Corvettes are some of the most customized and individualized vehicles on the planet.  These personal expressions can range from mild to wild, with some going even further than that.  While on the surface, this 1956 Chevrolet Corvette doesn’t look to be too far from stock.  However, when you piece together all of the changes made to this factory masterpiece, you have to wonder if the previous owner’s tastes ranged well into the land of the macabre.  From the black paint job with gray coves to the odd wire wheels, this is a Corvette crying out to be restored to its factory configuration.  Is this a project you would like to take on?

This one kind of tugs at the heartstrings, sort of like seeing a stray animal that needs a loving home.  1956 and 1957 Corvettes have a clean, uncluttered shape that had little chance of existing at all due to truly awful sales numbers.  In 1956, the Corvette managed to both survive and receive a styling update despite just 700 of the 1955 model being built.  Some say the arrival of the Thunderbird gave the Corvette a reprieve, others feel like it was divine intervention in the arrival of Zora Arkus Duntov and the good graces of styling boss Bill Mitchell and (then) general manager of Chevrolet Ed Cole.  What started as a rounded show car now had the fat trimmed off the original design by losing the tailfins, pushing the headlights forward, and cutting coves into the body to make the car look light and fast.  The restyle was a winner, and the car started to slowly climb up the sales charts from that point on.

The Corvette you see here looks to be relatively strange but solid.  We are told in the ad that the car’s mechanicals, body, and metalwork are all good.  The seller also lets us know that it could use paint and chrome.  It is a running and driving car with a 283 cubic inch V-8 under the hood which is correct for a 1957 Corvette.  The four-speed manual transmission may be out of a 1957 Corvette as well, given that the only transmission choices available in 1956 were a three-speed manual transmission or a two-speed Powerglide automatic.  The car comes with a hard top that “needs to be put together.”  There is no soft top included.

A look inside reveals that the car is pretty dingy but nearly complete.  Some holes in the dash are questionable, and the installation of a more modern radio leaves a lot to be desired.  The cheaply recovered seats carry on the black with gray inserts theme of the car along with the black carpet and gray trim.  On the doors, we can see that the door panels are covered simply in black vinyl without any decorative stitching or armrests.

The picture above reveals the 1957 vintage V-8 purring away.  Some of the details we can see are a hideous set of valve covers complete with a very strange breather cap, a crinkle finish air cleaner assembly, an alternator, and a parts store distributor cap.  Missing is the ignition shielding and the original generator.  Sadly, we are not told if any of these items are available with the purchase.

In all, it looks like this 1956 Corvette is a driver-level car that could use some refurbishment and a paint job, or perhaps a full restoration.  No matter what, the wire wheels have to go.  Chances are that this car has lost too many original parts to make an NCRS level restoration prohibitively expensive, a standard local show winner restoration makes sense.  It could also be made into a nice driver with some more modern touches here and there.  1956 isn’t quite the banner year for the Corvette that 1957 was.  However, it is hard to fault the inherent good looks that these cars have.  That is clear even in this case.

If you are looking for an early Corvette that desperately needs a makeover, then you might want to call about this 1956 Chevrolet Corvette for sale on Facebook Marketplace in Sarasota, Florida.  This uniquely customized car is being offered at $48,500.  Thanks to T.J. once again for this interesting find!