Last weekend near Plainview, TX, an estate auction dispersed the property of an eccentric old bachelor who died without direct heirs. A**** the vehicles in the estate were a '41 Chevy tudor sedan, '57 Chevy fordor sedan, '64 Chevy Impala fordor sedan, and almost a dozen Chevy pickups from the '50s and '60s. I got the sale's "diamond in the rough"...a '54 Chevy five-window Custom Cab pickup already modified with a GM front subframe and rearend and sporting a 283 and Powerglide. My luck held, and I also got the '64 Impala - a two-owner car, shedded, with 80K miles, and not on the road since 1982. Although a four-door sedan, it has a Power Pack 327, Powerglide auto, power brakes, power steering and factory AC. The body is beautifully straight, no rust, and all bright moldings are present and in good condition. The interior is decent; the dash pad has not a crack. I finished out the day by buying another of the pickups, this one a short/wide '64 Custom Cab Chevy. Its engine is some pre-'69 four-barrel SBC, fitted with a pair of vintage finned aluminum valve covers soon to be seen on the engine in my '17 Dodge phaeton rod. I'll post pictures tomorrow if there's any interest.
Damn.. I was just telling someone saturday that "IF" i ever found deals like that i would be broke and when i do have the extra cash i can't find'em. Congrats and look forward to the pics, especially the 54
The '64 Impala and '64 Custom Cab short/wide pickup will go on to new homes after I do as much clean-up and mechanical rejuvenation as possible, but I'm uncertain about the '54 pickup. Given the cost of diesel, I need something other than my Super Duty as a daily driver. I really haven't had a chance to seriously eyeball the quality of the clip installation and won't be able to do so 'til I go get the truck late this afternoon. I do know all the wheels sit squarely in the fender openings, a good sign. If I keep the five-window, I'm likely to do a 700 Club number on it, replacing the two-barrel 283 with a 350 Vortec and dumping the Powerglide for a TH350. I also have several high-speed (2.41, 2.73, 3.08) posi Firebird rear axles, any of which would contribute to economy of operation. BTW, the '54 had an extra pair of curved side windows laying in the seat! Oh, each of the three Chevies came with a clean ***le.
.....................dibs on the 283 when ya pull it [if I'm not homeless by then]. g ....awesome score by the way man.
What did the '57 look like? How much did it go for? Would like to see some pictures (just like everyone else)
The '57 Chevy fordor sedan went for $1,100. The body looked straight and sound, and all the trim was in place and good. It was mechanically complete, with a Power Pack 283 and three-speed manual with overdrive. The interior was complete, although mousy, filthy and affected by exposure due to the missing rear window. Here are pictures of the '64 Impala sedan. I hope to get pictures of the '54 and '64 pickups later this evening, and I'll post 'em as quickly as I can.
Here's the '64 C-10 in black and white, thanks to me inadvertently changing the camera setting while digging it out of the case. I kinda like the look...sure gives a totally honest depiction. The engine iden***y still is yet to be determined. The heads are pre-'69 Power Pack...no accessory attachment holes in the ends and marked by the "church steeple" symbol...and a Carter WCFB sits atop the intake. None of these components could be original to the truck. The inside of the truck looks like a dumpster, but I'm betting there are some tool treasures a**** all the trash.
Here are the initial pictures of the '54 five-window, shot last night by the lights at a convenience store. The front stance is pretty nice, but the dual-bumper setup does nothing for me. Luckily, the original bumper, filler panel and bumper mounts were lying near the truck. There's a strong possibility that this may be a very early example of clipping an old truck with upgraded suspension. The front brakes are drum with the silencer spring wrapped around the drum, while the rear axle looks to be '57-'64 GM. The ge****t comes out the front of the housing, which has a drainplug at bottom, and there's a Panhard bar bracket at upper center rear of the housing. The 283 certainly is early - mushroom air cleaner atop a two-barrel and a generator. Ac***ulated gunk prevented me from determining if the Powerglide is cast iron or aluminum. If you look at the tires, you can see why this truck was a ***** to load. The dirt lines are still neatly aligned on the tires because none of the wheels turn, not especially surprising since the last registration appears to be 1972. Both my 8,000-lb. winch and a forklift were necessary to get the rig on the trailer. As a final note, someone inserted a scallop into the right rear fender to enable the truck to mount and display dual sidemount spares.
Can anyone tell me when GM discontinued silencer springs around the brake drums? The rear axle looks like a '57 Chevy...leaf springs and a drain plug...but I'm thrown off by the bracket at upper rear center of the housing. Anyone recognize it?
