My grandmother won a 1956 model (First year of the 3 speed manual transmission) from a local dealership (Charleston, W.Va.), through a promotion. My grandmother never drove a single time in her life, and my grandfather had lost his left leg in an industrial accident, some years before. As a result, he couldn't drive the Corvette, so the dealership struck a deal with my grandmother to accept a 1956 Two Ten and a 1956 Belaire, instead of the Corvette. I always heard the story as a kid, but wasn't sure if it was true, until... grandma and grandpa passed back in the 80's, mom in 07' and dad in 2014. While going through papers in the family safe, I came across the original paperwork with all of the details of the contest and the transaction. The contest was a Columbus Day giveaway (Oct. of 1955, new models came out in Sept, back in the day), with the slogan, "Discover the U.S.A. in the all new, redesigned, 1956 Corvette" and the drawing was held at the dealership on... Columbus Day. BTW, my grandmother only put one entry for the contest in the drawing box. The Two Ten and the Belaire are long gone as are most of my family (I'm 66), but the memories are still cherished. I just thought that it was a nice story to share.

Only 1,117 Corvettes have achieved the NCRS Duntov Mark of Excellence Award. He’s restored five to that level. Thank you for your service to the classic car community as well.

Huge amount of respect to Mike when Jay said "We have a real hero here" and he shakes his head no. He like so many other great American Veteran's just believe they were doing what was needed to be done and don't ask any special attention for it. People like this are the best of us. Does nice work also.

“My knees are getting old” Jay - “ok, let’s open up the trunk then”

I can appreciate watching these two getting in that beauty. At 71, they look like me getting in my 350Z. We're not old, we were just born before you :)

"no one has driven it except me" - it's good to be Jay...

A beautiful restoration, done by a man who truly cares about what he is doing, and how he does it. Bravo.

Mike: “My parents worked for the federal government when the war broke out.” Jay: “That was the civil war?” Always manages to sneak that quick wit, snarky humor in somewhere. A comic through & through👌🏻

Great to see Mike on the show again! He really is the Corvette guru!

I tune in to Jay's Garage to see and experience various vehicles, but he spoils me w/ guests of such rare caliber. It is a true joy to watch these videos! Thank You Jay!

I got to meet Jay this past weekend and all I can say as it was an amazing bucket list item that I never would have even considered putting on my bucket list because it would have been pure fantasy. He spent quite a bit of time working on my 1960 corvette, repairing the sunroof, getting her started, and offering great tips. He is an amazing person who listens when you speak, and after just ten minutes I felt like I had been friends with him my entire life. He even signed the car under the hood. I will cherish the car forever.

I love the sound of the engine. I miss the old straight six engines. They were so simple to work on, they started even if half the cylinders weren't firing, they needed only basic maintenance, and you could reach everything under the hood without moving other stuff around. I had a 1980 Ford Fairmont with a straight six. I loved that car. My wife totaled it. I still have her.

Wow! Restoring a Corvette to this level and flying a F4!

I've never been a fan of the Corvette, but, there's no denying that this is one beautiful machine.

Nice to see 'the real deal" instead of a resto mod. These old timers are imho, national treasures.

LOVE this segment...I can relate..two old guys trying to gracefully enter a car too low and small for them. ( I'm 83 and I might get in but it would take crane to get me out) These type of segments are hands down the best....I think

Can't believe he drives right where I live and haven't been able to catch him once. I'm going to have to call off work for a week and maybe catch him driving a car. We get to service his camera crew vehicle. Thanks again Mr. Leno on another great video.

Men like Mike get my utmost respect every minute of every day. A true gentleman and the work he’s put into this beautiful car is mind blowing. Great video.

Gotta love this guy. Went the full distance with his corvette and respectfully shares this with the rest of us regular folk. Thank you sir very much.

I remember seeing a 54 corvette at the 1976 Long beach Grand Prix parking lot and I could not believe that the straight six was running! It was absolutely still, but the fan spinning gave away that it was truly running. Maazingly smooth engine.

Thanks, Jay, for another great video. I worked as a Corvette tech at a Chevy dealer in late 60's early 70's and occasionally some 54-55's came in for repair. I also did transmissions, and recall the old style cast iron Powerglide, which was as heavy as Mike said. To rebuild them, there was a special fixture that allowed the case halves to slide apart and maintain alignment. I recall a small wedding ring looking sleeve that could not be damaged. They also had a rear pump in the extension housing that enabled the car to be kick started at a certain speed, something the later automatics couldn't do. I wish I still had any of the early Vettes I owned back then. In the early 1970's nobody wanted them.

