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"YES, this in fact a 1975 Custom Corvette built by the Legendary George Barris for John Belushi!!!!! Was in John Fosters collection since 1995. John Foster passed, and car was sold at his estate sale. This is a 1 off custom. 350 small block, auto trans, PS, nice paint, nice interior, T-Tops. Just cool as heck. I am looking to trade up or down as long as it's not a project. Please no boats, motorcycles (I am to old). Something that spins heads like this Corvette. Let me know if interested in a trade and what it is. Mustang, Nova, El Camino, CJ Jeep, Challenger, Hot Rod, Chevelle, Rambler, Classic older pick up, Pontiac, just some ideas. Car isn't perfect but very dependable and priced at $24,999/ OBO, I believe under true value today. (yet alone 10 more years from now, who knows).You can call me or reply by craigslist.
OTHER George Barris known customs include the "BAT MOBILE", Bill Car's legendary 55 Chev "AZTEC, the "BARRISTER, the "KOACH" and their "DRAG-U-LA", Barris's 1975 "SNAKE PIT", Elvis Presley's custom "STUTZ" and the "JOKER MOBILE"."
I believe it was called Eldorette. It was George Barris' attempt at manufacturing a custom Corvette luxury car, a similar concept to the 70's and 80's Stutz' built on various GM platforms. I know he built a handful of them, but have no idea if Belushi ever owned one.
I believe it was called Eldorette. It was George Barris' attempt at manufacturing a custom Corvette luxury car, a similar concept to the 70's and 80's Stutz' built on various GM platforms. I know he built a handful of them, but have no idea if Belushi ever owned one.
Thanks- found Eldorette- I remember the "Caballista"
Guess what...when Belushi ordered that Vette he said it has got to have a cop motor,cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks and it had to have no catalytic converters so it would run good on regular gas
I think it looks more 60's/70's Lincoln than Cadillac too.
As far as a custom goes, it's well executed. I think. If they would have toned-down the chrome nose a bit it would have looked less in-yer-face. There were a lot of corvette-based custom & kit cars back then. This is probably one of the better ones.
Edit: Wire wheels, were a real 'thing' back then on customs.... weren't they?
I think it looks more 60's/70's Lincoln than Cadillac too.
As far as a custom goes, it's well executed. I think. If they would have toned-down the chrome nose a bit it would have looked less in-yer-face. There were a lot of corvette-based custom & kit cars back then. This is probably one of the better ones.
Edit: Wire wheels, were a real 'thing' back then on customs.... weren't they?
Being a Barris car, I'm pretty sure that it was "well executed", with respect to the quality of workmanship. But to me, it falls into the category "different just to be different", rather than graceful and good looking. And yes, wire wheels were a big thing, in that time frame.
Sorry, I can't buy the 'credit to Barris' thing, cause anybody that has been around custom cars knows George wasn't above taking credit when it wasn't due(and no disrespect to him, either...it's just the way things happened) Barris *might* have run it thru the shop, repainted, retrimmed, maybe even bought a body kit and assembled it...but if you do a deep dive into this body design, you'll find the roots are most likely in Knoxville TN at Byron and Ronnie Cooper's place, Cooper's Corvette Center. It was created in the mid-late 70s, and called a Markette. I've seen a handful, and even worked on one in the early 80s. Not everybody's cup of tea by today's standards, but it's unfair to apply today's standards to what was cool 50 years ago.
Sorry, I can't buy the 'credit to Barris' thing, cause anybody that has been around custom cars knows George wasn't above taking credit when it wasn't due(and no disrespect to him, either...it's just the way things happened) Barris *might* have run it thru the shop, repainted, retrimmed, maybe even bought a body kit and assembled it...but if you do a deep dive into this body design, you'll find the roots are most likely in Knoxville TN at Byron and Ronnie Cooper's place, Cooper's Corvette Center. It was created in the mid-late 70s, and called a Markette. I've seen a handful, and even worked on one in the early 80s. Not everybody's cup of tea by today's standards, but it's unfair to apply today's standards to what was cool 50 years ago.
You're correct standards evolve but iconic designs are timeless. These aren't iconic or timeless.
Obviously, proof it's not a 1 of .................. & FUGLY regardless !!!
Indeed. I don't care WHO the car was built for. I would love to be able to UNSEE this hideous abomination of a car, along with the other ugly @ss designs throughout the thread. Uglier than sin, all of them. Can you say 70's pimp?
And the Avanti isn't much better - one of the ugliest front ends I've ever seen on a production car.
Last edited by Corvette-ZL1; 09-29-2023 at 08:24 AM.
09-26-2023, 05:02 PM
1975 built by George Barris for John Belushi?
You're correct standards evolve but iconic designs are timeless. These aren't iconic or timeless. 
