I
t should be pretty obvious that Corvettes were
designed and built from day one to be driven.
Their world-class handling combined with all-
American muscle under the hood makes them
nothing if not true drivers’ cars. So what could
possibly make a perfectly restored and modified
1954 Corvette undriveable? Well, apparently some people
are just way too good at building cars and thus turn them
into pieces of art that are simply too nice to drive.
When Ted Stevens first laid eyes on this gorgeous, black
1954 Corvette at a So-Cal Speed Shop open house a few
years back, he recognized the quality straight away. Stevens
didn’t think twice before finding its owner to see if he
could make a deal.
The owner and builder of the Corvette was Karpo
Murkijanian. We caught up with him to hear his side of
the story. As it turned out, the two realized they had met
each other 15 years prior at a mutual friend’s birthday
party. But that’s not how their meeting at So-Cal Speed
Shop started. As Murkijanian remembers it, Stevens and
his son walked up and, without missing a beat, asked,
“What’s the number?” Murkijanian was more than a
little confused. Stevens repeated, “What’s the number?”
Murkijanian finally realized he wanted to buy the car right
then and there. He told Stevens a number, but said he’d
need a day or two to think it over before hastily commit-
ting to sell his pride and joy. But, just 20 minutes later and
after talking to a friend, Murkijanian decided to let it go.VETTEWEB.COM 27