According to this guy if you paid less than 20 grand for the 54, then your gonna make some dough...check this out...guy is crazier then bat ****.. http://www.cars-on-line.com/36212.html Dig your finds... can't wait til i can get in the new house, get it remodeled and find me an old beater to start over with.
Jeeze, what a *****...a ton-and-a-half missing the original engine and trans. He's at least $18,000 too high. Sometimes when I ask the price of a vehicle I wish I hadn't shaken the hand of the owner, because it must still have been nasty from jerkin' an astronomically unrealistic, stupid price outta his ***. I check the Manheim Gold Book, Collector Car & Truck Market and NADA Cl***ic Car first, followed by a review of recently completed eBay listings for similar vehicles, then search the appropriate forums to see what others are asking for the type, and, lastly, ask myself what I'd pay if I wanted or needed that vehicle. Then I jerk a fairly informed price outta my ***.
I'm gonna work this weekend at gettin' those wheels turnin'. While the truck is in the air, I may be able to identify the front suspension and rear axle, as well as obtain the casting number off the engine block, see if I can turn the crank, and determine the Powerglide's case metal, iron or aluminum. I'll take pictures aplenty of the underside to do***ent the method and quality of the subframe job. I also should be able to fully identify the engine in the '64 short/wide pickup while I'm ******in' those ribbed aluminum valve covers for my rod's engine. That truck will go up for sale shortly after I develop that information. I should know by Sunday how well the '64 Impala runs. I'm gonna bust it off on propane since the trunk-mounted tank is still 2/3 full of LPG that probably cost about 30 cents per gallon back in 1982, when the car was parked after the owner suffered a stroke.
That truck has a lot of custom stuff going on. I wonder who built it and for what purpose. I kinda like it the way it is.
I finished a pretty thorough review of the ’54 five-window yesterday and made several discoveries – none of them unpleasant. The 283 engine I now believe, by process of elimination, to be a ’58 model. It has staggered valve cover bolts, found from ’55 until early ’59. The engine code is “D”, which, according to my reference, first appeared in ’58, then again in ’60-’64. Unfortunately, I can’t verify my supposition by casting number and date code, because I can’t see one for the throttle rod nor the other for the crankcase vent tube. I made no attempt to turn the engine, but a check of the dipstick showed the level of surprisingly clean-appearing oil to be a half-quart below full. The Powerglide is an iron version, which would be correct for a ’58 Chevy, and I think the steering wheel is from a ’58 but someone else will have to verify that for me. Rust problems are minimal, consisting of pimpling on the left rear cab corner, a small perforation of the left side of the cowl at bottom between door and fender, two spots of body filler on the right rear cab corner, slight erosion and a crack in the left toepan, and a crack in the left bed side between front wall and fender. Now for some really neat finds. The windows are impregnated with factory E-Z-Eye tinting The driver’s sun visor was missing, but I found it under the bottom seat cushion The factory radio delete plate was underneath the deteriorated carpet I ripped off the floor I tore off the turd-mucklety-dun vinyl seat covers and found the original upholstery, patterned fabric with vinyl bolsters, underneath. The rear wheel wells have been mini-mini-tubbed, extended about two inches into the bed. The tailgate, although almost paintless, is beautifully straight and solid I’m still not certain of the iden***y of the frame clip used on the front of the truck. The frame rails are boxed, and the steering box is forward of the engine crossmember. The drum brakes have silencer springs wrapped around the drums. The splice job is well-done. The rails of the transplant were fitted inside the frame rails of the truck and competently welded. The Powerglide crossmember also is welded in, as well as a side-to-side brace made of round tubing and placed about four inches back of the transmission crossmember. The rear axle also remains unidentified, but I’m wondering if it might have come from the same vehicle donating the engine. It’s definitely a ’58-’64 rear axle with spring pads welded to the underside of the axle tubes. The Panhard bar bracket attached to rear upper center of the rear of the housing probably would a good clue for someone more versed than I in Chevy axles.
...a final note on the '54 Chevy truck. I consulted with a local guy who is an expert in '50s Chevies, and he verified my ***umption that the 283 is from a '58. I finally got up under the truck and wirebrushed all the gunk off the rear ge****t casting number and date code, enabling me to identify it also as a '58 model produced in October, 1957. What would you bet that the front frame clip also came off a '58? Manufactured in '54, modified in the '60s with '58 components, then parked in '72....I believe the truck clearly qualifies as a traditional rod.
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