Jims59.com

As a boy in the 1960s, Jim was mesmerized by the unique styling of a 1959 Chevrolet that lived down the street in his West Lafayette Indiana neighborhood. As he matured, his love of this unusual design grew stronger. Jim drove a 1959 El Camino when he attended Lafayette Jefferson High School in the 1970s. Over the years, Jim has had a few 1959 Chevrolets. In 1982, Jim sold his last 1959 El Camino. As time went by, he often found himself longing for another one. In this same period, he began to notice that these cars were rapidly becoming an American cultural icon. As the collector value of these autos skyrocketed, Jim began to realize that his dreams of owning another 1959 Chevrolet were becoming somewhat unrealistic. By the turn of the century, the two door hardtops and convertibles had reached a point where they were simply too valuable to drive, and to buy one and restore it would cost more than the price of a nice home.

Then in October 2001, Jim found an affordable and superb example of a 1959 Impala sedan. This car was parked in 1965, and slept peacefully in a heated garage, unused, and unseen for 36 years. Jim purchased it and began the process of forming a plan to restore this car to original condition. In the spring of 2005, the car was finished and this original beauty has now been restored to her former glory. Now kept in climate control and driven only on sunny days, and to car shows, she finds herself a trophy winning show car.

This web site began in 2005 as a step-by-step documentary of Jim's three-year-long restoration of this 1959 Impala. Jim wanted to provide other 1959 Chevrolet enthusiasts with a complete overview of the restoration process. To this day, this site has the most complete photo database of any 1959 Impala restoration anywhere on earth and has evolved into one of the most popular 1959 Chevrolet web sites on the internet. Consistently topping the GOOGLE and MSN search engine lists. As the site grows, it evolves. Now there is a tribute page focusing on the growing popularity of the more affordable and readily available four door collector cars, as well as a page with photos of outstanding and unusual vintage cars and trucks. New pages devoted to two well known American cultural icons, The 1955-56-57 Chevys, and Vintage Schwinn bicycles. To see more of Jim's work, see the link to Jim's Projects Past and Present for more photos of his restorations.