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Owners:
Tim and Elena Sellers
- Redmond, WA
Background:
Why it's called a
Sport Cruiser is beyond us, but that's what the brochure says so
it must be true! I've also heard these versions called
Airport Taxis and Limousines. Whatever it's called, you'll
never find it on the
NWCCC body styles poster.
We don't know much about it other
than it was one of around 20 built originally in '57 and has the
front and back of a 4-door sedan and most likely the centers of
two 2-door sedans. From what we've been told and now
confirmed in the sales brochure, the National Limousines company
from Knoxsville, IN worked with the Chevy manufacturers to
create these cars to take people to and from the airports.
If you know anything more about this particular model, please
let me know -
timsell@msn.com.
the limo - a "before" shot at Pike's Market in Seattle, WA
We found this one on ebay of all
places and knew we had to have it. After winning the
bidding but losing to a "reserve" price, we contacted the seller
in Montreal directly and worked out a deal. After a quick
train ride across Canada, we picked it up in Vancouver and drove it home.
All this without ever seeing the car in person! After getting it home and
fixing some minor issues with the brakes and electrical, it was put on the local
outdoor show scene for the 2003 season.
By the end of that year, I decided it needed some
attention. It's okay as a 20 foot car (that means it looks nice from about
20 feet away) but I really want this one to look respectable up close also.
So, it was time for a renovation. I call it that and not a restoration
because my goal is to update the mechanical and electronics to today's standards
in safety, comfort and convenience.
My hope is to have it completed by
the club's 2007 show in August to help celebrate its 50th anniversary. But
as anyone who has done a renovation can tell you (and they keep telling me),
this is not a process you can rush if you want good results. It will be
done when it's done.
Fast-forwarding to May of 2006, the bodywork is getting closer to done now and
I'm starting to figure out the interior. Take a look at what's gone on up
to this point:
I hope you enjoy the build-up,
-Tim
the limo - a
current shot of the body work being done
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