December 16, 2015
Posted By : Barrett-Jackson
Written By : independent automotive journalist Roger C

CEMENTED IN HISTORY: The tale of the entombed Corvette

CEMENTED IN HISTORY: The tale of the entombed Corvette

December 16, 2015
Posted by Barrett-Jackson

Written by independent automotive journalist Roger C. Johnson

Once sealed up in a brick-and-mortar tomb for nearly three decades, the 1954 Chevrolet "Entombed" Corvette (Lot #1279) is ready to make its way across the Barrett-Jackson block.

Once sealed up in a brick-and-mortar tomb for nearly three decades, the 1954 Chevrolet “Entombed” Corvette (Lot #1279) made its way across the Barrett-Jackson block in January 2016.

EntombedCorvette_Front_3-4The only thing better than a great classic car is one with an equally great story behind it. Those stories are as different as the people who have owned the cars ‒ but few are as interesting and provocative as this one. The very thought of a virtually new 1954 Corvette being cemented into a stone chamber has been tantalizing Corvette collectors and enthusiasts ever sense the news got out.

If you are a classic car lover that has not heard the tale of the 1954 Chevrolet “Entombed” Corvette (Lot #1279) that was sealed up in a brick-and-mortar tomb for nearly three decades, it is of great interest. The car’s original owner, Richard Sampson, was a successful business man in Brunswick, Maine. After driving his brand-new Corvette for four years, he decided to park it somewhere safe until the next century.

ClippingSampson was building new stores for his grocery chain and decided one of them would be the perfect structure in which to keep the car secured, so he had the construction workers create a “tomb” inside of that building ‒ literally around the Corvette. He actually specified in his will that the car was not to be taken out of this man-made time capsule until the year 2000. Although Sampson subsequently voided that order before he passed away in 1969, the car remained in its tomb.

The story of this sequestered Corvette came to light in the early 1980s after a magazine article was written about the unique car. In 1986, the building’s new owner released the Corvette into the hands of Sampson’s daughter Cynthia, who became an instant superstar in the Corvette community. Cynthia was there in person to watch the workers disassemble the tomb brick-by-brick for this spectacular reveal. At that point she took the car to her home in Daytona Beach, Florida, where it remained in the middle of her living room ‒ yes, living room ‒ for the next 10 years. Is there any other car in the world with such a history? We don’t think so.

EntombedCorvette_Interior2This Corvette’s next owner promised to preserve this car rather than restore it because of its nearly epic life story. As you can see by the photos, the car’s leisurely lifestyle did little to harm, age or in any way disturb its beauty and elegance. The fact it has only accumulated 2,335 actual miles since 1954 further locks this car in as one of the most collectible Corvettes of all time. Now in the hands of a brand-new owner, this unique car will continue to tell its unusual tale.

‒ Written by independent automotive journalist Roger C. Johnson

For the sale price of this vehicle, click HERE.

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