Epic Barn Find: Historic 1957 Corvette Custom Show Car Dug Out After 57-Year Hibernation
2022 ж. 16 Ақп.
1 106 598 Рет қаралды
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Last shown at the prestigious Oakland Roadster Show in 1960, we dig out and display this time capsule to the 2022 edition of this show, now held in Pomona, California and called the Grand National Roadster Show.
What makes this hot rod stand out from the rest is the story that goes with it. A amazing story with history. Handcrafted by a legendary artist who brought a gentleman's dream to a reality. Great barn find. Thank you for sharing.
May your grandpa Rest In Peace.
This is my grandpa. Thank you so much for sharing his story. Sadly he passed away two days ago. He would’ve loved the comments and how much love is on the video. Thank you all so much
I’m sorry for your loss. He kept this car all these years for a reason and hopefully it is going to be recognized when it gets to the show
Sorry for your loss
My condolences for your loss, he seemed quite the interesting and personable man. May your Grandfather's spirit watch over you for all your days. I say Godspeed Bill, and thank you for sharing your unique custom - the design is quite striking and is as impressive now as it was in its glory days. It was good to see your dream of showing the car again realized. We need free thinkers such as yourself now more than ever. May God love you and keep you.
My condolences to you and your family.
I hate that he had to sell his pride and joy but at least he knew it was going to a good home.
I'm sorry for your loss. It must have been wonderful knowing him a Real hero and Car Guy.
Thanx for sharing, glad it will c the care it deserves, growing up n the bay area, my life of love 4 cars came thru The Oakland Roadster Show, Cow Palace,San Jose Autorama and the highlight Of Blackie and the Fresno Invitational, not tension all the outdoor shows. Now I have the honor of passing that heritage to my grandsons. The History is more prudent these days as we get no younger, so n honor of those b4 us we must teach it and pass along our knowledge and teachings.
This has to be the best episode I’ve seen yet. I love the backstory more than the actual vehicle itself. That’s what draws me to them.
Thanks Roy
That is the best custom vette by far. The naysayers that think everything should be restored to original have no imagination. Love it!
What a great story, thank goodness he saved this car.
Absolutely the coolest customized car I've seen in a long time
More art than Corvette, this custom floods the senses with American postwar optimism of the late 1950s and early 1960s when Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley were at the height of their popularity, the space race was on, and new colorful designs with their big fins, rocket exhausts, and flashy chrome emerged as purely American. During the 1950s, stock wasn't enough, and by the end of the decade and reaching into the early 1960s, customs reached the zenith of their popularity. This '57 is one of them, with a build heritage from the masters of the day. Absolutely, the 1957 Corvette is a beautiful GM design, but America wanted more. Lucky for us we get to see this 1957 Corvette custom as a time capsule, and mostly importantly, as it was customized in the day. You get to see it covered with stuff, dirty and dusty mixed with a half century of patina, a true American car treasure find emerging from its hiding place, while the original owner describes its history.
My Pops was from the area where this car was created as I said before on another channel Richmond California had thee biggest wrecking yards in California where they built the battle ship's for WWII my Pop's and uncle's knew a lot of the junk yard owner's. I built my first car in the late 80s from junk yard part, a 1968 4 door Toyota Corolla made it into a show car. My Pops bought it as a parts car for $50.00 I paid the 50 plus POP'S help my rebuild the engine. Gas was $1.10 a gallon. Took that little car to many car shows cruise's swap meets. I made the car look older than it really was put a 1951 Buick grill cut down to fit put older BMW bumber chrome guards on the front bumber Apple ton spot light's white wall tires with the stock hub caps with 3 prong knock offs added lowerd all the way around, color of the car was antique yellow to much to list this was before the air bags or I would have put them. Thanks to the owner of the wrecking yard he let me have anything I need to build it on the low buck.
I'm in that age group having been born in 1942. Really rings the memories!.. Only regret for me is not having any money to keep that 1963 1/2 Ford Falcon Sprint I bought new off the show room floor in Ming Green when it was sitting next to a Cobra. My wife and I have been married for 61 years and may have lived our lives during the greatest times of American History.
What an amazing custom style! I'm not one of those that is 'stock only' .. So nice to see that the new owner will honor and respect the incredible history and vision this car represents. May his Spirit rest in peace..
I FEEL YOUR PAIN!!!!! Im 76 now and Im in the same position having to liquidate many years of collecting! It's hard to see what you worked so hard for go away!!!
Just gotta enjoy it now Bruce. Share your many years of collecting with someone who will appreciate it
It's alright, they are only possessions in the end that you did cherish and now it's time for someone new to appreciate the items you've collected over the years. I am the same way. It's hard to part with stuff you've kept so nice for so long. Again, it's only stuff and there are more important things after you die. We only live for a spec of time. Maybe you'll live for many more years! God bless!
