Jim Beymer, local retired car dealer and Henryetta Economic Development Authority (HEDA) trustee, recently traveled to Colorado with his son, Dr. James Beymer to enter the Nash Auto Club National Meet.

The four-day event included visits to auto museums, “Rambler Ranch” where hundreds of fullyrestored Rambler and American Motors automobiles were displayed and the main car show.

Beymer won 1st place in his division with his rare 1957 Nash Rebel, a vehicle he spent nearly three years restoring to showroom quality.

He admits he had a little help from good friends and fellow car buffs, Slick Henderson and the late Tom Henry.

Mostly it was Beymer’s long hard hours of tedious work on the car.

The Rebel is powered by a 327-cubic-inch V-8 motor with a fourspeed manual transmission on the floor.

“This car was the fastest production car in the world when built in 1957,” Beymer said. “Back then, all auto companies had to build and sell cars to the public in order to race them professionally.”

Nash built 1,500 of the Rebels that were sold to the public.

Today there are only seven identified as existing in the world, one of which belongs to Beymer.

This car is a local favorite, winning at First Family Federal Credit Union's annual Car and Motorcycle Show last fall and taking 1st place at the Robbers Cave Fall Festival Show last October out of more than 700 vehicles on display.

“I draw a lot of attention when I take it out for a drive,” Beymer said. “People have never seen a Rebel and cannot identify the car.”

It seems all those long hours of working and rebuilding the Nash Rebel have paid off. It is a winner and Beymer is having a ball taking it to shows and on Sunday drives.

The vehicle is kept in a secret location in Henryetta and heavily guarded.

Congratulations to Beymer and his hard work in restoring his very rare 1957 Nash Rebel.