Up until a few months ago I've been primarily interested in muscle cars, but my interest in hot rods started to grow. I've always liked the looks of the 55-56-57 Chevy and I've decided to get one. I'm always scouting new areas looking for cars but not until recently have I been paying them much attention when I find a Tri 5. I've only come across 2 decent looking projects so far. A '56 and '55. Both are 4 doors. I prefer the 55 body style and the 55 is a manual floor shift car so that one definitely appeals more to me. My plans are to first go through all the mechanicals and get the car in good running/driving condition. Go through the suspension, brakes and drive line. then get the body straight enough, spray it flat or satin black and hit the road. So what do you guys think? Should I go with a 4 door? or should I hold out for a 2 door? I'm 18 and I do like that the 4 door will be cheaper but in the long run the 2 door will always be worth more if I ever decide to sell it. What would you do if you were in my shoes? Say you could like to spend about 6K up front. Here are the two cars. I don't know if either are for sale. Neither cars are being used or driven and with the economy the way it is people might be more motivated to sell.
"Should I go with a Sedan? or should I hold out for a 2 door? " Yah, hold out for a sedan... 2 door or four door.
Hold out for the 2 door..I KNOW we are not in this for the money...and you NEVER(rarely) get your money back out of a car....but by the time you put ANY money into the four door,you put in more than it is worth..you can find NICE 4 doors for 10,000 check tri-five.com... Sometimes you can stumble upon a 2 door that is reasonable! there are still some out there!!!
I picked mine up for less than 10k. Of course, I'm now looking at pulling the motor out that was recently rebuilt ... I believe it was rebuilt....incorrectly. BTW, that '56 150 sedan looks pretty KooL.
not sure what your price range is (less then $5,000, less then $10,000 or less then $15,000 .. my guess it is the first or second range since you are looking at 4 doors. if you go 4 door go wagon... do your research. you can buy about any part for a 55-57 chevy, its the rust repair that gets expensive unless you know how to do that.. oh and if you are in the under 15k range, buy mine...
Definately hold out for a 2 door. I picked mine up for $2,000 off ebay running and driving(kinda). Freshened up the engine some new fenders, wheels (a lot of elbow gease) I only have about $3,500 in it. You can still find a deal if you look hard enough.
hold out for whatever you want and can afford. Personally I prefer the '56 of the three, not just because I have one. I have a 56 210 post, wish I had a hard top 4 door but this one's been a pretty major family project and holds a lot of nostalgia to me. depends how you're going to use it, too; if you want to drive it often and pile some people in, for sure get a four door(hardtop, no post!). asking a two-door/four-door question can be pretty touchy on here as guys on both sides of the issue will defend their opinion to the grave as being the absolute best. if you just want it for a few years as a side-hobby/toy and want to be done with it, a 2 door will be more valuable. a 4 door will be more useful and TO ME, the 5's and 6's are better with 4, the 7's are better with 2. whatever you go with, there are plenty of tri-five guys on here that have been extremely helpful to me. keep us posted!
2 door any style.a fourdoor is like a house in a bad area,its never worth as much as one in a good area but it costs the same to fix it up
If it's cheap enough, why don't you just buy it and convert it into a 2dr post. It doesn't seem too bad at all. Here's a hamber that's done it: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=179492&highlight=shananigans
you can buy this one for $6000. new 350/350, upgraded to disc brakes, power steering, drop spindles. just needs the front right fender and hood painted
Ask, it never hurts to ask. If either one is under $2000 they're not bad deals. Much over, and as noted here, you don't have to spend a lot more than that to get a nice driver. But do you want a 4-door? They're just as much fun to drive, and less likely to get stolen by a few degrees - but not as cool. You have to look at it as though you were getting married, because selling a 4-door is usually harder than getting a divorce. Personally, if I were going to have a 5-6-7 it would be a '57 4dr hardtop, but I'm weird like that, I like the pillarless 4-doors.
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