Autoblog In Cuba: 1957 Chevy Bel Air Review

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What to do if you can't find a car to rent and drive in Cuba? Rent an old Chevy and enjoy the ride.

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Autoblog In Cuba: 1957 Chevy Bel Air Review originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 05 Oct 2015 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dale Earnhardt, Jr. puts his Callaway Corvette and ’55 Chevy on eBay

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Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has put two cars from his personal collection up for sale on eBay. The first is a 1955 Chevy Bel Air that Junior had reworked by Funk Master Flex in 2004, the second is a 1999 Callaway Corvette C12 that was worth $200,000 when new.

Continue reading Dale Earnhardt, Jr. puts his Callaway Corvette and '55 Chevy on eBay

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. puts his Callaway Corvette and '55 Chevy on eBay originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 24 Jan 2015 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dale Earnhardt, Jr. puts his Callaway Corvette and ’55 Chevy on eBay

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Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has put two cars from his personal collection up for sale on eBay. The first is a 1955 Chevy Bel Air that Junior had reworked by Funk Master Flex in 2004, the second is a 1999 Callaway Corvette C12 that was worth $200,000 when new.

Continue reading Dale Earnhardt, Jr. puts his Callaway Corvette and '55 Chevy on eBay

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. puts his Callaway Corvette and '55 Chevy on eBay originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 24 Jan 2015 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stolen ’57 Chevy returned after 30 years with complimentary restoration

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1957 Chevrolet Bel Air

Stories like this are too rare. Skip Wilson, 65, took delivery of his fully restored, 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air last Monday. That's not the cool part - he hadn't seen the car in over 30 years.

Wilson's two-door Bel Air (not shown above) was purchased in 1975 for $375, and after years of work on it, was stolen in 1983. The car was recovered, but was missing its engine and transmission. Before the northern California resident had a chance to source a new powertrain, the car was stolen again, not to be seen until it arrived outside his house sporting a new coat of Competition Orange paint and a 350-cubic-inch V8 fed by a Holley four-barrel carb.

It turns out that over the 30 years since it was stolen, the car had seen four different owners, one of whom had completely restored it. There was supposed to be a fifth owner, in Australia, until US Customs inspectors discovered the car in a shipping container in the Port of Los Angeles. After notifying the National Insurance Crime Bureau, which had the car's VIN on record, it was seized by the California Highway Patrol and returned to Wilson.

The entire story, published by the Santa Rosa Press Democrat is really worth a read. While Wilson is wondering how his Chevy was registered by four different owners when its VIN was on record with the NICB, he just seems happy to have it back. "Somebody put a whole lot of work and money into that car," Wilson told the Press Democrat. "I imagine somebody in Australia must be awful upset."

Stolen '57 Chevy returned after 30 years with complimentary restoration originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 Feb 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Timewarp NE auto dealer auction draws big crowds, bigger prices [UPDATE]

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The hotly anticipated auction for a cache of vintage cars and trucks stashed by a Nebraska Chevrolet dealership took place over the weekend, and as expected, many of the low-mileage classics fetched high-dollar bids. Close to 500 former new cars and dealer trade-ins that have been sitting in and around Lambrecht Chevrolet for decades finally had their day in the sun - or mud rather, as Autoweek tells it - and on the first day alone, the vehicle lots on offer sold for more than $1 million.

One of the rarest vehicles of the bunch - a blue 1958 Chevy Cameo pickup with just 1.3 miles on the odometer - commanded the highest price of all, selling for $140,000 - even with a giant dent in its roof. Close to a six-figure price tag was a red 1964 Impala with 11 miles and a 327-cubic-inch V8 under the hood - it sold for $97,500. Another important piece of Chevy history, a 1978 Corvette Indy 500 pace car - with just four miles on it and with its interior in plastic - ended up selling for $80,000. While we may never know the real reason why Ray Lambrecht hoarded all of these vehicles at his dealership, the auction did provide automotive enthusiasts and collectors a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see and/or buy this many classics that were seemingly tucked away in a time capsule.

