Thread: Lost hotrods

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A former employer of mine had me in the very nice city of Des Moines for a couple of years. I was single then and was in a financial position to find something I had wanted for a long time: A '58 Chrysler 300 two door hardtop. Preferably black.

A lady who worked for me was married to an Iowa State Trooper. He mentioned to me that he occasionally got word of interesting cars when he was out traveling the state. I told him what I was looking for. He said that he knew of one in Illinois. He had not seen it but he knew that it was owned by a widow and it been parked inside for several years. She was asking a fair price for it.

Supposedly it had no dings or dents and had a good engine and nice interior.

That turned out to be true.

BUT ...... after a long drive I saw it and nearly cried. I had never (still haven't) seen such rust in my life. All four fenders, the under-hood sheet metal, and floor boards were rusted through. Big holes. All the running gear looked terrible.

She said they had bought it new in Florida and used it there for a few years

I guess undercoating must have been a pretty expensive option in the fifties.

Common sense must have been scarce, too!


Jim