Dallas Area Classic Chevys
FEATURE CAR
On a clear, sunny day in Downtown Flint, Michigan, a crowd
over 200,000 strong had gathered along the length of Saginaw Street. They
covered the sidewalks, hung out of windows and stood on rooftops in anticipation
of celebrating a huge General Motors achievement. They came to witness
history. That day, November 23, 1954, the 50 millionth General Motors car was
completed in Flint at 9:50AM, signaling the start of GM’s nationwide “Golden
CARnival” celebration. AT approximately 10:10AM, GM opened 125 GM plants and
training centers across the country to the public and hosted luncheons for
business leaders in 65 cities.
In Flint, the city of its birth, GM plan for celebrating was more grandiose. To
mark the momentous occasion, a mile long parade was held that featured nine
bands, 18 floats and 72 1955 GM vehicles. It began at 11AM and the crowd
cheered and bounced to the music of the marching bands, laughed at the dancing
AC Spark Plugs and reveled in the new vehicles that they themselves had made.
Near the end of the parade came the float holding the 10 millionth car and then,
the 25 millionth. The crowd craned their necks looking down the street in an
attempt to glimpse the next float before their neighbors and friends did, all
wanting to claim it was they who saw it first. When the 50 millionth car
appeared, the crowd was awestruck. The gasped as the golden 1955 Chevrolet Bel
Air Sport Coupe floated by. For many, it was the most wondrous thing they had
ever seen or would ever see. As it continued its path down Saginaw Street, it
rolled closer to future infamy and legend ….
The 50 Millionth GM car represented the absolute
pinnacle of General Motors. It shined. Unknown to the cheering crowd, soon the
car became lost to the trappings of time. The car quickly disappeared and was
forgotten in all but myth.
Until now..
Joe Whitaker, a life long Tri Five Chevy enthusiast
formerly worked for the Classic Chevy Club in its heyday and now is co-owner of
Real Deal Steel in Florida. While he admires all classic cars, he holds a
special fondness for ’55, ’56 and ’57 Chevys. At 15 years old he learned of the
myth of the Golden ’55 and that Golden Chevy always stood out in his mind but
never put much thought into where it ended up. Years later a friend mentioned
to Joe about finding a pair of golden windshield wiper blades that was purchased
from the old Trico factory in Buffalo, NY. It turned out they were extras made
in 1954 for the Golden ’55 Chevy. After that, Joe could not get the car out of
his mind, and brought it up with another Tri Five enthusiast buddy Steve
Blades. Joe told Steve about the wiper blades and Steve decided he had to have
them. Joe made a phone call and $3500 later the wiper blades arrived in Steve’s
hands. Joe decided then that somebody needed to let the world know about this
car and it should be restored.
Blades and Whitaker both looked into the car’s history and found the current
owner lived in Columbus, NC, but their was a problem. The original car burned
in a garage fire in 1996and the only things remaining were a few parts and the
interior. Undaunted, Whitaker contacted Snodgrass Chevy Restoration in Florida
and asked if he would be interested in a project if Whitaker could acquire what
was left of the Golden ’55. The guys at Snodgrass were all go on the project.
Whitaker reached out to the owner of what remained of the original car and
offered $100,000 for what was left of it, but was turned down immediately. The
brakes were put on the project.
Still the trio of Snodgrass, Whitaker and Blades believed
that the restoration of the Golden Chevy needed to be done, with or without
those original burned parts. In April of 2023 they decided to build a tribute
to the original. Blades offered from his huge collection of used parts,
Whitaker’s Real Deal Steal supplied the repro body and the Snodgrass shop would
execute the build.
Steve Blades dove deep into researching the Golden Chevy by contacting General
Motors and received photos of the car. In August of 2023 Blades and Whitaker
made a trip to Flint and poured over the archives at the Sloan Museum. What
they learned was that there wasn’t just one gold car built but three! Through
extensive research, it was discovered that actual 50 millionth car was built in
November, but in October two promotional cars were built. Car #1 or the
‘Motorama Car’ has distinct rear paint dividers and the #2 parade car did not
have them. Car #1 had power steering, A/C and power brakes and windows, the
parade car had none of these. Car #1 has a radio but no antenna but car #3 had
the radio block off plate. Car #1 was fitted with BF Goodrich tires while Car
#3 had US Royal tires. GM reps were astounded with the findings of 3 cars being
built as no internal records of these exists.
It was deducted by more research that Car #1 was most likely built in October
for promotional purposes and this is the car that was purchased and burned in
the North Carolina garage fire. Car #2 was sold to a private buyer and its
whereabouts or fate is unknown. Car #3 (the actual 50 millionth car) is also on
the MIA list but Blades feels it was never meant to be driven and this one most
likely went to salvage and disassembled.
Whitaker planned a trip to North Carolina to take photos of the remains of the
interior and was prepared to offer anything he could to gain entry. Just before
the trip he learned that the family of the owner was offering parts on social
media. Whitaker made the trip and found parts of Car #1. After the car burned,
the original owner chopped up the body and discarded pieces throughout his
property. Found was the grill, hood bird, armrest and pieces of the body. None
of the parts were used to build the tribute, but will be displayed with it.
The finished car has over 300 24k gold plated parts and features an all golden
chassis, drivetrain, body and interior. The car’s interior also is finished in
fabric used in the original build thanks to Ciadella Interiors who specializes
in Tri Five Chevy interiors. Special recognition for their support goes out to
Golden Star Classic Auto Parts (in Lewisville, TX), Shafer’s Classic
Reproductions, American Autowire, Auto City Classics and Gene Smith Parts.
The Golden ’55 Chevy made its show debut in March at the 71st Annual
Detroit Autorama. It was offered in May at the Mecum Collector Car Auction in
Indianapolis and sold for $434,500 (includes fees) reportedly to a buyer in
Dallas.
MORE PHOTOS
HERE
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