UPDATE: Automotive News is reporting that the entire auction weekend pulled down an estimated $4.79M in bids spread out over nearly 500 units.

Timewarp NE auto dealer auction draws big crowds, bigger prices [UPDATE] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 Sep 2013 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quartet of classic Chevys stolen during Monterey week

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stolen 1961 Chevrolet Impala SS 409

The weeklong festivities that take place in Monterey, CA for the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance draw in some of the finest cars from around the world. Unfortunately, these events also seem to be drawing in some opportunistic lowlifes looking to score to some high-dollar hardware the easy way. In this case, four classic Chevy cars were stolen over the weekend of August 17th.

According to Hemmings, an extremely rare '61 Impala SS 409, a '61 Impala resto-mod and a one-owner, unrestored '57 Bel Air all went missing after failing to sell at various auctions. The article states that the Impala SS 409 - worth an estimated $220,000 - disappeared from the Russo and Steele auction, while the other two cars vanished from the Mecum auction. In addition to these thefts, Jalopnik is reporting that a customized 1962 Corvette was also stolen around the same time only instead of being stolen from an auction, this classic 'Vette was snatched up as the owner was enjoying dinner. Hemmings points out that the cars were most likely targeted to be stripped for parts, but check out both reports and keep an eye out for these beautiful rides.

Quartet of classic Chevys stolen during Monterey week originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Aug 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cache of vintage Chevys in Nebraska headed to auction [w/video]

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In this Aug. 12, 2013 photo, old Chevrolet automobiles fill the showroom of the former Lambrecht Chevrolet car dealership in Pierce, Neb. Next month, bidders from at least a dozen countries and all 50 U.S. states will converge on Pierce, a town of about 1,800 in northeast Nebraska, for a two-day auction that will feature about 500 old cars and trucks, mostly Chevrolets that went unsold during the dealership?s five decades in business. About 50 have fewer than 20 miles on the odometer, and some are so rare that no one has established a price. The most valuable could fetch six-figure bids. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

This isn't the first car dealer turned time capsule, but it might be the biggest. Ray Lambrecht stashed about 500 new cars from 1958 to 1980 that didn't sell at his Pierce, NE, Chevrolet dealership before he closed shop in 1996, Yahoo News reports. His reasoning? Instead of selling previous model-year inventory at discounted prices, he kept the cars thinking they'd appreciate over time. Soon we'll find out how his unique business strategy worked, as all of the old/new cars - stored in the dealership and at a farm - will hit the auction block next month. We think old Lambrecht will be making some good money - perhaps as much as six figures on some cars - as many vehicles in the collection are über rare and word of the auction has spread worldwide.

It is reported that visitors from all over the US and at least a dozen countries will descend upon the 1,800-resident town for the auction to buy old Chevys with negligible miles. The cars with the fewest miles in the collection are a 1959 Bel Air and 1960 Corvair Monza with only one mile on their odometers. A 1958 Cameo pickup truck with just 1.3 miles sits in a corner with some damage to the roof and a thick layer of dust. About 50 vehicles have 20 miles or less, including the newest vehicle in the collection, a 1980 Monza with nine miles. While the cars in Lambrecht's collection can be a bit rough on the outside, the ones that were stored in the dealership still have pristine interiors.

So what will happen to the vehicles once they're sold? Jay Quail, executive director of the Classic Car Club of America, says many collectors who buy the low-mileage vehicles likely will put them on display as works of art. "It's like having a Picasso in your garage," he says. "Collectors will pay for a car that's totally unmolested."

UPDATE: Take a better look at this time-warp collection with the new Associated Press video added below.

Continue reading Cache of vintage Chevys in Nebraska headed to auction [w/video]

Cache of vintage Chevys in Nebraska headed to auction [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Aug 2013 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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