Yup, life is to short for all the dreams we accumulate.
62 1/2here … same situation.. 1970 ISCA challenger custom , 1969 camaro ISCA car … and a lot of other cars … need to start liquidating.
Great find and better story, thanks for sharing!
Another great story Jerry. It’s nice to see the car survived all these years. Yes it may be in pieces but everything is there for a fantastic restoration. To display the car in barn find condition was perfect.
Beautiful looking lady, can't wait to see her finished.
Hello and thank you from Redding Ca.
Very cool! These videos are awesome. Thanks for sharing
One of the .most beautiful customized vets EVER
There is quite a few original and restored Corvettes. But there is only one beautiful custom Corvette like that one! ❤
I am seventy two an a half.. I might of let people see me laugh but inside, I would of cried my heart out. I truly pray that respect for this man is kept with it
Beautiful design and craftsmanship. Look forward to seeing the restoration. Hope you will keep us posted. Even if it gets passed along to a new owner.
WOW, Great find Jerry, His own design and vision on the car especially the front.stunning. Hope to see it as he had it back in the 60´s car show. loved that you gave it a barn find presentation.
Thanks Steve for the nod on this project, which came up all the sudden and had me dropping other projects to get this car preserved and presented in video and in print in my column in Hot Rod Magazine, coming soon.
The blessing in selling it now is two-fold. Bill got to choose its new home and he gets to completely authorize its authentication of restoration
@ Tony Morse True that, if you can't keep it, that's definitely the best way to pass it on!! You can readily see he already misses it!
Great car. Stuck in a barn with a old fart... Great you let it go.
Aw man I'm not crying you're crying lol. What an amazing story!
Very respectfully done mon ami! Glad to see this little gem of a documentary was as much about Bill as his ride! Best wishes America, from an English armour-maker in a French forest. 👍⚒️
It is with great sadness that I am seeing this video for the first time today. This was my Uncle (and godfather) Bill and his corvette. I’ve known of this car my entire life, but I’d only seen it covered under boxes when I was a kid. This car was talked about often throughout the years. However, I only saw what it looked like once in pictures in a custom car magazine. Though I’ve known where the car was all these years, I had never seen it uncovered until this video. Seeing this video is oddly a bit like finally meeting a legendary member of the family. I’m sad that he had to part with his car but glad he was able to feel good about the future of his beloved corvette. And I’m grateful that my uncle was able to feel the recognition he deserves for his story and his part in the history of his custom corvette!
His ideas brought to life, returns for others to see.
His story will live on forever for all us to enjoy. Thank you for sharing your story.
@@marcushume2240 Thank you! As my cousin’s daughter, Sierra, stated in another comment on this video, her grandfather (my uncle), Bill Shelley, passed away a little over a month ago. We are so grateful that my uncle was able to oversee the future of his beloved car and know that so many people appreciated it and its story. It is I that owes you, and every one of those people, my thanks for all of the love every one of you showed my uncle for his car and its story.
Being in the car hobby glad to see this done as was shown great story !!
This story goes right to my heart, reminds me of the days Barris was turning out something new every year, great story great history great find and best of all great imagination
What a wonderful journey this story takes us on, can only imagine if he had completed the build, WOW!
SUCH a cool story!!! This guy is so cool i could listen to these stories ALL DAY, that was fantastic. Thank you for sharing that
Well, I’m happy to see that it went to Galpin, they gave the right people to bring it back to life!
Great story...Hats off to Mr.Shelley for seeing to it that his dream car lives on. I remember this car from my childhood.Good to see it lives on...
Such a cool story. Lot of sadness and loss of time. Good to preserve cars like this. Wonderful for sure.
Great Video!!! 💯👍
Thanks! 😃
True beauty. Godspeed to Bill and the new owner.
I'm 72 years old and had a few cool cars back in the 60's. I had a "56" Nomad that I bought in the 80's and had it for 32 years and almost had it ready for the road but it sat for several years and I was going to finish it when I retired. Then someone called me up out of the blue (I never put it up for sale) and offered me a lot of money for it. Like a fool I sold it and cried as it was pulled out of the driveway. That being said, I now have a "63" Falcon Futura Convertible in an upholstery shop getting a new interior and top. I'm going to drive it back to Pa. this spring. It will never be sold. It will stay in the family. She's Fire Engine Red and her name is "Ruby" because she's a gem.
What an exceptional story. Thank you for sharing.
