I had all but quit reading the HAMB due to all the barn find treads making me depressed I couldn't find a car for myself. Well thanks to craigslist I finally found a 50's 2 door car that was complete and not rotted away to nothing. Just a blurb saying "54 Chevy, damage to RR fender and an email address". I didn't have any spare cash but I did have a 78 Chevy C20 I took as a trade for another project. Turns out Willy, was interested in getting rid of the car because his wife was tired of having to many non running vehicles. I told him I would haul my truck up the next day and if he liked it we would make a deal. I threw the truck on the trailer and drove the 2 hours north to St. Louis. Braved the traffic and parked in front of Willy's house in a not so good part of the City. He walked out and asked if i wanted to see the car, I did He said he parked it in 2001 due to a radiator leak.. I wanted it. He only asked 2 questions of the Chevy Truck I had, Did it run? "yes" did it have a ***le "yes" he didn't look under the hood or open the door but just said unload it. Which I did. I then backed my crewcab long bed F250 and trailer down Willy's narrow and steeply sloped driveway. Had about 2 inches on either side of the Tail lights. We winched and pulled the old 54 with near flat dryrotted tires up on the trailer, Shook hands and that was it. I had a dream of mine fulfilled. Been playing with it all this week. New coil, points, condenser, carb rebuild and an oil change later it runs. Trans shifts as it should. The radiator leak as far as i can tell is a bad cap (holds pressure fine). If napa had the Master Cyl kit like thay said they did I would of been driving it today. The only real issue the car has is the crunched rear fender. I'll get to that once it warms back up in spring. Pics of the car and the truck I traded for it. I'm stoked!
Running and driving original for right now, probably add or fabricate some speed goodies to the original 235, do the bodywork next spring, and try to resist the urge to put a big block in it.
Sweet just dont forget to hose out the back seat, I bet ol Willie has had a few good years of spreading his man juice in the back seat. he seems like the ***y type.
Since I only worked a half day today and it's a pretty day I broke out the buffer and went to town on the paint that is left. I also put some newer S10 wheels on it. I like them better than the Olds wheels but I'm still keeping an eye out for something a little more traditional. Been detailing the engine a bit too. Edit: been driving it daily to work for the last week too!
Its pretty solid, a few small holes in the front floorboards and the rust from the crunched rear fender are about it. the rest is surface rust where the lacquer paint job is peeling away.
Wow, great trade even with the wrinkled quarter. Looks like a good ol car, just locate a quarter or fix the one thats on it if it's salvagable. That truck looked like it's worth it's weight in s****
all right, what do you need, stock style with spiders and narrow white bias ply or 5 spokes with blackwall bias ply tires? i can help with either...
Nice trade! It looks like an old moonshine runner with those black wheels and I mean that in a good way.
I have a couple of rear quarters located thanks to the Hamb.. The original is to far gone for my body skills I think. I've been focused on getting the drivetrain back up to 100%. I'm currently at about 98%. I'll worry about body work in the spring or when I have money.... whichever comes first. The old truck was worth its weight in bondo...
You did good!! It has to be a blast of a daily driver! Good luck with the project, it is on the road to a cool ride. If you can get your exhaust manifold split and put on some dual straight pipes (or mufflers if need be) you will enhance your drive with the sweet sound of that blueflame that is so cool!!~Sololobo`
nice trade,,I cant believe I didnt see that one on CL,,,missed another deal,,,my wife thanks you,,,lol
I've done some dealings with a guy named Willie in St louis. What did he look like? I got a 65 Bonneville conv from him. It was just north of the arch in a war zone part of the city guarded by a huge rotweiler. Willie had a thing for Oldsmobiles and he was very pleasant guy to deal with. Nice score on the Chevy, you came out good on that deal. Don't think there aren't any treasures in your neck of the woods, there are. I've found a few and brought them back to southeast Missouri.
I'm on the search for a corvette split manifold that doesn't break the bank. Swap meet season is just beginning. It was on the St. Louis CL.. "54 Chevy- $1500" I just called the number and asked if he would be interested in any trades... I guess he was. Not sure if it was the same Willy but he was a nice guy. I'm enjoying the Black on black on black look.
The Jalopy Journal
