storage for his 1955 Corvette.
We entered a small living room, turned
left into a kitchen and opened a door to a
single-car garage, completely dark. Bob
flipped the switch to an overhead garage
light to reveal the back end of a partially
covered 1955 Corvette.
Maybe it was the vintage of the house.
Maybe it was the dust on the car. Disbelief
struck my retinas as much as light waves.
I expected to see a 1955 Corvette as I had
seen many times; but, the sight never
struck me like this, in multiple freeze
frames over a period of a second or two
until my brain finally linked early Corvette
images with what was before me, a vision
from the past, transposed in the present.
That sight was incredible. Never in my
life had an old car jolted me into a distant
past so resoundingly.
Bob drifted back 50 years to 1968, the
year he graduated high school. His dad
harbored a fascination with the Corvette
from that first 1953 model, which was con-
tinued into 1955 with small changes and
one big change, the Corvette’s first V-8.
In 1968, one of Bob’s friends spotted a
for sale ad in the Amarillo, Texas, news-
paper for a 1955. The price was $600, not
exactly cheap for what it was, but not
expensive either.
The 1955 was not a creampuff. The num-
bers-matching V-8 was gone, replaced with
a 283 bored to 301 cubic inches and timed
by a Duntov cam. The car had “stalled out”
from an amateur restoration, including a
repaint, which explains missing trim on
the sides, front, and stone guards over
both headlights.
Although a graduation present for the
son, the 1955 delighted the father, as well.
Bob drove the Corvette 60 miles home to
a small town in West Texas, and over that
summer he and his father got the car ready
for Bob to drive.
His college ride was a ’66 Caprice two-
door, but Bob rented an old garage in
the college town of Canyon, Texas, out of
which he drove his sports car in the dual-
use manner that Chevrolet intended, for
street and track. He also joined a local
Corvette club and participated in many
shows throughout the next 9-10 years.
The car’s last registration was 1977, when
“raising the family” duties arrived. Once the
kids were grown and gone, Bob never got
the car out again, which begs the question.
Rather than store the 1955, why not sell?
As Bob sorted through his mixed emo-
tions, he said, “Let me think about that.”
Bob cited many reasons not to sell, start-
ing with being a “pack rat” and a “holder-
on’er.” He still derives enjoyment from
owning the 1955, and is “comfortable” the
car is “safe and out of the weather.” Healso takes pride not to have “relinquished
it and felt remorse selling,” as he has done
with other vehicles over the years. Finally,
Bob has recently retired and will have more
time to get the car out of storage and run-
ning again as a driver. He has grandkids
that are approaching prom days and have
“expressed real interest to be delivered to
the prom in the 1955 Corvette.”
In the final analysis, this car is not for sale
and cannot be bought. The memories are too
strong. The car will one day go to his heirs.
“I’ve been saving it. Let them worry
about it.” VETTEOriginality does not matter with a car
that the owner loves and never plans
to sell. This 283 is not original, but came
with the car in 1968.“I never did change it [paint], even
though it wasn’t a super duper paint-
job. It was presentable and very func-
tional, and that’s what it still looks like,”
Bob Doucette said. Originally red, the ’55
retains the pale yellow (perhaps 1966-
’67 Corvette Sunflower Yellow) from the
repaint done before Bob bought the car.Bob Doucette held onto an amazing
amount of paperwork and artifacts from
50 years of owning this 1955 Corvette,
including his Corvette Club jacket, which
still fits him.Texas inspection sticker reveals last year
of registration for 1977.VETTEWEB.COM 59
Do you have or know of a Rare Find? Or vintage photos?
Contact Jerry Heasley at [email protected] or on Twitter at @JerryHeasley.