Old Basin Electric safety inspection vehicle from 1961 found in Ohio

safetycar2800x600.jpg
1961 Plymouth Suburban formerly used as a Basin Electric safety inspection vehicle.

Safety is one of Basin Electric’s top priorities and has been since the beginning in 1961. In 1997, an old Basin Electric safety inspection vehicle was found for sale in a newspaper ad by a family from Shreve, Ohio. They made the trip to where the car was for sale and paid $900 to bring it home.

Karen Sigler and her husband Steve are now the owners of the 1961 Plymouth Suburban wagon that they have since named ‘Carlisle.’ The documentation of the vehicle that is in their possession only goes as far as 1967, but it shows the vehicle being used as a safety inspection vehicle in Bismarck, North Dakota, during that time.

“Once my husband got her in running condition, we used her for going to car shows, cruise-ins, and just fun general driving,” Karen Sigler says.

side of car
The family paid $900 for the car.

The vehicle had an old poly 318 engine that ended up needing to be replaced, causing the car to sit in the garage for a while waiting for a motor implant. The Sigler’s eldest son had a growing family in need of a bigger vehicle. Soon, Carlisle was brought back to life with a 440 engine and was used by the son’s family as their grocery-getter, cruise-machine, and tow vehicle for their camper and car trailer. Karen and Steve’s eldest granddaughter even used the vehicle to drive to her high school prom.

The vehicle still has the original paint and signage from Basin Electric. The seats have been redone, with the rest of the interior to be finished in the future.

“She just had a rewiring job done courtesy of Kandis Rod and Kustom in Ashland, Ohio,” Sigler says. “Carlisle is still running on the 440, and my husband converted the front drum brakes over to disk brakes."

vehicle registration
The documentation that came with the vehicle.

More fixes are needed on the vehicle in the future as the body is starting to get a bit thin around the edges, but the paint will remain the way it is.

“That is who she is, a safety inspection vehicle from Basin Electric,” she says. “We are hoping to someday take Carlisle on a family road trip back to Bismarck, North Dakota, to visit her roots.”

car with hood open
The vehicle still has the original paint and signage from Basin Electric. The seats have been redone, with the rest of the interior to be finished in the future.