make the Corvette’s first design change while it was in for repairs.

Normally, when a production car was needed by GM employees to engineer mechanical and design updates, a new car would get scheduled and then pulled from the assembly plant’s rotation. But perhaps for the first time in Corvette history, an employee’s Corvette was used for such purposes — Crispell’s 1954 Corvette! Crispell’s Corvette (VIN #2772) was taken to the GM Design Studio where it became referred to as a “Styling Corvette.” The design team used the car as a platform to create a new canvas convertible top and a newly designed interior. Rose and the performance team also pulled the engine. They identified and corrected several issues, then transported it to GM’s Milford proving grounds. Rose drove the Corvette during its new “break in.” Several weeks before Crispell was notified the work was complete, the new convertible top, trim details and mechanical components were replaced with current re-designed replacements. “It was great again,” Crispell later said.

In 1955, Crispell led one of GM’s interior design studios, and the designers needed a Corvette. Crispell’s car was assigned Shop Order #2536, dated 4-14-55, to document the changes it was to receive by the design studio. At this point, his Corvette was painted orange and black by the design studio, a combination Crispell later called “hideous.”

A second design change was proposed by the design team a few months later, and Crispell’s Corvette again returned to the GM studio. They received shop order #10028 dated 1-11-56, to document the car’s changes. This time, the Corvette was given a new paint finish created by Crispell called “Sahara Silver” to replace the orange-and-black combination. The interior was redone in black-and-silver leather trim. The car’s beige convertible top was replaced.

The design team also used the car as a platform to create a new canvas convertible top that accented the freshly redesigned interior. Other styling changes included an engine-turned gauge bezel, three-spoke Corvette steering wheel, vertical “shark type” headlamp bezels and a center armrest with a glove box console.

The “shark-fin” headlamp bezels were one of the more interesting and visible eye-catching features of the second design change. Driven by state and federal government concerns over the use of wire mesh “basket covers” over the headlamps of the 1953-1955 Corvette, the vertical shark-fin was tested as a possible replacement. Only two sets were produced; one set was installed on Crispell’s ’54 Corvette and the other set remained in the hands of the GM Design Studio.

In early 1970, Crispell’s Corvette was sold and restored to its original appearance of a Polo White exterior and a Sportsman Red interior, but the other components from its design changes remained on the car. Soon after the restoration, Corvette #2771 went into storage and remained there for the next 30 years. It was likely forgotten by many until Corvette restorer and 2013 Corvette Hall of Fame Inductee Werner Meier and his team at Masterworks Automotive Services laid their hands on it.

In 2007, Crispell’s old Corvette was sold to Ken Lingenfelter, one of the most respected Corvette and automobile collectors in the world, and transported to Masterworks in Madison Heights, Mich. There, it underwent a world-class concours restoration. Using original documents, pictures, illustrations and other information contained in a binder created by Crispell during his ownership, Werner and his team transformed the Polo White Corvette back to Sahara Silver, making it appear how it looked back in 1956 after it emerged from its second stop in the GM Design Studio. The interior was likewise restored to how it appeared after its second stop in the GM Design Studio. Masterworks Automotive Services replicated the interior using the original sketches completed by Crispell. The black leather upholstery is alligator hide, just like the original design Crispell completed when he was in charge of the GM Interior Design Studio.

In 2009, this unique 1954 Corvette was shown to the public for the first time since its restoration at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance where it won the General Motors Dave Holls Award. The prestigious automotive award for excellence was presented by Ed Welburn, then GM Vice President of Global Design. In July 2009, it appeared as a special feature exhibit at the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance where it received rave reviews.

I was on hand for the Meadow Brook Hall event and photographed the storied ’54 Corvette in its finished form and talked with Crispell. There, I orchestrated a series of pictures with Roger Crispell, Werner Meier, Ken Lingenfelter and the car. Crispell and Lingenfelter also agreed to sit in the ’54 Corvette for some quick pictures to formally validate the occasion and to add to the Corvette’s special history. The proud pair shared stories while seated in the Corvette during the photo opportunity. It was hard for each of them to wipe the smiles off their faces.

After talking to Crispell and Lingenfelter, I learned they had never met in person prior to that day. And according to Crispell, it was the first time he was ever photographed with his 1954 Corvette!

Crispell passed away on May 22, 2016. After meeting him during the 2009 Meadow Brook Hall Concours d’Elegance, we spoke on the telephone a couple times about the ’54 Corvette and how it served as a concept car not once, but twice. A humble man, Crispell was proud of his work and was honored to be part of its “day view” with Ken Lingenfelter at Meadow Brook Hall. At that event, it really became apparent just how historic these two men are to the concept Corvette and its legacy. 

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