Sometimes you come across a deal that sounds too good to be true. In fact, it sounds so good that you’re leary to pursue it.
For Scott Oliver of the Jettvette Corvette Restoration business in Atlanta, this was one of those offers. $10,000 for a ’58 Corvette, really?
That would firmly place this offer in the “Too good to be true” category in the minds of many. Combine that with it being a cold Christmas Eve, and well, let’s say most people would have passed this offer by and enjoyed the holidays.
Then again, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
What started as merely following up on a lead became a fantastic deal, eventually becoming an urban legend. Over 15 years in the making, finally Scott Oliver has the 1958 daily driver he always wanted and an incredible story to tell.
Craig List Mystery
Rod Worley – Editor – Scott, there always seems to be a story behind barn-find Corvettes. How did you come across this first-generation Vette?
Scott Oliver – Owner – Well, Rod, this one is no exception. It was Christmas Eve, and our family was getting ready to have dinner up in Alpharetta.
I happened to be on Craiglist looking through ads for cars when I ran across this ad for a Corvette for $10,000.
All the ad said was that it was a Corvette but didn’t give the year. Judging by the write-up, I didn’t think it was legit, possibly stolen, or some other issue.
I asked Larry, my Dad, to drive down with me to Newnan, Georgia, on Christmas Eve to check on this ad. So we hooked up the car trailer and headed to Newnan.
Come to find out, the guy who owned the car was in the military. He was getting set to deploy and needed to get rid of it.
He had gotten the car practically-free from a recently deployed military friend. We struck a deal right then and there and loaded it onto the trailer.
Rough Beginning
Rod Worley – Editor – Vintage Corvettes, especially first-generation ones, can be in rough shape when you find them. What kind of condition was it in when you first laid eyes on it?
Scott Oliver – Owner – Rod, it was a basket case in every sense of the word. The car was sitting back in a wooded area under an old mildewy tarp.
The engine that didn’t run and had signs it had been in a wreck. The paint was the wrong color and looked like an amateur put it on with a roller. It was in shambles.
We bought it, loaded it up, and hauled it back to our shop. Our family business in Atlanta was called Jettvette Corvette Restoration, where we restored old Corvettes and sent them to auction.
It sat in the back of our garage for ten years as a future project.
When my Dad finally retired, we closed the Jettvette Corvette Restoration business. I moved the car to my garage and began to bring it back to life a couple of hours at a time.
All in all, it took about five years for me to get it to where it is now.
Lifetime Of Experience
Rod Worley – Editor – To do a restoration project of this magnitude, you need years of experience. When did you first start working on cars?
Scott Oliver – Owner – I’ve been working on cars my whole life. The knowledge and skills I’ve picked up I owe to my Dad. He started teaching me about automotive repair at an early age.
Dad was a mechanic on a couple of amateur Corvette racing in the metro Atlanta area. When I was a kid, my Dad would bring these race cars into our basement to tune and work on them.
I would get to sit inside these race cars when I was a kid. Honestly, I remember being mesmerized by the styling and horsepower of Corvettes. I just fell in love with them.
Hours Of Work
Rod Worley – Editor – Your 1958 Corvette roadster turned out great. If you had to ballpark it, how many hours do you think you have into this project?
Scott Oliver – Owner – In any project like this, there is always some downtime. When possible, I worked on it for 30 minutes here, two hours there.
All told, I probably have 500 to 600 hundred hours invested overall. I was patient with this build.
Plus, because I was in the restoration business, I was able to horse trade around for parts.
Now, I’ve got a really nice daily driver that I didn’t invest a ton of money into at the end.
Future Project
Rod Worley – Editor – Scott, are there any plans to pick up another Corvette project car? If so, what year are you looking to restore?
Scott Oliver – Owner – Yes, I’m looking for a 1967 coupe. I prefer a big block if I can find it.
The numbers don’t have to match, but it has to be in somewhat decent shape. Not a total basket case like this ’58.
The 1967 model has always been my dream car because I felt they got it right with many functional features.
In the end, I’ll keep this 1958 because it’s an automatic that my wife can drive. Plus, it’s a head-turner that is so much fun to drive.
Racing For A Championship
Rod Worley – Editor – Didn’t you mention you’re into racing Corvettes as well? What sanctioning body do you race with, and what kind of success have you had?
Scott Oliver – Owner – I’m definitely into racing Corvettes. It seems I’ve been racing for as long as I’ve been able to look over the steering wheel.
My Dad encouraged it. One of his rules was that if you race it, you better know how to fix it, which helped me learn.
Last year I won a regional championship in the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) racing series.
This year we’re setting our sights on the National Championship at Daytona this September. Our C5 Corvette has been a perfect fit for this series.
Eye Candy
Since Scott has brought the 1958 roadster back to life, the notoriety of this stunning daily driver has grown. This fiberglass beauty quickly caught the editors of Vette Magazine’s eye, prompting them to feature it in their October 2011 edition.
The tuxedo-black roadster has also been on display at Corvettes of Carlisle’s prestigious “Barn Find” category. Not to mention all the well-deserved attention it gets at local car shows like Caffeine & Octane.
All of this proves the point that sometimes you get lucky in life. Sometimes you do find something worthwhile when you thought it was too good to be true.
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