Classic Chevy stolen from Surrey owner’s garage
Colin Franklin had been awake barely 10 minutes when his neighbour knocked on his door Friday.
His garage door was wide open, Franklin was informed, and some of his golf gear was lying at the side of the road a few doors down on his quiet cul-de-sac in Morgan Creek, Surrey.
Groggily, he retrieved his golfing click cart from the side of the road and, when he got back to his garage, noticed all the stainless-steel doors to his cabinets were open.
“It still hadn’t registered that my car was gone,” the 72-year-old said.
That car was a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible. Franklin’s wife loves Bel Airs and he acquired it not quite a month ago.
“Then bingo, it hits me,” he said. “There’s no bloody car.”
Video from a neighbour’s security system indicates the car was probably stolen around 5:10 a.m.
Online, ’56 Bel Airs sell for anywhere between $30,000 and $150,000 on sites such as eBay, ClassicCars.com and TheChevyStore.com. Franklin, who got his ’56 Chevy in a swap for a Woody he owned, figures his was worth $85,000, plus taxes.
“The frame was off and rebuilt, there’s new everything, stainless-steel exhaust, new upholstery,” he said. “A friend just sold his for $115,000 and it was a little bit better than mine. A little bit.”
It’s less likely a car like a ’56 Chevy was stolen for joyrides than it was to be put in a crate and shipped to Asia, Franklin said the Surrey RCMP told him.
His car stands out for its red and white colour scheme, black roof and whitewall tires.
Chevrolet built 41,268 of the cars in 1956 and they listed for US$2,450, according to 56classicchevy.com.
The ’56 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible was “made for real convertible fans,” with its low-swept, speedline styling and dazzling two-tone colours, the site states.
Franklin could never afford what fans sometimes call a 5-6-7 — Chevys built between 1955-57 — when he was younger, he said.
“I don’t need the money, quite honestly,” Franklin said of insurance negotiations with ICBC. “I need the car.”