Egads! 1968 “Roman Chariot” Corvette By Jerry Roman

The crazy days of the ’70s, with long greasy hair, hand rolled doobies and bellbottoms faded into the mist 40 years ago…Or did they?

Fashion has a funny, cyclical habit of one day falling out of style, and then suddenly becoming hip again. Take this 1968 Corvette customized by “world famous,” Jerry Roman.

To some eyes, this severely customized 1968 ‘Vette may look grotesque. With a chopped top, exposed hind-quarters and huge proboscis, it’s like a C3 drawn by someone on a bad acid trip.

It’s ungainly and garish with workmanship that would be scorned at any modern car show in the country today. Many would say it’s an exercise in bad taste best left to the history books.

Yes, it is outrageous. Some might think it’s obscene. We think its a crazy sculpture from the long gone “free love,” era and an amazing find. It certainly now transcends a mere automobile and is probably useless in that original role anyway. Could you imagine trying to parallel park this thing?

All of that’s irrelevant now.

Today, the “Roman Chariot” is almost like hieroglyphics in a cave, a primitive piece of art linked to a time when Les Dunham,Linda Vaughan, Evil Knievel and smiley faces ruled the earth. Even though this car is not yet 50 years old, it might as well be 500 years old.

We talked with proprietor Gary Birns at Motor Car Group, who is currently offering the car for sale and he gave us the backstory.

The car was built by Jerry Roman in Cleveland, Ohio and was a “money no object build,” estimated at $150,000 dollars in body and paint. 10,000 man hours were logged by 9 employees over a 6 month period. $60,000 was spent in chrome alone. Total cost, in 1971 dollars is estimated at $280,000.00. It was recently treated to a “freshening” to the tune of $25,000 to bring it back to show condition.

Birns has ties to the car all the way back to the early ’70s. He “had his hands on the car,” back in the day when he was a young man working in Roman’s shop helping to shape and smooth the bodywork of the car. He eventually gained notoriety around the Cleveland area as a member of the “Kustom Kings of Kleveland,” car club piloting a custom 1959 T-Bird around town.

The “Roman Chariot” made a big splash back in the day. According to Birns, it received the “Best Custom Award,” from Cal Custom at the 21st Annual Autorama in Detroit, and Runner up for the Ridler Award in 1972.

Decades later this car still creates a buzz. In 2012, without any updated modifications, ISCA judges awarded the car Best in Class, Best Handbuilt Custom, and Best Presentation during the Pittsburgh World of Wheels Autorama. During the 2016 Cleveland Autorama, Roman’s Chariot was featured in the center main concourse as being one of the top 50 award winning cars from Ohio.”

 

Birn continues saying, “The top was chopped by seven inches and smoked plexiglass was used for windows to accommodate the crazy new lines. In all, over 60 custom pieces were bonded together to create the roof which includes side vents behind the windows. Following the radical roof and nose design the door handles were removed and radical side pipe covers were added with matching body paint.

“To accentuate the wheel wells of the Corvette, Jerry flared them out to accommodate the huge McCreary drag tires. Custom tail lights rest on each side of a parachute set up because it was the wild ’70s and because Jerry wasn’t sure exactly how fast this beast would go. To help keep this car on pavement, a groovy yet stylish wing was bonded to the deck lid.”

Be sure and check out the undercarriage swathed in pearlescent gold and white paint and enough chrome for 10 cars. Even the friggin’ traverse leaf spring is chromed. The interior is best described as “unique” with swanky, tuck and  roll white leather that looks like it was strafed with maroon Crayola crayons. Even the chute in the back is sporting the one-off material.

Birns recounts that under the hood lives a “Huge 460 cubic inch monster V8 topped with a pair of dual Holley four-barrel carburetors. Built by John Drahos of Corvette Conspiracy, it’s estimated to produce over 500 horses. Though it runs and sounds like a fire breathing beast, it has never been opened or modified since it was built! And speaking of carburetors, the crown resting on top was the design child of a young man named Denny Reardon who later became a design manager for the Ford Motor Company.”

The swinging ’70s have long been dismissed as a bad chapter in fashion, design and cars. Most of the era’s “artifacts” have long since been thrown overboard and when an example such as the “Roman Chariot”  breaks cover, its a fascinating look at custom car design and automotive fashion that has long since vanished from the earth.

Few ’70s top-flight customs cars have survived the decades, making this one rare bird. How much is a car like this worth? That’s a very interesting question.

If this turns you on, the car, it’s trailer and all display stanchions and gear are for sale for almost $90K. It’d be worth the price of admission just to park it at the local show and shine and watch folks go crazy.

About the author

Dave Cruikshank

Dave Cruikshank is a lifelong car enthusiast and an editor at Power Automedia. He digs all flavors of automobiles, from classic cars to modern EVs. Dave loves music, design, tech, current events, and fitness.
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