I hope it gets fixed how he wants it to It amazes me how people criticise what he did to it It was his car ,just an old corvette back then worth next to nothing and he wanted his own custom car I think when it was first done it would have been quite a thing to behold I do hope we see updates on their car 👍👍👍
Yes, people that criticize do not understand the movement into which and that he was moved by in the late 1950s to create this custom. I am planning updates. Yes, it was a thing to behold then and more today. What's the difference if the paint on the dash is not perfect? If this car were restored ground up it would look new. Right now we have a window back in time.
Amazing. Brings a tear to my eye. Love these stories. History and respecting the past is very important.
We agree!
i absolutely LOVE the stories. thank you for sharing.
Thanks to BIll and Mary Shelley and their son Brad. Plus, there's another enthusiast that got us together - look for a video on this.
That's a cool piece of custom hot rod history! It's amazing it has survived!
Cool find, cool story 💖
Couldn't go to a better place. This guy will take GREAT CARE of it.
The way he stored it....wow
My father has a 60 corvette that has been sitting on blocks in his garage since 1975 !! Bought every single part available from gm to restore it and they still sit in the boxes in the garage with it ! He’s 78 years old now and still won’t part with it or the parts . It’s a real barn find !
email me and maybe we can do a video with you and your father on this. (jerryheasley@gmail.com) Look at the '66 Chevelle video that we did to see what I mean -kzhead.info/sun/nN2CfqqgqJR-l2w/bejne.html
So happy to see another beauty from history getting a second life
Man, this is Beautiful!
Much respect to your Grandpa. He loves that car. I mean it’s a custom one off 57! I had a 58, not clean but I got my best to keep it running for 4 years. After major work needed in the car which is beyond my expertise, I sold the car. I bought it for 39k with a lot of missing items and sold it for $45k within a day.
A very nice car l hope it will get a full nut & bolt restoration thank you for Sharing it with us 👏👏👍😊
That's a beautiful kustom even hiding under all the dirt hope we get to see it when it's restored to it's glory days
That is the plan.
That's an INSANE find. Bring that thing back to life!
really want to see it redone as the custom!!
What a story! ❤
What a beautiful car, and what a nice and wonderful old man 👍
He was great to work with.
Amazing car! Glad to see someone is restoring it!
Excellent glass work not too many of us old timers left that know the art of glass and lead and customs
Thank You Jerry for this Blog on a car that has such a great history. Glad to see the original owner is around to share his pride and joy. I couldn't make the Grand Nationals this time around, but in watching other blogs on this year's event. I noticed a quick shot of what looked like two old customs that were outside on display. My son had gone to the event, but with so much to see didn't recall these two cars. When your video showed up, I was really pleased at getting the chance to learn more! Growing up in L.A. in the 50's and 60's this was what custom cars was all about. My brother and I would go to Ed Roths shop in Bell to check out cars at the shop when visiting my grandma who live not far from there. We got chased off for looking at the work painted inside one of the cars. Funny now. As far as ED I Remember him painting T-shirts with an air brush, wow that was a looong time ago. THANKS
He man, that's a dose of nostalgia for sure so thanks for sharing! What was the Beatnik scene like in LA in those pre-Beatle days? That's why I threw in a few rhymes, to recall those coffee shop days when people got up and read lines and sometimes with rhyme.
Thanks, much better “ late”, rather than NEVER:: pass it on, to other Car Peoples…..
Beautiful custom sir
Thank you kindly
Great car with a great story ! Tons of provenance as well. Thanks for this Jerry !
Yes, having the original owner of this custom to give us the history is very unusual going back this many years. Now we know what happened, how it was built, and all kinds of details.
Great story...would love to see that show quality again.
You’ve got to love the rhymes!
so happy to see his dream coming true. i can’t wait to see my grandpa’s car get restored.
Jerry Great job. People trust you for a reason. Thanks to you and Mr Shelley we get to see that gem again as it was. I can’t say enough about that. Keep them coming on.
Wow that is cool thanks for sharing its a dream
Thank you made my night thank you
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder on this car! 😆
Amazing car thank you for posting
Such a great car an story.This is number one in my book how it was designed.Would be proud of your grandfather.
In my imagination I can see this already restored I very much liked the design modifications 👍🏻 Thank you for the video Gerry, Greetings from Mexico City 🇲🇽
Our pleasure, thanks. We may do a preservation type of restoration. Know what I mean?
Glad to see it go to anew home. It needs to be restored.
Hey my name is Will I believe you said your name was Bill it's so awesome that you definitely find someone to take interest in your car and I hope to see it on KZhead or when it's finished myself and I really hope you get to see it when it's done too thank you for letting us check that out.
Hello, thank you for the love on the video, this is his granddaughter, sadly he passed away two days ago, but he would’ve loved to see how it turned out.
Yep! .. I sure remember that car! ... Another one i drooled over!
