The 1960s cult classic TV series The Green Hornet may be responsible for the success of Bruce Lee’s career stateside, but the show also spawned a passionate following of a different kind: fans of the masked vigilante’s Black Beauty, a weapons-enhanced 1966 Chrysler Imperial.
Darren Monteverde first spotted the famed vehicle in 1992, when he caught a re-run of the show.
“Bruce Lee is one of my heroes,” Monteverde says. “I’ve basically wanted the car ever since.”
So, he started the search for a 1966 Chrysler Imperial and in January of 2003, he found the perfect vehicle, which had been sitting idle in the previous owner’s backyard for 15 years. Monteverde, an auto service industry consultant, bought it for $6,000.
Putting it mildly, the car wasn’t in top condition. With the help of a friend, who happened to be a mechanic with experience in building “star cars,” Monteverde began with a hefty mechanical and structural restoration. But after two years, Monteverde still wasn’t satisfied with the accuracy of the vehicle.
To help, he brought in Larry Bushwalter, owner of Extra Care Auto in San Bruno, Calif., and a former production studio union member who had recently finished another Black Beauty for the Bruce Lee Museum in Hong Kong. Monteverde serves as a consultant for Bushwalter’s shop.