Dad who sold beloved Chevy Impala 20 years ago to make ends meet receives the surprise of his life
- This devoted dad sold his cherished Chevy Impala
- He was forced to part with it to support his family
- His children embarked on a search across the US to track it down
Published on Sep 17, 2024 at 2:06 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Sep 17, 2024 at 6:05 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Alessandro Renesis
This devoted dad from California who sold his cherished Chevy Impala to financially support his family has had a somewhat emotional surprise.
His grateful children embarked on a search across the US and Canada to track down their dad’s beloved vehicle.
20 years after he was forced to let it go, he’s finally back behind the wheel.
Tissues at the ready – things are about to get emotional.
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The search for the Chevy Impala
Shared by Chevy via HLG Racing on YouTube, we first hear the man’s children describe an idyllic childhood and the nostalgia of trips out in the 1965 Chevy Impala SS 396.
However, with times ‘tough’ in the mid-1980s their dad was forced to let the car go.
“It was not easy for my dad,” the devoted son shares.

While he wasn’t sure if it had already gone to a junkyard, the search via the VIN number revealed that it had been sold to owners in Arizona, Pennsylvania, and then New York.
“I was two steps behind the car on each of my searches,” he shares.
After multiple setbacks, the narrator finally locates the car for sale in Montreal, Canada.
He was able to confirm that it was the vehicle and bought it over the phone in secret.
The emotional surprise

In an emotional moment, the father is reunited with his cherished car after 30 years.
Overwhelmed with emotion, the dad is rendered virtually speechless and can’t believe his eyes.
“Dear god that’s my old Chevy – you’re kidding me!” he exclaims.
“Geez, I can’t even believe this is for real,” he says as he slips behind the familiar wheel.
His son confirms: “It’s not just a car, it’s all the memories and the feelings it brings all that back.”
Want more? This man managed to track down his granddad’s lost Lamborghini Countach and the story will give you goosebumps.
Zooming in, here’s the tearjerking story about the contents of a family’s glovebox, proving cars are more than simply machines.

All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”