That thing should be on display in Bowling Green
Jerry- this is absolutely spectacular!!!!!!💞🤗
Thanks so much!
There are some people who want thier car to be unique. I am one of those people. I'm glad it has been saved and can't wait to see it cleaned up a bit.
Our plan is to be there for that.
I give this guy props for taking the initiative to let someone else enjoy the car. Throw some paint on that thing and put it back together, probably be pretty cool.
GREAT story!! Bob Shelly is the type of guy you go out for a bite to eat with and you instantly become a best friend. Kudo's to you Mr. Shelly!!
Beautiful car
Love to see cars like this pulled out and saved
Thats what every old timer Hopes is that positions are treated with respect , and bring life back to them so they can enjoy and Share with friends.
What a great story thank you from Bakersfield
just kiding! jejeje...God Blessyou and All your Family
Very! Cool Vette!
Sad yet exciting to see this. Mixed emotions. I always change something on all my projects and would like to see it in it's glory
It's got a cool studebakerish/avanti-ish vibe going on. I dig it.
That is an awesome, and well made vette. It would be so much fun to restore that beauty.
Im still going about in my head about the process in how he came up with the idea of "roofing paper" for metal flake in the paint he must have pioneered afew tricks to automotive customization 😄 NICE 😎💪🇺🇸TRUE INGENUITY GENIUS🇺🇸
He dumped sacks of mica into each coat of paint - BIll said there were maybe 6 coats - and also enlarged the paint gun's opening so the mica would pass through. You can read more about this paint in my article in Motor Trend online here - www.motortrend.com/features/1957-corvette-custom-bali-hai-barn-find/ and later in Hot Rod Magazine when it comes out in print.
May the good old days live on get R done😎✌️
You got that right!
Awesome Story and Car
Beautiful 👍
Thank you 😊
Bob's car reminds me of a 57 bird my dad has the is a 50's custom with 57 stude fins excalibur pipes the whole nine. It hasn't seen the light of day for decades still sinking in the mud in the barn. I'll try to do a video of it soon.
Rescue it!
@@johngrepo9976 I'm not sure my dad's hard headed we just got in another argument about it. He says he'd rather crush it than take the chance of someone repairing it incorrectly. He's a metalwork guy doesn't use mud one of the fins is damaged and has to be sweated on so on and so forth smh. I was wrong it's a 55 bird and turns out it's an important car. Long story short the car was built here locally completed in November of 56 with 57 stude fins and an Ala kart nose among other mods. It was shown once in Pullman WA. Pictures were then sent to George Barris for magazine publication. Pictures were never published. One year later Barris came out with the Aztec with very similar design que's shortly there after he released the Ala-kart which I'm not sure of dates but I have Pictures from 56 showing designs that Barris is famous for that he didn't do. (did he steal the designs?) About 20 years ago my dad ran into Barris and talked for awhile then when my dad showed him Pictures and said he had the car. He says George's demeanor changed and he became agitated and upset that it still existed. So it turns out when this car is brought from the depths it's kind of going to be a big deal! 🤔 (Edit) my dad found the car in a field in Palouse WA and is upset he payed $50 for it over 50 yrs ago.
Barris was famous for shady deals. I use to work for Dean Jefferies and i heard all about it
@@johngrepo9976 so I hear. I'm going to keep working on getting the car out. We're talking about maybe taking it to Sema. We'll see though
@@kdsboosted4954 im happy to hear that, hope you are successful. Cars like your dad's are history, they deserve to be saved
While it’s too bad he let it sit so long, it is admirable to see him understanding that selling it now is the right thing. When you die all of your “treasures” are just more junk for your kids to throw in the dumpster.
Yep. There isn't a single thing of my parents that I want. If they had a classic car, it had best be in running condition not requiring 10's of thousands of dollars of restoration work. I'd take it if it was decent ... I am no dummy. But they don't. I do want something of my grandmother's. It is a simple candy dish. It is not expensive but associated with many memories of youth and my grandparents as I dipped into that thing and had a million little sugary treats. Everything else is just stuff.
That car so cool I wish to be able to see it in person and it was done sweet
Good story. I can relate to this story.
LOL !!! One of the FIRST EXOTICS !! LOVE It !!
Good way to put it.
I have been to Oakland Roadsters Show and Tommy the Greek did paint work on my 1976 Corvette Stingray goodtimes.
Amazing I hope someone brings it back
Awesome car ....
I thought I would laugh at this early custom but I was touched by the story of a lost-to-time NorCal creation. Yep, it deserves to be saved. Thank you.
It’s a beautiful car love the design
The Car is amazing!! I love the car just the way is It is!!
Love the furry upholstery. Very classy.