Utah Valley Old Car Club: DON PENDERGRASS AND HIS 41 CHEVROLET

The year was 1970, Don was looking for a project car to show his talents as a body and fender expert. When he heard of a 1941 Chev Master Deluxe Convertible sitting behind a miners shack in Sunnyside Utah which is up in the mountains east of Price. He and his friend Gale Hansen got in their truck and with a trailer behind, they head to Sunnyside to find this car. Upon arrival to the old shack they are taken to the resting place of what was once a car, but now was a rusting hulk of a body that looked as though it had been pushed there with a D9 Cat and left to return back into the elements from which it was made.
Don offered the old miner $15 for the hulk and it was gladly accepted. Now the task of getting it on the trailer lay ahead. With much effort the "CAR" was finally loaded, but not before the cowl section fell off due to rotted out subrails.Getting it home and safely in his shop the real work began.
The front sheet metal was found in an apple orchard in Orem (there were a few orchards left in 1970) from a 41 coupe that Don puchased for a parts car. But the all important Chassis, unique to the Convertible proved to be more elusive. Finally after much searching one was located from Hemmings Motor News in Redding Oregon. A deal was made and off to Oregon he went to get the backbone he so desperately needed. An engine was located and rebuilt by Carl Furr and Lindsey Strasburg and now with all the major parts collected, it was time to get down to the task of resurrecting this pile of parts. Little did Don know that THAT would be a 35 year project.

The following pictures show the "CAR" as it was found and the Absolutely stunning finished automobile with all the correct accesories added. Well done Don. It was certainly a labor of love and dedication that ressurected that rusty hulk of 1970 into the beautiful "AUTOMOBILE" that it is today. "THAT'S IT" you should name it "LAZARUS" as it was indeed brought back from the dead.