1954

Original issue 1953-1955 Corvette promos were manufactured by PMC (Product Miniature Company, Inc.). The mid production cars had gray or charcoal colored plastic wheels/hubcaps. Promo collectors typically classify these cars as 1954s. The plastic body and interior was molded as one piece with separate tail lights. The factory assembled version had the interior painted red. Most unassembled (kit) versions were solid colors without contrasting interiors. All original issue 1954s had a windshield and 2 spoke steering wheel made of clear plastic. The factory assembled version had the grille and headlights painted silver and a "Corvette" decal on the nose. The unassembled versions came with the same decal but the assembler had to install it themselves. The gray or charcoal colored plastic wheels/hubcaps on the factory assembled cars were a smooth dome shape (same shape as most 1953s) and they had inner and outer wide whitewall tires. These "whitewall" tires were actually solid white tires with the tread area painted black. There were 2 types of unassembled kit versions. One type came in a display box and was nearly identical to the 1953 kit. The notable differences were that it came with 1954 wheels/tires and it had a different box number. These kits only came with white bodies. The other type was a "Skill Builder" kit. There were 2 different styles of gray plastic wheels/hubcaps used with the "Skill Builder" kits. Both styles came with blackwall tires. The "Skill Builder" kits came with white, coral or turquoise bodies. All versions shared the same style metal chassis with a friction motor on the front axle. The chassis was usually attached to the body with 4 straight head screws. PMC used chassis screws with 2 different finishes from 1953-1955. Some cars came with unfinished (natural steel) screws. Some cars came with screws that had a dull greenish yellow finish. Either finish is correct. An original 1954 exists that was factory assembled with 4 unfinished (natural steel) rivets.

Boxes: The factory assembled cars were packaged two different ways. The cars shipped to Chevrolet dealers were sealed in cellophane wrappers and packaged 12 per box. The cars shipped to retail stores were in individual boxes with a rectangular cellophane window. These window boxes were covered with red, yellow and black artwork and had "3455 CORVETTE" stamped on the end. These boxes came with a cardboard tray inside to keep the car properly positioned. The unassembled kit versions also came packaged 2 ways. Some came in large boxes that opened up into a display and were nearly identical to the 1953 kit boxes. These kit boxes were white with red and black artwork and had "No. 201 CHEVROLET CORVETTE KIT" printed on the box. The other type of box was for the "SKILL BUILDER KIT" versions. These were promo sized boxes covered with dark red, gold and black artwork and had "201 CHEVROLET CORVETTE" stamped on the end.