Epic Barn Find: One-Off 1957 Chevrolet Corvette Show Car Sees Daylight After 57 Years

Most of them were obviously forgotten. Either scrapped or crashed, these custom C1s are alive in the history books thanks to vintage photography. But here's one that survived. Meet Bill Shelley's heavily restyled C1, a show car that was born in the late 1950s and spent almost six decades in storage.

The story of this fabulous barn find started in 1957 when Bill bought it with 3,000 miles (4,828 km) on the clock with money he got by selling a small herd of cows. But while he was in love with the Corvette's looks, the 1957 C1 wasn't flamboyant enough for him. So Bill worked with a guy who built hot rods to turn it into a unique show car.

The result was quite different from a first-gen Corvette. The front fascia was modified to include a sharp, V-shaped nose, while the dual headlamp layout was replaced with a stacked, quad arrangement. One that reminds me of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL and the Facel Vega.

Outback, Bill went with a fish-fin design, which was quite popular in the late 1950s. The layout seems to be based on the 1959 Cadillac, but the fins were placed much lower for a sleeker stance.

Following its display in Oakland, Bill used the car as a daily driver and even took it deer hunting. However, he decided to park it in 1965, right after he got married, and the Corvette remained dormant until 2022. That's no fewer than 57 years since it saw daylight.

Bill eventually stripped off the interior, hoping that it would restore the Chevy someday. But as he got older, it became harder and harder to work on his beloved show car. Come 2022, and he finally decided to part ways with the roadster, hoping that the next owner will restore it to its early 1960s glory. But not before it went on display at the 2022 Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California. As an authentic barn find.

If you're wondering what's hiding behind the hood, this show car is actually a stock 1957 Corvette. The roadster is still fitted with its original, numbers-matching 283-cubic-inch (4.6-liter) V8. It's the four-barrel carburetor version rated at 283 horsepower when it was new.

Here's to hoping that this fantastic build becomes a restored beauty sooner than later. Until then, watch it come out of the barn after 57 years in the video below.