Ray had wanted a ’58 since it was new on the showroom floor. As a kid he would ride his bike to the local dealer showroom and check out their parking lot of new Chevys. After a few moons had passed, he was still looking for that illusive ’58 convertible. A longtime friend said he heard of one in Deer Park, Washington. Further investigation and a day’s trip proved the rumor to be correct. The car was in a very unusual place. It was in a rundown garage in the middle of a corn field. Getting access to it meant actually breaking the door down and digging it out. Finally, they hooked up a tractor and pulled it from the tomb-like building. It was a foot thick with dust and dirt that had drifted in through dried-up boards for who knows how long. Ray rented a U-Haul trailer and towed it home. Not without a bit of a problem of losing the clutch in his pickup along the way. He did a little tune-up and cleaning and the car turned out to be quite solid. Time does take its toll and it was pretty evident that the car needed some help.

Fortunately, the ’58 had all its original drivetrain and parts intact. With the help of machinist Ken Beko, the stock 348ci was treated to a complete rebuild, including a mild RV camshaft and new 409ci heads. Three factory Rochester carbs completed the original Tri-Power setup on the factory intake manifold. Taking the power to stock rear axle is a GM Turbo 400 transmission. Stopping the huge car was greatly improved by the addition of power disc brakes. The completed chassis rides on 15-inch chrome wheels with radial wide white tires. Meanwhile the body was treated to a louvered hood, a nose and deck job—meaning removing the chrome and filling the holes—and a sunken antenna. Then a special deal was made with a local Maaco paint shop to bathe the ragtop in awesome Candy Metallic paint. Ray then wired the whole car himself before turning it over to Bob’s Upholstery in Oregon. Tan leather and brown buckskin–colored deep pile carpet complete the now very classy restoration.

Like many builds, it was a long and sometimes trying job to bring back to life such an iconic automobile. Ray and Carol have two sons; they and a friend, who is practically a third son, all have ’58 Chevys. So, the love of the marque runs deep in the family.