About a month ago, while browsing Marketplace and not believing the prices for some of this garbage, I had the same thought I always have: Why is everything so danged EXPENSIVE?! Oh… I’m cheap. That’s why. So many cars I’d like to have but couldn’t justify spending the money on, and projects I could afford but really didn’t need or have time for. Then I came across this gem, just listed as a 1957 Chevy 210 a few highway miles from my house (maybe 10-15). The few pictures showed a dimly lit warehouse where it was tucked away, at least two flat tires, a small block, and maybe a Hurst Super Shifter? The 4-speed caught my attention. “Eh, a little too much money, and I’m too busy,” so I moved on. But I kept coming back every few days to look at it again. “Still listed. I should go look at this.” Most cars around here in my price range are either total basket cases or sort-of-running rot boxes. This appeared to possibly be neither. It also wasn’t a $40K-$50K blinged-up older resto with a Lokar shifter and ugly wheels. Then the ad disappeared, as actual good deals usually do. A few days later, it showed up again. This time with a lower price, air in all 4 tires, and a short video of it running. It sounded serious and mean. I decided to reach out. Just to go “look.” The last time I seriously “looked” at a running project was about two years ago. A 1958 Corvette. I met the gentleman selling it and asked how much. “$45,000! FIRM!”………….His answer. It was complete, but totally wasted. It ran-ish, but had been poorly kept in a barn within walking distance from my house. Completely infested with mice, covered in chicken poop, and had been hit and hack-repaired at some point in its past. I figured it needed at least $30K in parts, and there was no way I would, or could buy it. I wanted it just the same. That’s kind of how this stuff goes for me. I mostly buy garbage, put way too much money into it, and then move it on for a loss, if I sell it at all. But I bought it cheap. Back to the topic at hand. Living in a salt state, I know where to look for hidden rot. I figured this ’57 would be a mess in person, but I had to know. So I set the appointment. I met Junior. Nice guy. Not the owner, but he worked for him and had listed the car. He was on time and seemed impressed that I was too. Then there she sat. I was in love. I had that feeling come over me that every car guy knows well. (Kind of like when I first met my wife 26 years ago.) She was going to be mine. I got to work on the ***essment. The bad: rusty outer rockers, soft inner rockers, a fist-sized hole in the p***enger floor pan, and homemade, super-sketchy wiring. The good: all the gl*** it had was really nice. A ****y sounding motor. It was LOUD but had no bad bang-bang sounds, it had an actual Muncie 4-speed, front disc brakes, and no rust or body filler anywhere else. Most of the missing trim came with the car, a mix of Bel-Air and 210, but after almost 70 years, that’s not unusual. This car was super solid and must have been taken off the rust-belt roads early in its life. We made a deal, arranged a pickup date for the following Monday, and I decided I was driving it home. The car reeked of varnished gas, only had one fully functioning brake, rear wheel cylinders leaking like a sieve, and both axle bearings oozing oil. But dammit, I was driving this thing out. No tow hooks for me. Junior was great. He helped prep the car, and I Vise-Gripped the seat track in place,.. it moved… a lot. Then I wired in a starter ****on.
Lemme get this straight, you see a vehicle on Marketplace that tickles your fancy, waaaaay outside your price point but you go ahead and look at it anyway, you’re smitten, you get it road worthy and then???
1st drive out. For some reason it will not let me embed this video. https://youtube.com/shorts/gB59Ju0zJIE
Well.... yeah. The corvette was way outside my $$. This 57 was pretty reasonable. Still way more than I usually pay, but I usually buy ****.
The journey starts. One brake, a sketchy seat, and a grabby clutch was a fun way to get to know this old girl. I stopped for gas at 5:35 PM. The fuel cell only had the two gallons I brought with me, and the highway was shut down. A serious accident from all the fire trucks and apparatus lights, so back roads and through town traffic it is. My wife, Wendy, was in the chase car and it was close to dinner time, so we stopped at a local diner, Bunny’s Hasty Tasty, to let traffic ease up a bit.
youtube works in strange and mysterious ways. If you hold your phone vertically, like a phone, then it records a "short", and you can't embed it here. But if you turn your phone sideways, and take a video like a real TV set could show, then it takes a "video" and lets you embed it.
Awesome that you drove it home! What a great find! What kind of 4 speed is it and what kind of rear axle? Impala seats?
Sounds great! Newest parts on the engine look late 70's/eighties? Would be fun to know what cam, etc is in it. What are your plans for it? It's a great start to a 70's Street Machine build-start looking for an 8 track, set of Cragars... Jeez, $4.25 for breakfast! That would be $20 here. A lousy coffee at IHop is $4.00.
Excellent! Hard to find good ones up here in your (our) neck of the woods. But you found a good one. Yay for you.
Woah! I made it onto the Featured Threads list. Thanks for all the interest, fellas! So… can a guy make it all the way home after dinner? Say, 10 miles? Yes, but not without shenanigans. I was going to record another video, (probably unembeddable. Thanks for the formatting tips, Jim!) The highway was clear now, and the drive was uneventful. Engine temp was barely 160, oil pressure was a steady 50 psi, all was good. Getting off the highway I was ready to start recording just as I went through my favorite aviation overp*** tunnel and capture all the amazing reverb sounds. I had just rolled into the throttle, hard, for the first time and was rewarded with an immediate response of fury and acceleration. (Note: You may recall an earlier comment about holding the seat track in place with some locking pliers.) Yep, my Vise-Grip came loose. Man, those early ’60s GM buckets had some track range. Somehow, my seat moved approximately three feet rearward, and I would later discover the steering wheel attachment nut was secured with at least 1 1/2 threads worth of engagement, which kept the wheel from completely leaving the chat. My phone, however, didn’t fare as well. I never had a chance to hit record. Violent acceleration = my phone sliding out of the stand, down the dash, and into the gaping maw of the transmission tunnel shifter p***-through. . A hole that appeared to be skillfully cut using a flathead screwdriver as a cold chisel. I have some experience with this level of craftsmanship.
I did make it the rest of the way home. Great core workout BTW, as the seat had turned into one of those balance balls. This was when I realized the car and I were going to be friends. Somehow, and I still cannot fathom how, my phone was resting on top of the frame mount for the transmission bell housing. Kinda trapped between that and the old e-brake cable. Well forward of the hole it fell through? I would’ve taken a picture of this, but my phone had been recently lost in an unfortunate incident. Ok, enough gabbing. Let’s get this thing up on the lift and see what we bought.
The Jalopy Journal
