Moonlight Speedster

Dale Fisher's 1932 Chevrolet Moonlite Speedster of Sydney, Australia. Fisher purchased this rare 1932 Chevrolet Moonlite Speedster while still an apprentice panel beater in the early 1950s. The red, coachbuilt roadster immediately captivated him with its sculpted lines, rear scoops, and distinctive central ridge, features that deeply influenced his later custom work. Although he only owned it briefly, the car left a lasting impact on Dale’s design philosophy. He sold it after just two months in 1953 due to a blown differential and limited funds, but encountered it again in 1956, now white and loaned to him for a weekend. To Dale, it was a defining car, an early spark that shaped his future as one of Australia’s most respected customizers.

Dale Fisher with his 1931 Chevrolet Moonlite Speedster, photographed in Sydney in the late 1950s. In a 2011 letter to Michael Ferguson, Fisher described the Moonlite as having “the most beautiful body,” praising its rear scuttle scoops, dickey seat with its own windscreen, and the distinctive ridge flowing between the seats, details that made a lasting impression on him as a young panel beater and future custom car pioneer. Photo from The Dale Fisher Collection.

The Chevrolet Moonlight Speedster was a low-production, factory-built sporting body style produced exclusively for the Australian market by General Motors–Holden in 1931 and 1932. Built at GM-H’s Woodville plant in South Australia, the Moonlight Speedster combined standard Chevrolet mechanicals with a distinctive, lightweight open body, and was sold only through Holden dealerships in Australia. Today, the model is regarded as one of the rarest Australian-built Chevrolets, with only a single confirmed survivor.

Background

In the early 1930s, General Motors–Holden sought to offer Australian buyers a more stylish and aspirational variant of the Chevrolet range. The result was the Moonlight Speedster, a two-seat open car featuring flowing lines, cut-down doors, a tapered tail, and a sporty windscreen. Unlike North American Chevrolet roadsters, the Moonlight Speedster was a locally developed body, manufactured entirely in Australia and never catalogued overseas.

Production was limited to the 1931 and 1932 model years, with Speedsters reportedly displayed in each of Australia’s five major capital cities during the launch of the 1931 Chevrolet range. Despite the promotional effort, sales were slow, likely due to the economic conditions of the Great Depression and the car’s niche appeal.

Design and Features

Moonlight Speedsters were built on standard Chevrolet chassis but fitted with a unique, lightweight body believed to be constructed largely of aluminium over a timber frame. Distinctive features included: A low, raked windscreen with a unique frame, cut-down doors with external spare-wheel mounting, a tapered rear deck, and sport-style seating and dashboard unique to the model.

Period photographs show the cars finished in a variety of colours, including the factory-promoted “Moonlight Blue”, as well as black, red, and other contemporary finishes, often paired with contrasting wheels and leather upholstery.

Production and Survivorship

Exact production figures are unknown, but surviving documentation and photographic evidence suggest that very few Moonlight Speedsters were built. Over the decades, enthusiasts and historians have identified numerous individual cars through period photographs, registration records, and owner recollections.

Despite extensive searches spanning more than fifty years, only one confirmed example is known to survive today, a 1932 Chevrolet Moonlight Speedster. No verified 1931 models are currently known to exist.

Known Cars and Histories

Dale Fisher's 1932 Chevrolet Moonlight Speedster - The Surviving Moonlight Speedster

The sole known surviving Moonlight Speedster is a 1932 model that has passed through several owners and was restored in the late 20th century. Period components recovered from scrapped Speedsters, including windscreen frames, dashboard panels, and cowl vents, were incorporated into the restoration, preserving original design details that might otherwise have been lost.

Colin Wade's 1931 Chevrolet Moonlight Speedster

Colin Wade purchased a new 1931 Chevrolet Moonlight Speedster in 1933 after it failed to sell following its display in Perth. He sold the car in 1940 before joining the army. The second owner later reported that the car was broken up in Perth during the war years.

Dale Fisher's 1931 Chevrolet Moonlight Speedster

Australian custom pioneer Dale Fisher owned a 1931 Moonlight Speedster during the 1950s. Originally finished in Moonlight Blue, Fisher repainted the car red in 1957, hand-painting the whitewalls, steering wheel, and gear knob. He sold the car in 1958, and its ultimate fate remains unknown, though it may have been seen on Sydney docks in 1964.

Other Documented Cars

Michael Ferguson has traced numerous additional Moonlight Speedsters, including cars owned or photographed in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia. Several were scrapped in the 1950s–1970s, some were damaged beyond repair, and at least one was cut down into a utility vehicle. In every case, no surviving remains are known today.

Legacy

The Chevrolet Moonlight Speedster occupies a unique place in Australian automotive history. As a locally designed, low-volume sporting Chevrolet, it stands apart from mass-produced models of the era. Its extreme rarity has made it a subject of long-running fascination among collectors and historians.

Finding a genuine Moonlight Speedster today is widely regarded as the “Holy Grail” of Australian Chevrolet collecting. Despite decades of searching, no additional cars have surfaced, reinforcing the model’s near-mythical status.