Thank you for you're service Mike. Amazing work you do.

THOSE EARLY CORVETTES ARE ALL ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE OF DRIVING AND EXPERIENCING THE EVOLUTION OF THE CORVETTE . GREAT EPISODE JAY .👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

Wow, a 99 point car. Great work on preserving history

Thanks Jay. Greatly appreciate your love and dedication to automobiles. Our neighbor had a '55. Vette for a couple of years. (this was the mid-50's).The young kids in the neighborhood (Woburn, MA ) checked odometers in our dad's cars after work (not sure why). The 150mph speedo gave the Vette owner's kid, top bragging rights. Thanks again.

This is one channel I can close my eyes and choose a video and be thoroughly entertained every damn time

No surprise that we absolutely love this video! Thank you Mike and Jay!

I'd like to say thank you for your service, Mr McCloskey, my Cousin James McCloskey was a Helicopter pilot in Vietnam, all the family are very proud of him too.

This is the baby Corvette. It quickly matured from this beautiful beginning into a competitive sports car. It's the longest- running car model on earth; the 70th anniversary is this year!

Stunning automobile. Such pure clean lines. Truly amazing!

Jay, thank you for sharing a national treasure with us. The car was cool too. Mike, thank you for your service!

That's just a beautiful shape, a car that will make any bystander smile just as much as the driver when it cruises down the road. Can't even imagine how much effort and knowledge went into such an exacting restoration. Mike is right, Jay should be the one who gets it!

It's so beautiful from behind, wow.. thanks Jay & Mike!

Fantastic video. I learned a lot on the fabled early corvette. The restoration is incredible one talented man! Thanks!

Thanks a lot Mr. Leno! I don’t miss an episode, greetings from spain.

Incredible restoration work.

In its best color and most suiting wheels, just what a beautiful and superb car.

I'd never heard one of these C1 Corvettes before. They definitely have a vintage car sound whenever Jay's not flooring it.

Glad the old format is back, ❤this show Jay!!🎉

Thanks Jay! I have always loved the first Corvettes.

I've never really liked this model, I appreciated it as the first but it didn't do much for me until now! To see it in motion and hear it and to see Jay enjoying it made a difference to me. It truly would be an honor to own and show this beautiful example! Thanks guys It was pleasure to see and hear!

Really nice! Love the Blue Flame 6. I agree with Jay's analogy regarding driving older cars. It's not just about high horsepower and technical advances. Beautiful car!

I love Corvettes!!!! I have a restored 1967 L79 Coupe. It’s a 3-time NCRS top flight car. It’s my baby.

Outstanding restoration on a beautiful car

Cheers! So much fun!

I love this because my good friend Chris. His grandfather worked for GM in those days. His truck broke down on the way to work. Walking to the plant he was picked up by a boss. During the drive he was asked if he wanted to go to a new plant. It was going to be called corvette. I believe he was 20 years old. By the time he retired he was part of the design teem.

Just the sound of it running. Wow. Classic.

Thanks for taking time to explain details about the car.

Perfect early timing for an episode on a great car. Awesome 😎

Beautiful car. Thank you Sir. Not only for your service to our Nation. But to our hobby. A wonderful Corvette for sure. A real treasure.

Thank you for continuing to make a great car channel. Top notch production everytime.

Jay is the best. So much knowledge and what a memory!

On a serious note,the car is beautiful and the owner obviously is talented and ANY veteran is a hero to me.

I bought a book in the early 60's on Fiberglass Auto Body construction and it shows the actual tooling for the wet lay up method and showed the weak point on the body and methods to repair splits caused by minor impact.

Thank you Mike, from a Marine NCO from the DaNang area. Jay, your questions are spot on.

This guy IS the master. Wow.. So much respect for you, sir. Your work is unquestionable. That is so rare these days.

Wow, simply stunning. What a beauty!

Such a beautiful car! One of the best convertibles out there.

An old boss of mine had one of these cars, I had the privilege of rebuilding the three carbs while on his time. I grew up in the valley and worked near the Burbank airport for many years and recognize everywhere that you are driving. I rode the Metrolink train up San Fernando Road for awhile and used to see Mr. Leno enjoying his cars. Thanks for a great nostalgia trip.

Fascinating video narrated by a delightful man! That car is so stunning I can’t stop looking at it. Perfect color combination with the most beautiful lines. USA!!!

It's gotta be a great car to get Jay's attention! Great video!

This is a very impressive restoration and a real piece of Americona, well done.

Outstanding video, beautiful car and excellent presentation.

