Man Hopes Public Can Help Him Find Stolen 1955 Chevy Worth $90K

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) —  Dr. Phil's 1957 black Bel Air -- worth $100,000 -- was stolen last August from a Burbank auto repair shop.

Dr. Phil's car -- along with nearly 20 other classics stolen from repair shops across the county -- was recovered this past December.

Another classic car owner is now hoping LAPD can get his car back into his hands.

Bill McChesney wrote CBS2 and KCAL9 hoping to get the word out about his beloved 1955 Chevy convertible. He said the convertible was stolen from North Hollywood Auto Upholstery on the evening of January 23 or in the early morning hours of January 24th.

McChesney says the car is valued at $90,000.  "That car meant a lot to me," he told CBS2 and KCAL9's Rachel Kim.

The car's owner loved the vehicle beyond esthetic reasons -- but those helped. "It was very pretty. It had a burgundy maroon paint job with silver and all burgundy leather interior."

McChesney has a collection of cars but the stolen one is his favorite. He told Kim he sold two other cars to buy this one at auction this past November.

The victim feels violated. "It's like someone kidnapped one of your children."

Kim spoke to other classic car owners who empathize with McChesney. Gary Hendrickson said: "It's unexpected. You take your car to a mechanic and you don't expect it to happen there."

Richard Macholl, another classic car owner said, "Whenever a car is stolen, they put up fliers to see if we can find it."

Thieves steal the cars and try to reassemble them so they can't be identified.

McChesney just wants his car back. "They don't care about anything but money. If they only care about money, I'm willing to offer a $10,000 reward, no questions asked."