Seattle Sam Bessers 67 RS/SS Convert......WOW

[Belair62]

We found this car for sale back in 1990, through our local Camaro club. A friend of our club sent a few snapshots and a short video of the car, which was shown at a club meeting. The car was in Martinez, California, a suburb of Concord in the Bay area.

I contacted the seller by email, and soon had a deposit on the way. A couple of weekends later, a friend and I drove from Seattle to Martinez with a U-Haul car trailed in two, hopeful that a sale would be completed.

When we arrived, we found a very complete 1967 RS/SS 350 convertible, with just over 65,000 miles on it. The car was Emerald Turquoise (code K-1) with a black top (incorrect) and parchment interior. It had power top, power windows, and a powerglide shifted on a tilt column. There were one inch high wooden blocks under the drivers seat, and a two-inch block on the gas pedal.

There was a little rust in the wheel wells, a little more in the trunk, and dents everywhere on the car. The passenger door was caved in enough that the window wouldn't roll all the way down, and there were dents in every quarter panel and fender. In fact, the farther away from the driver's seat, the more dents there were. It had three mag-style wheel covers on steel wheels, all dented and ugly looking. The four wheels had four different bias-ply tires on them. The paint was really dull, but the interior was without rips, and the top was in decent shape.

It started and ran, and drove around the block just fine, so we made a deal and drove it onto the trailer.

The couple that owned it had received it as a gift from her mother, who was the original owner. The car originally came from DeVoe Chevrolet-Cadillac in Marion, Indiana, and was delivered on Christmas Eve, 1966 - as a Christmas present. The original owner left Indiana for California in 1972, towing a trailer with a U-Haul installed trailer hitch, which bolted to the bumper and back up through the trunk floor. She then drove the car until 1987, when she gave up driving completely.

When I got home, I added a quart of trans fluid to the powerglide, beat out the passenger door until the window would roll completely down, mounted a set of radials on some 14x6 rallyes, and went cruising! The front suspension and brakes needed a rebuild, but we drove it all over for the next two years.

In 1992 I took it to my friend's house and we took it completely apart, every nut and bolt. Then we cut off the rusty quarters and trunk floor, and welded in a new trunk floor and replacement quarters (cut down from GM coupe quarters). Well, my friend did the welding, and showed me how to do the rest.

In 1993 the car went to D&L Restorations in Everett to complete the body work and spray on paint. From there it sat in my garage until last October, when I took it to Corvette and High Performance for re-assembly. I used to think I would be able to put it back together myself, but I finally admitted to myself that my talents lie in other areas (we haven't figured out exactly where, yet). I have developed a deep respect for those with talented hands who can rebuild these cars better than new!

Now Sue finally has her car back together, and she can go cruising in it whenever the spirit moves her. It sure is great to see that smile on her face!

[budnate]

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It sure is great to see that smile on her face!



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You have that right! she was grinning from ear to ear the other Sunday when I happened to catch you two driving by..I did catch her off guard when I yelled "Hey Sue!!!" from the parking lot we were sitting in.

Bud.

[JChlupsa]

I would think Seattle Sue Besser's 67 RS/SS Convt would be the TRUE and RIGHTFULL title to this post

Sue, Nice looking 67 and it sure looks different than last time I saw it during the 2003 All Chevy Show

[hvychev]

Sam & Sue nice ride! Sam it was nice meeting you at SCR7!

[DarrenX33]

I never get tired of looking at pictures of this car. Awesome car Sam!

[Mr70]

It really is an attractive car to look at!
What's a Chevelle again?

I too enjoyed meeting you at SCR7 Sam.

[MrsBillyBobcat]

BEAUTIFUL Camaro Sam & Sue!

I love that color combo!

Rita

[jg95z28]

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I love that color combo!

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Ditto! Awesome color combo.

[Don_Lightfoot]

I will add my "ditto" response on the color combination. Suits the car very well. Enjoy

[427TJ]

I've seen this car in person and it's a beauty. These photos could almost be from 1967 if not for the current WA license plate. Okay, and the bigger F-series tires. Sam, we'll have to park our cars together for the camera one of these days! X 100