Incredibly rare 1959 Bocar built in Colorado - in for performance and mechanical

This is a rare and unusual car, a 1959 Bocar. The Bocar was a tube chassis, fiberglass bodied sports car built here in Colorado between 1958-1961 by Bob Carnes. Bob Carnes sold cars as complete, ready-to-drive, or a customer could purchase the chassis and body separately.

This particular car was constructed from a chassis and body that were purchased separately in the early 60s in a deal between the original owner and Bob Carnes that involved the trading of another completed Bocar. It is titled as serial #004, and is known as an XP-6 model. Unfortunately, the Bocar factory burned on Christmas day of 1961.Cars completed by Bob Carnes were outfitted with the Corvette 283 engine, however this particular Bocar, being completed by the owner, was outfitted with something different. The original owner purchased a then brand new to the market combination, a Ford Mustang 289 HiPo V8 and Toploader 4-speed transmission. He purchased these items from Garnsey & Wheeler Ford of Greeley, Colorado.

This is the only Bocar to exist with this engine and transmission setup.Through diligent research, we were able to contact the original owner/builder of this car, who still lives in Greeley, Colorado, and he was generous enough to pay us a visit and bring along his original photographs of the car.

The car had been sitting idle since the late 60s when it was sold to the second owner who ultimately never did much with the car. For the current owner, we performed a mechanical restoration and upgrade. This included extensive chassis reinforcements and upgrades to the suspension, coil over shocks, modern aluminum fuel tank, and fuel injection on the original date coded 289 engine. We also fabricated and 'aged' aluminum panels to fill the cockpit and engine bay. Existing panels were matched to create a classic vintage racing appearance. Now the car is complete and back on the road (and track.)