This morning at a tire place right outside of New Orleans I found a 1959 Chevrolet Biscayne on a trailer, Fearing the worse I stopped in to see what was going on...and of course it is going to the crusher sometime next week I was told. I was on my way to a meeting so I couldnt stay long, the guy inside said they would sell it, I will be contacting the place tomorrow to see how ridiculous a price they may be expecting. Overall the body looks to be pretty straight with no heavy corrosion, just minor surface rust, a bunch of pieces where stuffed inside including the hood and bumpers. I will go investigate it in more detail. Anyone interested send me a message, Pictures to follow...
Looks rough, probably not worth paying $500 to rescue it, but would definitely be worth offering the guy $100 or so to pull all the re-saleable parts out of it. I see a bumper with the lower pans in place, those are easy to resell, and I would assume there are other trim pieces in there too, although judging by the total lack of side trim and the cut out tail lights I'm wondering if this one hasn't been parted out already. If it's just a stripped rusty 4 door shell and the pieces inside are all junk then I'd say no big loss.
My father bought one of those new in 59! 283 - 2 barrel with a 2 spd powerglide. We thought we were styling........... I was 16 and got to drive it to Tahoe, (those were the days) My father sat up front with me and my mother in the back seat doing crosswords i think............ That thing was huge.......And I was cool............
I can tell you there is a lot more rust than you think... Take it from a guy who's seen every inch of rustable space a 59 has to offer. Sad to say, that thing is a turd. BUT. If the inner lip of the trunk opening is good, I'd pay 100. for it.
Sometimes, once the parts worth money are gone, it doesn't need saving....I'd look very closely inside that car for the frontend trim pieces, gauge pods, and that sort of thing before I'd even think of giving them scrap price.....
inner headlight tins,bumper.valance panels.hood if it don't have rust over where the bat sets,rear end chunk. just things to look at.but cheeeezees what happened to the tailights??????? 200.00 you could come out ok
I would agree that the dash probably isnt in there cause of the angle the hood is at, I dont know if the trim is in there I didnt have time to crawl up and look inside, my biggest concern was the large holes where the tail lights had been cut out. The biggest plus for the car was that there was no body damage to speak of except for the trunk lid which seemed to be bent. I've always wanted a four door one of these but this one may be too much work, the simple fact that I dont have a spare set of wheels and tires to put on it simply to move it around is a big inconvenience... still it kills me to let it be crushed
"I've always wanted a four door one of these " You're the only guy here really diggin it, so save it. If you end up not wanting to build it, part it out (though it looks somewhat parted out) and sell the rest for scrap. What engine is in it? 283? Ask these guys if they have the tailights and surrounding sheetmetal. If they sawzalled it out to sell, you may be able to weld them back in. " the simple fact that I dont have a spare set of wheels and tires to put on it simply to move it around is a big inconvenience..." Ironically, a tire shop is the seller. Make a deal for a set of rollers! IIRC, the 4 dr roofline is the same as a 2 dr on these(?). It could be the start of a mild custom 2 dr. sedan; no side trim, 60 Merc or tube grille, tunneled hood pods and tunneled tailights, rolled pans, etc. Find a cheap donor vehicle for a sbc 350/350 and you'll be rollin.
I need a hood & could use the inner headlight tins and bumper pans. Wouldn't pass up a good set of fenders either... JH
I've got an extra hood and trunklid I'd get rid of pretty cheap but I'm in Wisconsin. I parted out 2 '59's this past summer, they part out real well but the yellow one in question looks like someone who knows already stripped it, although I'm surprised to see what look like intact front bumper pans still on that bumper, might be a few other saveable pieces on it. You're probably going to have to let the car go but saving whatever parts are good yet would be a good compromise compared to seeing it all crushed.
I parted a 60 El Camino. all rusted to shit, no motor or trans. pretty much the only good body parts were the inside bed parts and the roof. virtually no trim but the trim around the bed and some of the grille. got over $3,000.00 out of it. people who junk these old chevies have shit for brains. tossin 20 dollar bills out the window.
Hey Squablow- I might be interested in your 59 hood and am not too far away in Illinois. What else do you have?
I'd say it's worth more by the pound but if you have a place to save it then do so. I saw a front clip fetch a grand on a farm auction a couple months ago. Today I was at a friend's junkyard and noticed he had 3 59 Elkys in a row under some trees.
Man thts one rough Bel Air. I bet it was under water when Katrina hit. Still could be a few good parts left.
Wiper motor, speed-o gear, visor's, cable control's. I could use good one's. Really this thing need's parted out far more than what has been done so far.