Hot Rods Tri five Chevy values

Hey guys , been looking at tri-five chevys recently .

and the prices have me questioning everything .

sooooooooooo, 55 and 57 two doors bring the highest money 56’s are slightly less

but what gets me is a 55 Chevy with a built bbc or sbs perfect paint wheels and interior ( some are restored-ish some are pro street’Ed or restomods but either way very well built and with the latter it’s usually as easy as a wheel change and toss a set of high back buckets out and stuck a bench seat back in it or some low back buckets from the 60’s to make it a bit more hot rod -ish.

anyways a very clean nice example of the above can be anywhere from 35,000-80,000 depending on a bunch of variables .

the one that gets me is the lowley 4 door inline 6er
I see them going for 25-45 k also

is this right ?

seems really high .

am I out of touch ?

a 4 door 6 cylinder 3 on the tree I would think would be 20 k for a minty restored one and down to about 10 or so


Heck I’m seeing junk asking 10-15


Is this right?

 

I got nothing against a 4 door , 4 door hardtop would be cool beans

55 would be my first choice

then a 56 and a 57 would have to be a 2 door or a 4 door hardtop

 

Welcome to the 2020’s.
I can recall when 4 door tri-5’s were donor vehicles. And a tough sell.
Pretty much whatever the market can take.

 

What? No Dodges? Hehe.

 

I could easily be sold on a 55-56 imperial , or pretty much any Chrysler product from that era .

 

" It's ALWAYS a F*N Chevy!" just doesn't have the same 'ring' to it!
I think the pricing is a result of so many NOT car-guys who remember their high school days when the cool guys had tri-five Chevies and they ASSume all '55-'57 s are mega desirable. I've always been a 2 door fan because of the aesthetics, but the longer, heavier doors can take a lot of garage space for guys like me that don't have 1,500 square foot shops. I agree with the thought that 4 door hardtops can be cool, though.

 

Pretty sure the wheel base is the same for 2 or 4 door. A few two door conversions have been on here.

Edit: I think @Squablow has done this before and can confirm/deny it.

 

Scotty Kilmer says prices are dropping. If America does 'drill baby drill' prices can become more favoritable

 

@manyolcars i agree prices are dropping compared to what was going on during Covid and a couple years after .

Even 67-73 Camaros and fast back mustangs have come down a bit ( not much ) but definitely stabilized .

therr was an absolutely mint black on black and white 55 4 door imperial for sale in the winter for just under 30 grand . I wanted it sooo bad . The merc didn’t sell .
There’s a really weird green one with green interior , reminds me of my aunt dining room growing up he’s asking 55k
No thank you . A 2 door in a more desirable colour , I would think yes . But not a green more door .


There’s a 55 for sale locally right now 427 4 speed red , black interior. Interior has buckets and the car is kinda pro-street . But incredible build quality inside, outside , top and bottom . He’s asking 55 . Really , not a bad price . I would change the wheels and be more than happy .


There’s a 56 4 door hardtop about 5 hours away from me for 12k it’s got some rust but not horrible . Maybe ?!??? Sound weird buying a project car for 12k and it’s not a super desirable one at that .

 

Friend of mine just sold a '55 2 door sedan roller for 2K. Every panel needed rust repair.
That being said I think he could have gotten 4K for it.
I passed on it. No title and no serial number tag plus I'm not looking for a project.
He has a '55 4 door and '56 4 door he is selling at $3500 for the pair

 

@partsdawg not horrible with my maple syrup money that would be 5k for both cars , probably 2 grand to get them to me . I’m at 7 and haven’t touched a screw .

and if they need extensive metal work I’ve priced myself out of the market .

a few years ago I went to look at a 57 2 door wagon .
Buddy wanted 15 I offered 8 cash in hand with transport at the ready .
He turned it down , then a few weeks later called me up and asked if I was still interested . I found something else . Same deal it needed pretty much everything . At 15 it was a money pit , at 8 it was just a deep hole . Glad I missed that one .

 

I've had several '55-'57's....great cars.
I follow the market on these, as I wouldn't mind getting another '55 2 door post, or a '55 Nomad.
These days prices seem incredibly high to me, on these cars.

 

Just my opinion (Which reminds me of a quote "Opinions are like ass holes, everyone has one and no one wants to hear yours's!") I think the reason the 4-door cylinder, 3 speed prices are climb is because those are the cars most people had.

My hometown of Grand Gorge NY has population of under 1,000 people and was a dairy farming community as was Delaware County NY.

Grand Gorge had three new car dealerships Pinder's Chevrolet, W.S. Hinkley & Son, and Cronk Bros. Plymouth Dodge.

