Sotheby's auction at Hershey- Beware

[mrays]

Dale's Tuxedo Black 62 Bel Air and 61 Impala SS were featured in the August 1995 issue of Super Chevy. Maybe it's just the lighting, but in the magazine the 61 looks more like Arbor Green than Twilight Turquoise. In the article they call it Jade Green and mention the special cowl tag. It was restored by Patrick's Classy Cars in Phoenix and completed in August of 1994. The tag change was probably done when the car was restored in '94 because in the pictures of the car in the magazine it appears to be the same color as it is now.

[Lynn]

Very hard to read that tracing Verne. I am sure it is more clear in person.

So the current tag is 905A, and the original tag was 915A?

[Verne_Frantz]

Yes Lynn, Close observation of the tracing confirms that the original tag was modified to reflect the new paint and trim codes. Everything else on the tag is exactly as the original tracing. The whole tag was not repro'd; just the trim & paint codes modified. Dale also hand wrote the information from the tag on the form I supplied him.
The original tag had an "8" stamped after the trim code right under the "18" of the style number. Enlarged, I can see where it was flattened out. You probably can't see that because the photo I posted had to be reduced to teeny weeny in order to post it on this new site software.

I'm working on a theory that Dale actually had the car restored Green/Green, perhaps because back then a Turquoise repro interior may not have been available. The other photo I posted from '95 was printed in a Car & Driver article about the car. There's no doubt it looks Turquoise, but in the article they mention it's Arbor Green!

The other twist is the fact that none of the repro tag makers back then had the correct fonts needed to make those changes. I don't believe Dale had that done. I believe the tag modification was done within the last few years. If the restorers are still available, perhaps they can shed some light on that issue.

I also discovered that the '61 409 block Dale put in the car is a replacement that he paid $10K for back then, so it is not the second '61 409 car in existence with its original block. The more I look into it, the more I learn (and share).

The bottom line is that the car is not restored as it was originally found (or built).

Verne