1950 Chevrolet Club Coupe with 437 original, actual miles:
Purchased new by Mr. and Mrs. Jessie Trueblood of Modesto, California. 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 433 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 1950 Chevy 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 Chevy.
It's always interesting to find the story behind a car like this. Makes you wonder how many stories there are near each of us about cars hidden away like this one was.
I know of a 69 4 gear hemi runner, drag car un-cut parked since 78. I have tried to buy for 22 years. Same old gonna restore, give to kid ( wants a winged honda!) Never going to get to it story. I just herd he died, got to find out what happened to the car. Alot of these things are still around, I know of a few of them. Same story, all the time. I know of a real JL8 69 Z-28 that was dismantled from new.(still in factory primer, paint and stripes were dilevered in cans, and boxes!) I've seen it! With 19 miles on the clock. Same story, these guys will never sell, then they die, and who knows what happens to the cars? Probably go for scrap. I will keep you posted, but After trying to buy for 20+ years, the odds are long that they will ever see the road again. Sigh.