Had a friend who had one in High School in early 60s. Rode in it 1 time, and never forgot it. Wonderful.

Jay has excellent taste. He loves Corvettes, McLarens, and denim.

Appreciate mention of Special Interest Autos mag - the much better predecessor to Hemmings Classic Car. When I discovered it, I went on a hunt and eventually bought all 201 issues. Collectively, the most enjoyable addition to my car lit collection bar none.

Just excellent craftsmanship and detail. Beautiful car. One for the ages.

Great guy, awesome chat. The bit about power Steering by armstrong was nice, he said it twice. Great content Jay

what a gorgeous automobile!

15:56 Once a Pilot, always a Pilot- Hats off Sir. F4 will always be a favorite!

Thanks Jay! I've been grinning the entire length of the video. Now my face actually hurts a bit.

Awesome my dad ( dad met Jay at a taping of his show, a big thing for a Mn logger) loved Jay Leno and would have loved to tinker on all this classic cars. Thank you Jay for sharing. Hello from Iowa

A vintage car with a 99% score is a perfect car. 👍

Great episode. I've always loved these very first generation Corvettes. To my eye the front end looks very Italian.

Jay/Mike - thanks again for sharing. lovely car.

I was just watching lots of videos about GM cars, this is great

Outstanding Corvette - thank you both for sharing this with us. And thank you for your service sir!

I remember a scene in "The Right Stuff" where one of the original Astronauts goes out and buys a Corvette and within the week they all had them. The one thing about the F-4 Phantom was proof that with enough thrust you could get a manhole to fly. They had a squadron over in Clark. Loved them.

From your home state of Rhode Island-Jay-where we always love the comedy & cars-this '54 is way more fun & interesting than some exotic super car.

Having an excellent Monday, new Jay Leno for lunch break.

I find it so interesting in the world before computers we had cars that we're only made for a few years. The C1 and C2 runs lasted less than the c3 run. I was watching a show where they were working on a 58 Continental. Several cars made in the 50s and 60s were only made for one year. We don't see that today with all the technology we have today

Back in high school my friend's mom had a 1960 Corvair with the two speed Powerglide and with the two mufflers it had it sounded pretty similar to that 54 Vette.

Thanks Mike and Jay!

Thank you Mike and Jay

Jay, You need this car... no one would ever be a better person to have this...if you pass on this one I will forever look at you differently... it's the American automotive dream.. please for the love of God buy this one.....PLEASE..

lol I like when Jay says, "we got a real hero here" and Mike just shakes his head saying "nope"

That the paint protected the fiberglass is awesome!

timeless piece of art

Wow! This is the first first version of the corvette. Everyone remembers the later sharper looking V8 version. At least I do.

There's a certain "glow" of a high point resto. The paint really has a perfect period look to it. The low rear stance threw me at first, but then it grew on me. You can imagine a wealthy young collage man cruising with that back in the day. Talk about making an impression when around you were big black '40's sedans! That is super cool about the "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, World" provenance! I absolutely recall seeing the car in the chase scenes. My all-time favorite movie.

Great Car ! , thanks for Sharing Jay , Sounds like an old Farm All Tractor Working in the Fields LOVE IT !

2 great old guys and a great old car.

I remember that car, when it came out. I went to Lustine Chevrolet to see it, in person. Next to Washinton,D.C., that made me about 11 years old. I almost bought one in a basket, in 1959, but decided not to do that much work. I still think it was most desired car. At 78, I would have preferred it over my DeLorean, to this day.

I envy the guys that have enough garage space to do this. I'd love to get my 66 big block worked on.

A couple of good old souls. Thanks.

Thank you for your service

Love the early Corvettes, always thought them the most attractive. Lots of folks balk at the 6 cylinder engine, but remember that in that day the faster production sports cars all had 'em - Aston Martin & Jaguar for instance. It was considered an up grade from all the 4 cylinder models. Being much like a lot of tractor engines, they had massive stump -pulling torque for their size - great for driving twisty roads. Also cheaper & easier to fix than an eight (I really miss the gobs of room I had in the engine bays of the straight six's I owned in the past, especially w/arthritis now). It's a shame that this car got such a crappy trannie to go w/the engine. If Chevy had a bigger six w/ a good 4-speed, they would've sold a lot more of them. Worked for the larger, heavier Hudson Hornet - which beat out some eights back in the day.

The owner is sweating bullets at each maneuver.

Beautiful car. Always like the chrome around the windshield and then across the doors then down between the seats. A true piece of Americana.

This by far is my favorite episode. My dream car.