437 original, actual miles Purchased new by Mr. and Mrs. Jessie Trueblood of Modesto . Shortly after purchasing this car, Mr. Trueblood took a day off to go fishing. While waiting for the "big one" to bite he witnessed a woman fall out of her boat. Mr. Trueblood jumped in to help only to fall victim of a fatal heart attack. Mrs. Trueblood returned the car home and placed it in the garage for the next 12 years. The odometer reading at that time (1962) was 413 miles. Mrs. Trueblood lived next door to a used car lot owned by Mr. William E. Wilson (now 81 years old). Mr. Wilson spoke with her frequently and often told her he would like to buy the car for himself to keep. In 1962 the time had come. Mrs. Trueblood told Mr. Wilson she needed a car for her bookkeeper who didn't really care for the ol' Chevy and would prefer a Rambler. No problem. Mr. Wilson went down to the local Rambler dealer and bought a brand new one for $1,650.00 ($100.00 over cost) and made the swap. He then took the car home and parked it with 433 actual miles. And there it sat for the next 45 years, occasionally being started and moved in and out of the garage. In 2007 Mr. Wilson decided to sell the car and started spreading the word around Modesto that the ol' Chevy with 433 miles on it was for sale. Many had heard about the car, but hardly anyone had ever laid eyes on it. In fact, according to Mr. Wilson he believes he only showed the car to about 5 people in 45 years. Word spread quickly about the car and soon a buyer arrived ready and willing to pay the $60,000 asking price. When Mr. Wilson told me the story of this car he complained heavily of the "capital gains" tax he was required to pay and wished he had never sold it. As of this writing, Mr. Wilson is still alive and well in Modesto and can verify the miles and originality of this car. Simply put, this is a true 100% factory original survivor (that includes the air in the tires). This ol' Chevy now has 437 original miles and is most likely the world's lowest mileage 1950
I kinda have a hard time believing any car could sit almost 60 years without the tires going flat. Yea, I know that's a knit picking point, but if they fudged on that who's to say they didn't fudge on something else. I don't see any surface rust on any of the bare metal parts either.
The car is way cool, but the problem for me is that (if true) this would be a car that can NEVER be driven. Sorry, a car that can't be driven ain't worth a damn to me. Might be nice for a musem somewhere, but I would not want to own it, unless I could afford to "depreciate" the car by driving it... . Does that make me a dick? How about if I wanted to chop it....
If you are talking about William E. "Elmo" Wilson of Modesto, California I believe the story is true... He was a long-time, well known used car dealer, and well acquainted with my Great Uncle from. This story wouldn't surprise me a bit...
If it was mine, it would soon have way more miles on it. As for original tires, Cedartown GA Fire Department has a '48 LaFrance open cab pumper that still has the original tires (about 11,000 on odometer). Since it's been kept inside, I don't doubt it. Sunlight and ozone are what cause tires to deteriorate and "dry rot". This car has rarely seen the light of day, entirely possible for original tires to still be holding air.
Its a nice old Chevy for sure but the website it is for sale on has every car's price jacked way up so maybe the $59,950 is just the ASKING price! Marty McF.
i've seen this car in person, it is pretty incredible. the guy that owns it has a lot of very high quality cars.
Neato! I wonder where its going to go when he passes, hopefully it wont sit in that garage and rot!!!!
I'd have to pass on that for $60,000 though. Lots of other stuff I'd rather have for that kind of cash.
Like my high school car...........JHC that's nice......it should be in a museum.....just so those who love 'em and want the experience can look at what a car looked like new in 1950.........amazing story!
The guy was ripped off. The car wasn't worth $1650 in 1962. I believe it's a nice car. I believe the story has likely as is most things, been embellished over the years.
I have enough cars allready, buuuuut, I think I can squeeze that in between the jag and 57 country sedan, Yea that should work nicely.
Yup, I agree. I had that emailed to me with much bigger pictures. Super nice car, but some parts show a lot more wear than others. Not sure all the parts are original (ex: air cleaner).
Nice story, nice car. But not for $60k. Of course you could buy it and ship it off to B-J and try to double your money. I got better things to do with my $60k.
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