Len Treeter is the proud owner of a 1960 Chevy Impala 4-door sedan with an amazing story since it first came into Len’s world back in 2010.
The 65-year-old car was a project with a “what-if” angle when Len and his car buddies joined forces and resurrected it for the road–but not just any road because Len wanted to take the car on the Beijing, China to Paris, France Motor Challenge rally.
Jim Sutherland
The Beijing to Paris race has roots that date back to 1907 when the first Peking (now Beijing) to Paris transcontinental race took place during the very early days of the automobile. The famous long-distance rally has taken place at various intervals since the inaugural race 118 years ago and is a supreme test for any vehicle that competes in the grueling competition.
The ambitious team of car guys only took one year to transform the ’60 Chevy sedan into a roadworthy vintage ride, and most of their work was done on Saturdays and Tuesday evenings, according to Len.
The next step was to enter the 1960 Chevy into the 2013 race, a process that proved to be a challenge for Len because the organizers were dead set against the idea since they believed it would not survive the race.
Len reminded the organizers they accepted his entry fee and could not bar him from the competition because he was already approved for the rally when they took his money. The rally organizers relented, although they had serious doubts about the ’60 Chevy.
So did Len’s friends most of whom “thought I was crazy”, in his words. However, Len told MyStarCollectorCar “I had to do it”, because he was clearly a man who loved a challenge-especially giant ones like a transcontinental car rally that crosses through many countries.
The Chevy retained its stock powertrain, including its 283 small block V-8 engine coupled to a 2-speed Powerglide automatic transmission. It was a durable combination that has served Len very well in long distance rallies over the years.
The Beijing to Paris rally is almost 10,000 miles (roughly 16,000 kms) long and takes place over 32 days. Len recalled some of the moments, including Mongolia where dust and total darkness were major issues for them.
Len had two fuel tanks on his Chevy because gas quality was sketchy so he chose to avoid filling both tanks from the same supplier because he wanted to avoid complete reliance on their product just in case it was a poor grade, in which case they could switch to the other tank and hope it was a better gasoline product.
He noted other competitors had mechanical problems when they used their vehicles’ original fuel tanks and had rust clog up the lines after long periods on bumpy roads freed up metal contaminants in the tanks. Len also mentioned Russia had bad roads and great gasoline, so it was a trade-off for him. The best news is Len’s Chevy finished 34th out 100 entries. Not bad for a car the organizers wanted to keep out of the race.
As mentioned in the title, Len also entered two Great Race events that traversed the United States, including the last one in 2023 on a 2300-mile (3700 kms) drive from St. Augustine, Florida to Colorado Springs, Colorado.
There are very few car guys who would attempt any of Len’s long distance road adventures because he is truly in a league of his own in our opinion here at MyStarCollectorCar. Congratulations to a car guy with a generous supply of guts.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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