This is the rarest one I have ever come across in all the years I have searched in barns and farm fields for the Chevrolet that was left behind. This story starts with a simple phone call on a 1959 Chevrolet el Camino that was for sale that was a unique story in itself. The current seller was the son of the original 59 owner (his dad) who had just got the 59 El Camino back after 35 years after his dad sold it to a rancher in north Colorado just after he left overseas for the army. The son always wanted the car back and after all the years then he saw the 59 Chevrolet for sale in the same local area he grew up in. He checked and sure enough it was his dads original 59 el caminio that he had driven many years back- even still with the same paisley carpet he put in it back in the early seventies from his moms kitchen! The 59 el Camino was put away just as it was the last he saw it in the early 70’s with many other rare Chevrolets and fords at the ranch.
Well as I now called on the 59 el Camino, this is the rare part of the story still to unfold. The son said I could have the 59 el Camino for a great price as the son was now selling it now after he bought it from the rancher that bought it from his dad and decided it was a bit much to restore as he was now disabled. So the son let it go and included a parts car 59 in the back of the ranch stuck in the dirt given to him also by the rancher. The 59 still had the same title his dad signed off in 1974! well I come into the picture now as I had to go get my 59 el Camino and 59 parts car to bring back home. I got up to the ranch, back in the middle of nowhere and almost had had a small fainting spell as I pulled up to see some 20+ Chevrolets peeking out of the tall prairie grass. The first one that caught my eye was a 1959 Chevrolet convertible impala in the dirt and yes, that was my “parts car!”
Well to make a long story short, this was a original 1959 Chevrolet Impala Convertible with every option you could order from the Chevrolet Dealer, (Luby Chevrolet in Denver CO.) and still have the rarest of the rare, a Fuel injected 283 v8 turboglide! This car was a original as equipped timemachine, although it had no engine or tranny, or hood and no wheels, but as we dug it out and inspected all the options and side front fenders, there was a quiet hush of “oh my good gosh, is this what I think it is”….yes it was, after further serious investigation and numbers. Yes, it was a fully loaded still Luby Dealership Tagged Chevrolet Impala, a 1959 with Power everything convertible fuelie, sitting for at least 45 years in the field with it original patina paint in roman red with a 1965 Colorado plate. the sun hit the power windows switches and power seat buttons with a speedminder on the dash still gleaming, as I looked in the interior that had long been exposed to the elements for years but in the high desert dry Colorado preserved with beautiful chromework still. We spent the afternoon digging the car out and forgot all about the 59 el camino that day, and when all the hubs of the wheels were once again free, with a old set of wide whites now installed, we knew it would be a dream come true once again for the rarest of the rare for to all see is it was rolled up onto the trailer.
Well we went home that night with a “parts car” 59 Chevrolet convertible… and by the way picked the 59 el Camino a week later, and have located a matching numbers drivetrain and F.I. Unit! happy looking, its still possible after all these years!
– Chris Morris
