Fiona was parked outside when a pedestrian looked at her shiny turquoise body and had a moment of familiarity. They pointed and said, “Snowfall!”
Elaine Francisco, who was stationed near Fiona, smiled at the recognition and began to have a conversation with them. She thought they were old colleagues, production members who worked alongside Fiona, on the American crime television series on FX—”Snowfall.” Turns out, they were just fans of the show and recognized Fiona working among the stars.
Fiona is a turquoise 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible. During the peak of its production time, owning a Bel Air signified top-of-the-line luxury. Elaine owns one of the most iconic cars in America. It took her 16 years and a defining declaration to find Fiona.
Elaine also holds the pink slips to Sophia, a 1971 yellow and white Thunderbird and Samantha, a 1984 brown Cadillac. She loans them out to film production companies in Hollywood for movies and television shows. Elaine has worked on many different filming sets, including “King Richard,” and the Quentin Tarantino movie, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
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Elaine recalled always being interested in cars, she was able to operate a vehicle by 10 years old. She was surrounded by tires, tools, and transportation. Her father, Felix Francisco, owned a trucking company.
“When a car would go by, I would ask my dad, ’What is that, and what year it is.’ Before we had all of these imports, the streets were mainly filled with American cars from Detroit, I knew every car—make and model. I was just fascinated, I was into them,” Elaine said.
Elaine would later find herself working at a Ford store, selling cars. She would come to own two 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air cars in her lifetime, the first one came through a real estate pipeline.
In the late 1970s, Francisco’s dad was also a real estate investor. He purchased two family units on the same street and acquired a third one—nestled between the two he already owned in North Fontana. Little did he know—for six years, Elaine scoped out that 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air rusting away in the back of the house he just purchased. She urged him to seek ownership of the car as well.
Within days, Elaine received a visit from her dad, with a pink slip to the car— with her name on it and all the necessary DMV paperwork in his hand. He bought the 57’ Chevy with 52,000 miles for $200 and Francisco bought the car from her dad for $300, which included the DMV paperwork. She named her Babs. Francisco spent $25,000 restoring Babs to her former glory as a two-door, hard-top.
Babs stayed with Elaine until her son was old enough to drive. For his 22nd birthday, Elaine’s son got his dream car, a Mustang 5.0. He would park it next to Elaine’s 57’ Chevy in the garage. One night, the Mustang self-combusted, burning down the garage and everything in it. It would be 16 years before Elaine found Fiona at the Pomona Fairgrounds.
Before locking into acquiring her second 57’ Chevy, Elaine recalled seeing Fiona in passing before and she told herself that would be her car.
One morning her cousin, Steven Francisco called her and mentioned the very same car was at the Pomona Fairgrounds.
Francisco said, “I was there in lightning speed and as soon as I walked up and saw it, I knew I was going to buy it. I got on the ground and looked up underneath it, later the guy (seller) said, ‘I have never seen a woman do that, when you walked up to that car and got down on the ground, on your back and looked up underneath it, I knew—you knew what you were doing.’”
Elaine mentioned she has a busy week of filming ahead and she’s been working out her baking schedule. Her baking skills are serious, Elaine was on the hit television series, “The American Baking Competition.” Her favorite thing to make is a peach cobbler and yeast rolls.
Elaine drives Le Bug, a Volkswagen Beetle convertible as her daily car.
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