As an avid car enthusiast, and owner of GEEZZUP.COM, a classic car locator service, I spend a lot of time combing through the internet for cars for my clients.

One day I was looking through Craigslist and I found this post that showed no pictures just said” Old Classic Car for Sale” Normally, I would not even look at this type of post. There was something about it that intrigued me. This is where my journey started with the ‘54 Coupe.

I reached out to the contact from the post and after numerous calls and leaving a few voicemails that went unanswered I gave up and moved on to other vehicles. Months later I received a call from Cal, a very nice older gentleman, he said that he was returning my call from the previous month inquiring about his car. I asked if the car was still for sale, and he said that it was. I asked if he could send me some pictures. He said he was unable to send me photos (come to find out he had an old flip phone).

After speaking with Cal on the phone 3 or 4 times I decided to take the 1 ½ hour drive to see the car in person. On this first meeting with Cal (and the car) my curiosity peaked. Cal told me the story of how he obtained the car. He explained to me that he lived close to Al King’s shop and always admired the car sitting out front. He offered to buy it several times but Al would not sell it. One day it had a for sale sign on it and Cal, without hesitation, bought it from Al immediately.

Cal had also told me that the car was never in a car show that he and Al drove the car like a “normal car”.

I left Cal with a lot of excitement. I did some research and found the car was featured in Custom Cars Magazine back in 1958. The title under the tag was “The Body Beautiful”.  I had realized that it was a 1 of 1 and I found Al King’s ‘54 in the Lost Hot Rods book. Cal was the 2nd owner and the history was noted and authentic. The car sits on a 1954 corvette chassis, has the tail lights from a 1956 Dodge station wagon along with 1949 bumper guards from a Chevrolet.

Cal had also told me that the car was never in a car show that he and Al drove the car like a “normal car”.

I spent days and plenty of trips to bookstores to find out as much as I could on this car. Digging into all the research I could find I discovered that the upper rear quarter panels are from a Cadillac, it has front fenders from a 1955 Chevrolet and has been lengthened 10-inches with 1957 Chevrolet wheel wells. This extra length upfront was needed to match the dimensions of the Corvette chassis. The front was sectioned to accommodate the pancake hood. The 1954 Corvette dash was sectioned into the 1955 cowl. The roof is from a 1956 Chevrolet 4 door with 3-feet taken out The doors are from a 1955 nomad and the Continental kit was entirely custom made. The rear decklid was from a 1956 4 door and cut down approximately 5-inches. It has 1954 Chrysler New Yorker hubcaps.

As you could imagine at this point my excitement was like a kid in a candy store! This car was a treasure trove of parts. Both front and rear glass are from a 1956 Chevrolet 4 door. It currently has a stock 1963 Chevrolet 283 with a 2-barrel carb setup. It has a Power Glide transmission, and the colors are Oldsmobile Aquamarine and Turquoise.

I did some research and found the car featured in Custom Cars Magazine back in 1958. 

I was invested in this car now… I discovered that Al King, owner of his own body shop and never did any custom work besides this one car.

A 1954 Corvette came into his shop, totaled from a wreck, and he acquired it from the insurance company. He had a dozen 1950s GM vehicles and decided to make an all-steel body, ditching the corvette fiberglass body. I knew I had to have this car in my garage.

I made the 1/ ½ hour drive to Cal in total five times. My 2nd visit I made a deposit on the car, 3rd was just to study the car and confirm condition, and I returned for the 4th time to get under the car to scrape the frame rail to find and verify the VIN. After having the car inspected by the State I went for the 5th and final trip to Cal’s home where I acquired the car and towed it to Phoenix.

This beautiful, rare gem, one-of-a-kind car sits in my garage at this very moment. I have no plans to restore the car. My goal is to keep the authenticity of the story intact.

I have no plans to restore the car. My goal is to keep the authenticity of the story intact.

Since the car has been in my possession I’ve had to hunt down the original steel wheels (not Chevrolet) to fit the Chrysler hubcaps. I have buffed and polished the entire car to bring back the shine. I cleaned the original chrome to bring back the luster as much as possible. I ordered the Coker tires with the impressive thick white walls. The block and gas tank has been flushed out the brake lines are new, and the radiator has been rebuilt. I am proud to say that Al King’s 1 of 1 drives smooth down the road and is a true cruiser.

I have yet to take it to any car shows however, in 2022 I will have it clean and displayed at every show I can for all to view and enjoy this phenomenally well-done vehicle.

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