Tax protester Kahl’s old car up for sale in Minnesota

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Submitted photo This 1951 Chevrolet two-door sedan used to belong to Gordon Kahl, the infamous tax protestor involved in a 1983 shootout in Medina, N.D.

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For Sale: Low-mileage car with a high level of history.

Clearview Automobiles in Edina, Minn. has for sale a 1951 Chevrolet two-door sedan. What makes this car interesting is that is was owned from 1957 to 1983 by Gordon Kahl.

Kahl was involved in a shootout at Medina on Feb. 13, 1983, that took the lives of U.S. Marshal Kenneth Muir and Deputy U.S. Marshal Bob Cheshire. Kahl had a history of tax protest activities including a 1976 conviction for failure to file federal income tax. The marshals, along with local law enforcement officers, set up a road block seeking to arrest Kahl for parole violations from the tax evasion conviction.

Kahl fled the scene, not in the ’51 Chevy, but in a police car stolen at the scene. He was killed in a shootout in Arkansas on June 3, 1983. Also killed in that exchange of gunfire was Lawrence County Sheriff Gene Mathews.

While the 1951 Chevrolet played no part in any of the events of that year, the car was confiscated as evidence and held by the federal government until 2006. At that time the car was auctioned to just its third owner. That individual later sold it to Clearview Automobiles, which is looking to sell it to what will be just the fourth owner in this car’s 59 years of existence.

“The odometer says 19,300 miles,” said Conan Stanton, owner of Clearview Automobiles. “That is certainly a low mileage for a car this old but it’s been looked at and doesn’t appear to be tampered with.”

Stanton said the car runs well and is original, except for a few items damaged in storage that have been repaired or replaced.

“The engine runs good,” he said. “The car cruises along at 65 or 70 miles per hour as nice as any modern car. We’re going through it and checking the wiring where mice have chewed through and we’ve replaced the headliner and carpets for the same reason.”

While the car has a tie to an historic name from North Dakota, Stanton doesn’t plan on marketing the car with any sort of premium price.

“Actually our price is below what cars like this bring normally,” he said. “We’re priced at $15,000 and cars like this often sell in the mid $20,000 range without any historic ties.”

Still, Stanton finds the historic aspect of this car interesting.

“I’m old enough to remember the Posse Comitatus,” he said, referring to the organization Kahl was a part of. “When we saw the name we went to some of my relatives that are history buffs and looked it up in the books and we’re able to confirm the story of the car.”

Stanton said the car’s purchaser will receive copies of the titles of all three previous owners as well as vehicle registrations.

Sun reporter Keith Norman can be reached at (701) 952-8452 or by e-mail at knorman@jamestownsun.com

Tags: local news, news, kahl, car