Bob Stephens had something to prove in his hometown of Aldergrove, during the 2017 edition of the Langley Good Times Cruise-In on Sept. 9.
Stephens parked his bright yellow 1950 Chevy Coupe along 272 Street in front of the former Aldergrove mall, as the enormous charity show-and-shine moved to Aldergrove for the first time in its existence.
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The Coupe’s hood was flipped up and sitting on the engine was a sign that read: “I want to prove you can build a car for less than $5,000. Cost was $4,995 total.”
When Stephens came across the car in Gibbons, Alta., it was in rough shape.
The motor was seized and “everything was rotted,” he said.
This wasn’t a case of a vintage car needing simple restoration; more like resuscitation, then resurrection.
“I picked it up for $500, brought it back from Gibbons, and I put about a year’s work into it,” Stephens said during a rainy Cruise-In day.
He rebuilt the car’s floor and its trunk, and he sourced some of the other key parts from an RCMP cruiser.
“The radiator is out of a cop car re-wrecked, the antenna is out of a cop car, (and) the fuel tank is 50 gallons and that’s out of a cop car,” Stephens said.
He noted that the main restoration expense was the $1,500 worth of upholstery that was installed.
The car’s sun visor was “hard to come by,” Stephens shared, noting that the accessory set him back $325.
A friend donated the car’s wheels to Stephens for free.
The stunning paint job is TREMCLAD mixed with lacquer thinners and automotive hardeners.
All the work was done 12 years ago, in 2005, Stephens said.