Pinder's sold more cars than Hinkley or the Cronk brothers, people around here wanted Chevrolets not just Chevrolets but 6-cylinder Chevrolets!

My great grandfather wanted nothing to did with Small Block Chevy! In fact, when he ordered fuel oil trucks even his last one in the early 70s it was 292 powered!

Funny story-

Pinder's here in Grand Gorge and Skinner Chevrolet in Middleburg NY (22 miles to the north) were somewhat revivals.

Back in the era when an oil filter was an option on a 235, Pinder's would order their cars with the filter Skinner would order them without the filter so they could beat Pinder's price by roughly $20.00!

 

I've seen the same thing, some really high asking prices attached to 4 door sedans. Like Budget36 said, 2 door sedan conversions have become popular, I've done some, it's actually pretty easy, much easier than patching up a rusty 4 door. But when the 4 door starting point is $10K+ for a half-assed one, it's not nearly as attractive any more.

I'm honestly not sure what's up with that. I don't know if people are actually paying those big prices for 4 door sedans, or if they're just hoping, but I don't see any cheap ones around anymore. I do feel like pro street/90's bucket seat and painted bumper builds are a hard sell, and survivors bring a premium, even well worn ones. But I'm surprised stuff like that is enough to bridge the gulf between the more popular body styles and the 4 door 6 cylinder sedans.

In any case, I'm really glad I got my '57 when they were still dirt cheap.

 

If you're willing to pay a couple grand for shipping, you can get some really good deals. I'm in WA state and they are really high here, even for rough 4 doors. I've seen killer deals in GA and Iowa online. 10k for really nice starter projects that could be put together and driving in a month or so. If you're looking hard, I'd look at shipping options.

 

Tri-5 Chevys have been a staple of hot rodding since they rolled off the assembly line. They are a big part of American car culture. I’ve been a fan and have owned one for 50+ years. Lots of great memories in hot rods, race cars and junkers. I favor the more hardcore hot rod look, not so much the ones guys turn into a leather couch restomod. Like everything else, prices have gotten crazy. Can’t put a price on a good time.

 

This 1955 is 16,500 in our own money. Former California car, see it on facebook Windsor. PM me if you want me to check it out. I know the brother of the guy selling it. Big block with corvette rearend, lots of work to do, not everyones dream, but maybe yours.

 

I passed on a '55 2-door sedan a year ago for $22k. No show car, but a lot of the boxes were checked off for me. Stock rebuilt 350, 605 power steering box, OD transmission, etc. I saw it for sale at a couple of cruises, then I guess someone grabbed it up.

In May I picked up a very clean '66 Belair for a good price. I have another $2500 into it since, although a 4-door, it turns heads.

 

Too much!

 

I have had many of a tri-five Chevys but never a four door, but everything else (still have one, all apart) and I feel that the 55 and 57 Chevy (esp. the 57) is the answer to the 32 Ford hot rod group. You cannot go wrong, only broke.

 

While I have softened to the idea of a 4-door wagon I still see the 4-door sedans as parts cars or at least in the case of the post cars, something that can be converted into a 2 door if it's nice enough. Something about a hot rodded 4 door tri-5 always reminded me of the kid in high school who put SS stripes and Cragars on his Mom's 4-door Malibu. I agree that asking prices are insane but like they say, askin' ain't gettin'.

 

I've not kept up on the pricing of complete cars but I sure got an eye opener when seeing the crazy money that a seat out of a 55-57 two door is currently going for, not only that they have also gotten extremely hard to find.
Funny how things go hand in hand huh!

 

^^^^^ That’s why I got this unmolested ride with that year only seat. Money way ahead from trying to peace a car back together from a roller.

 

Any interest in a running driving on the road Nomad? Found out about it this afternoon.

 

If you decide to look again, be sure to check the B pillar for decay by opening the back door and test the amount of sag.
The doors posts are vulnerable to that underbody tin rot.
This will be shown by the pull of gravity on the open door.
INTERESTING thread

 

I suppose it’s like the housing market in major metropolitan areas. A house 50 miles outside LA metro gets big bucks when the market is strong, but loses a higher percentage of its value when the market takes a dive. The prices on 2 doors are driving up the the prices on 4 doors, but when the market softens I’ll bet the prices on 4 doors takes a much bigger hit than 2 doors.

 

BTW about my post above,,,
I am aware that you have enough savvy to not miss the rust damage.
More, I want the crowd to hear it

 

Interest, absolutely. Dollars for a Nomad? Ha!

 

Yes, wheelbase is the same, but as he said the doors are longer on a 2-door. Makes a difference getting in and out if you have a narrow garage, you can open the shorter 4-door doors wider.