Historic, Wild 1958 Barris Custom Corvette up for Sale

Rare Opportunity

In the world of custom cars, few names compare to the legendary George Barris. The man who single-handedly changed the industry was known for his rather insane, unique designs. And whether you loved them or hated them, you can't deny that his work is instantly recognizable. Today, owning a Barris original is a rare opportunity, which makes this 1958 Corvette up for grabs on eBay quite the interesting find. 

Memorable Rides

Barris began building custom cars back in the '40s, and it wasn't long before Hollywood was commissioning plenty of them for movies. Iconic rides like the original Batmobile and the Munster Koach remain ingrained in the minds of all who grew up watching them on the big and little screens. 

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Drawing Attention

This particular Corvette draws plenty of inspiration from the Batmobile, as you can clearly see. It was commissioned by Lee Sims of Accessories International with the intent of drawing attention to the company. And as you might imagine, it did exactly that. 

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Massaging Fiberglass

The build started, of course, with a stock 1958 Corvette. Barris then redid mostly all of the bodywork himself, designing a nose similar to Bill Mitchell’s XP700. To that, he added everything from a custom hood scoop to massive tail fins. 

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Form Over Everything

Barris ditched the original chrome cove trim, added Buick taillights, and tossed the original bumpers and emblems. The factory hardtop was retained, but Barris added a set of fake vents for styling purposes. 

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Award Winner

The project wrapped up with several fresh coats of Aqua Blue. All-in-all, it took only a year to complete the build, which went on to score a trophy at the Los Angeles Arena show in the early '60s. 

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From Glory to Grit

Several magazine features also followed, which accomplished this build's goal of bringing attention to the company that commissioned it. But as is typical with these kinds of show cars, the Corvette eventually disappeared into obscurity and was neglected for many years. 

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Nice Job

That is until someone discovered the Barris custom Corvette roughly 25 years ago. They proceeded to fully restore it to its original condition, and even Barris himself approved of the finished product, reportedly saying "whoever restored the car looks like he did a nice job." 

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Minor Changes

The only deviations from the original come in the form of drivetrain components. The car now sports a '64 Corvette 327 producing 340 hp engine. It also received a beefier 12-bolt rear end at some point in time. 

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Bring Me Home

Even today, this wild Barris Corvette looks as good as it did when it was originally built all those years ago. And you can bet that some avid Barris fan somewhere will be more than happy to plunk down the cash and grasp the rare opportunity to bring it home! 

>>Join the conversation about this Barris custom C1 for sale right here in Corvette Forum. 

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