Edmonton man searching for beloved ’57 Chevrolet
An Edmonton man hopes to be reunited with his beloved 1957 Chevrolet two-door car, 43 years after selling it to a Red Deer man.
Gary Smith purchased the vehicle in the late 1960s and it only had a few thousand miles on the odometer at the time.
But in 1970 Smith was in need of money so he sold the car to a Red Deer man for $1,750. The sale was with the understanding that somewhere down the line Smith could buy it back. But he lost track of who bought the car.
Now the retired mechanic who used the car to drag race is running a personal classified ad in the Red Deer Advocate in an effort to find it.
Smith sold the dark green sedan to a Red Deer man near the Londonderry Mall in Edmonton. At the time it did not have an engine in it.
Smith said the person he sold the car to would have been in his mid-20s in 1970. That would make the buyer about 68 years old now.
Smith said the car “was perfect, it only had a few thousand miles on it. It had basically never been driven.”
“It was one of those cars that’s like a good fitting pair of shoes,” said Smith. “It just felt right.”
If he is lucky enough to find the car he plans to hang on to it.
“I would never sell the car again,” said Smith. “If I got it back I would keep it until I died and it would go on to somebody else. It would be in the will.”
He said the buyer knew that Smith didn’t want to sell it.
“I had to sell it. I was broke, just like every kid is and now I’m trying to get it back. If I can find the guy, I don’t know if this car even exists anymore or if the man is alive anymore.”
He gives his chances of getting it back at 25 per cent.
“I thought it was worth try.”
Anyone with information about Smith’s old car can call him at 780-962-0313.
mcrawford@reddeeradvocate.com
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