Resurrecting my 53 Chevy 210 after years of collecting dust

All good things come to those who wait, right? I've owned my 1953 Chevy 210, baby turd brown, OEM just about everything aside from a pulled 235 motor, for about 6 years, and embarr***ingly have made zero progress on her. In that time I've moved from a suburbia Hell with a tiny garage and now have some property with a nice roomy shop. Before those 6 years this car had been sitting in a barn since 1986. More than half of this poor car's life, sitting, with nobody enjoying it. Time for that to change, time to get busy.
My name is Joel, I live in a small town about 30 miles East of Portland, OR. I go to as many car shows as I can, Rose City Roundup, Billetproof Centrailia, local shows for inspiration. Now it's time to get this piece of history on the road and show her off. Hope to see you out there.
I love the piece of art that this dash is

Original dash by pnw_bomber posted Jun 21, 2021 at 9:07 PM

The day I took ownership and brought her home

Pulling her out of the barn she's been in since 1986 by pnw_bomber posted Jun 21, 2021 at 9:10 PM

Getting settled in her new home

Getting settled into her new home by pnw_bomber posted Jun 21, 2021 at 9:15 PM

 

Great intro and sweet '53. Enjoy........Don.

 

Thanks very much Don. I have lots of plans for my 53 and have already found so much info and inspiration here.

 

.........Keep us in the loop.

 

Hi & welcome. Nice looking ride. What are your plans to get it running and driving? Those 235's are good engines and will do whatever you need unless you plan to race with it as very few tracks still run the old cl***es.
My avitar photo here is the 1957 235 ci engine in my 46 Chevy Coupe. Bored 0.060, street cam by Clifford with Clifford dual intake and shorty tube headers, 2 two bbl Weber carbs, HEI ignition, 12 volts and alternator & a Vintage Air unit. It can drive with the traffic on any Texas Hwy. Good luck with yours. Jimmie

 

As a red blooded 15 year old I used to make sure the ignition switch in my parents '54 210 was unlocked when they left the domicile in their other car. Love how you can start these without a key when the switch is not locked. Welcome to the HAMB, its a good place.

 

Thanks for the welcome! My plans are pretty simple really, at least initially. Focus on the safety stuff like rebuilding the front end (with Fatman dropped spindles/steering arms and some dropped springs), front disc brakes, drop in a small block (mainly due to reliability, I want to drive this, not tinker), TH350 or 400, and an S10 rear end with some lowering blocks. After that get the interior in good enough shape to drive it and then work finishing it up as time allows. It's going to be a traditional custom cruiser, not a race car, so reliability and comfort will end up being key for me, as well as keeping it as original looking (other than being lowered) as possible.

 

I did not know that, but of course this car doesn't have the original ignition in it. But since the aftermarket ignition didn't come with a key and neither did the OE ignition I found in the glovebox, I'll see if I can get a key for the OE and put it back in, as long as there isn't something wrong with it. Thanks for the welcome!