Restoring HRH Prince Bertil of Sweden's Corvette
Swedish Corvette enthusiast and collector Lars-Olof-Lofstrom is one of the key members of a team in the process of restoring a 1956 Corvette which was custom-built for HRH Prince Bertil at GM Design. The car is owned by Marcus Tidblom, who together with his brother Rickard, own Corvette Sweden Lars Tidblom Automobil, one of the largest Corvette businesses in Europe.
This unique Corvette was part of a GM marketing program to increase awareness and sales of the new 1956 Corvette in Europe. It was not unusual at that time for GM to provide high profile automotive enthusiasts, like Prince Bertil, with specially modified cars that would attract significant media attention in their home markets.
These international marketing programs had the support of GM’s top management. GM President Harlow Curtis took time to review the completed Corvette in the Design Auditorium before it was shipped to Stockholm.
While retaining the basic Corvette architecture and power-train, GM’s Design added many special features which included a specific front grille treatment, new exhaust ports, special wire wheels, a completely custom interior trim design and a unique exterior paint color combination. Even the stock fuel filler cap was replaced with one custom made in the Design Prototype Shops.
The Corvette was designed and built at the Design’s often used off-site, special projects studio, located in Fisher Body Plant 8, not far from the GM Building. Plant 8 provided overflow studio and fabrication space for special projects that could not be fit into the regular studios.
Prince Bertil took delivery of his Corvette in Stockholm at GM’s Swedish headquarters on May 29, 1956. The delivery attracted the desired media attention, as the Prince was well known in Scandinavia as a serious automotive enthusiast. Prince Bertil kept the car in his collection for several years. Following a driving trip with his wife to their home on the French Riviera, he yielded to pressure from friend and fellow enthusiast Karl-Eric Hagstrom, selling him the car in late 1957.
Unfortunately, Mr. Hagstrom was involved in an accident with the car soon after acquiring it. He had the car repaired at his musical instrument factory, but replaced many of the custom-built features with production Corvette pieces. Following the repair, he continued to use the Corvette as his daily driving vehicle.
After several more years, the car was sold to new owner who was soon involved in a second accident. This time the entire front end was replaced with a new front clip that the owner thought would be more appropriate for its new career as a drag racer. Following its drag racing days, the car was placed in long-term storage where it awaited rescue.
Lars-Olof Lofstrom has been a Corvette enthusiast since he first began driving. His first frame-off restoration was a 1965 Corvette. He joined Club Corvette Sweden in 1979 and NCRS (National Corvette Restorers Society) in 1981.
The restoration is well underway. The construction of a new front clip has begun. Since the grille opening and screen texture were produced at Design, they will be among the most difficult parts to re-create. The original Dayton wire wheels were found and have been restored. All of the chrome parts have been re-plated. The frame and chassis components have been restored and are being re-assembled. Somehow the original interior remained in the car throughout its life. Now painted black instead of the original dark blue, the interior has also been dis-assembled and is being restored. The GM Heritage Center has provided a number of images of the original car that will aid the process of re-creating these and other original custom features.
Lars has created the website to enable Corvette enthusiasts to follow the restoration of Prince Bertil’s unique car. Click here to view.
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