What Rick D’Louhy and I find most rewarding is putting together lost cars with the individuals or families who created them. That drives us more than any other reward. Sometimes we’re lucky to make the connection—and sometimes we’re really lucky—as with the story of the Siebler Special.
We started looking for the Siebler by studying an ad sent to us by good friend from California named Erich Schultz. An ad with a photo for a car appeared for sale in the December 1959 issue of Hot Rod magazine. Photos make it easier to identify, of course, but based on descriptions, we usually do pretty well with text-based ads too. The car was being sold by “Dick Siebler” of Reseda, California, and for several years that’s all we had to go on.
When researching handcrafted specials of the ’50s, we must be choosy in what we pursue when there is little or no information, so in this case we didn’t move forward beyond the information and photo we had. That is, until, Dennis Garyson of West Covina, California, contacted us.
Geoff Hacker followed up a lead about an unusual sports car in California. Turns out it was a Siebler Special, exactly what Hacker had been researching. GEOFF HACKER
Gary sent us photos of a car he found at a local body shop. It had been removed from behind a house where it had sat outside for more than 40 years. In fact, the black California license plate still showed the 1963 registration. To our amazement we found that virtually nothing had been removed from the car since that time; the handmade air cleaner was still in place, and the chain-drive steering was fully functional. Only the seats were missing, and the floor had deteriorated due to years in the sun.
So we were off and running on what we found. When researching people 40-plus years later, I consider them to be like “fish on a reef;” that is, most don’t stray far from home. In this case, I located the son and daughter of Dick Siebler, both still living in California, not far from where they grew up.
Siebler’s daughter, Patricia, was excited that we had found the car her father built in 1955, and couldn’t wait to see it. She thought of it as part of her family and remembered her father building it and later riding in it. Siebler was proud of his accomplishment and won several trophies with his Special.
In the summer of 2013, Rick D’Louhy—my partner in “Forgotten Fiberglass”—and I traveled from Florida to Los Angeles and spent a day with Patricia and her father’s car discussing memories of her dad, the car, and their family. It was a special time for all of us—and one that has lit a fire under us to get the car restored and back to show the family as soon as possible.
Of course there are new things you learn during research like this, surprises and intrigue enough to make it a regular automotive thriller of the best sort. So does anyone want to help us find the second “special” Dick Siebler built in the 1960s? Rick and I are off again on another adventure!
After purchasing the Siebler Special, Hacker and buddy Rick D’Louhy dragged the car across the country to his Florida home. His plan is to restore the car so the Siebler family can again see it. GEOFF HACKER