Didja ever sell a very cool project car and years later wonder what might have happened to it? Well, about three years ago I found this ‘55 Chevy 210 2-door wagon for sale in Tucson here on the HAMB. Struck a deal with the seller and hauled it home to northern Arizona. Fast forward, I stripped it down, rotisserie sandblasted it, Replaced the rusted out floor wells, POR and undercoated where applicable and started building it. I wish I could show that seller the progress I’ve made. If you’re out there and see this contact me!
That's a cool looking wagon. Your progress looks great. What are your plans for the exterior finish? Going to leave those Rally wheels on there?
Thank you for the compliment. For now, I’m leaving the exterior just as it was found - in the Arizona desert. Yes, rally wheels are on there intentionally! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
You mentioned that you rotisserie sand blasted it. Did you just do the underside, interior, and engine compartment? Any photos of before and after the sandblasting? Any photos of the floorboard repairs?
Funny you should mention that. I had two plus years of build images -until yesterday- when my MacBook Air died a hard death. Helpful tip: don’t neglect backing up your images and documents for eight years. Yes, I threatened the sandblaster with bodily harm if he strayed from the interior and exterior floors and firewall. I also had him blast the liftgate and inner fender wells. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
"I wish I could show that seller the progress I’ve made." Kind of like taking your wife over to her ex's house and showing him the progress you've made.
I know the OPs feeling. I sold a TF Chevy PU to a younger couple several years ago that seemed to have a solid plan for it and promised me pics, etc. lost touch. I’ve always wondered what it looks like now On the flip side, many years ago the guy I bought my ‘32 Dodge PU from contacted me and wanted to see how it looked. I sent pics, he wasn’t happy I had it blown apart. I mean really blown apart. Anything in the cab that was spot welded or bolted together was taken apart Oh well
Every photo I take with my phone goes to Google Photos immediately. I seldom use my Canon Power Shot anymore, since cell phone cameras have gotten so advanced.
Well, except your wife’s ex was likely very glad to be rid of her and probably hopes he’ll never see her again!
55, Model 210, Handyman Wagon, that is an original V-8 car by the emblems at the rear! I've never seen a stock gas frill door converted to a locking gas fill door; did you do that modification or was it that way when you bought it? And finally, who swapped to a 57 frame? What color is it going to be? I've always wanted a 56, Model 150, Handyman Wagon; I've had TEN 56 Chevrolet's and several 55's and 57's, but that Model Wagon has never happened, yet. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
OK, uhm, it's an original V-8 car, built in Tarrytown, NY. The V-8 emblems are re-pops 'cause the holes were there and I had to do SOMETHING with them. There was a hole in my gas cap door so I enlarged it slightly and put the lock cylinder in. It doesn't do anything except fill the hole. I bought a '57 chassis from a friend that had put an Art Morrison chassis under his Nomad. It had all the work already done to it; disk brakes all around, power steering, dual exhaust. Pocketed frame with the springs moved inboard, suspension and steering all new and Viking shocks all around. I'm 61 and this is my first (probably last) frame off, rotisserie resto. I've got a brand new complete interior from Ciadella's in Tempe, AZ, green on green, going in next month. Green. LOTS of green. The exterior color you see is what I'm going to run. Patina doesn't lie. No bondo, no amateur body work, no crashes, just OEM sheet metal with whatever bumps and warts it has. Thanks for your post Butch, and enthusiasm. I've had a blast building this car. Its about 1 solid week of work from driving it. American Autowire harness, brand new 350/700r4, S-10 rear. Can't wait to drive it. My wife calls it the Dog Car. H.
Everything looks pretty good except for the Route 66 sign in the background. I know, I am like you but get up real close to that sign and like me again, get your reading glasses out and read the fine print at the bottom of the sign. Mine came from MO.
@M1Lover Is this the for sale add for when you bought the car? It looks like your car and it is in Arizona. If so 1947ford was the seller. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1955-chevrolet-210-2-dr-wagon.1102301/
^^^Sure looks like it. Neat car. I can appreciate the direction chosen but man...I'd have to get paint on it!
Cool patina.. Don't ever paint it.. I love this look.. Only nature can make it that cool looking(to me)......
WAY cool car! LOVE the patina! I have a '64 with similar patina on it, and whenever anyone asks what I plan to do to it, I just reply that that's as good as it will ever get. They are never sure how to react. Over the years I have kept a file on every car I have bought or sold, just for the reason you mention. Nice to have the history, too. Keep up the great job!
Great sleuthing there ffr1222k! That’s the car alright. Thank you! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Old pal of mine told me about using boiled linseed oil to treat the patina. This car sucked it up like old leather and the deep maroon just popped! I didn’t mean to start a patina/paint debate but I have no plans to paint the car. None. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Lol, we drove the entire Route, Chicago to LA in our ‘63 Buick LeSabre sport coupe, April 2014. Bought the sign at the Route 66 Museum in Victorville, CA. We loved every stretch of Route 66 including California. Photo taken by the late Gary Turner, the now-deceased owner of the Gay Parita Station. What an epic trip! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I have a friend that owns a "survivor" Model A, and she uses boiled linseed oil to get this look. I don't know if the car has original paint on it, but it is certainly an much much older paint job. It dries out after a while but a quick wipe down with boiled linseed oil and it is looking spiffy again.
I must have the real item, I have a warning at the bottom of my sign, and that is all I am going to say.
Hello, Nice 1955 Chevy wagon. The rally wheels are a nice touch, although a lot of people do not like them. It is unfortunate that your Mac Air flopped. But, there are a ton of programs that will recover your lost images and files if you have the original hard drive. It is not a guarantee, but a try is better than just throwing it away. We know about stock vs rally wheels vs American 5 spoke mags on our cars… Before these programs came out, the usual recovery programs were based on check points the user saved as a backup for the computer. Some went back to the manufacturer, while others went to private servers. Now, with the "cloud" services provided by every person/company in computing, there is a big choice. Sometimes, very handy and other times not so… The best place to store your files is a portable external hard drive that is large enough to keep your valuable stuff, including photos. Updating the files can be automatic and because they are small in size, can be taken outside in an emergency evacuation. The back up automatically or manually every two weeks is a safety valve. We have two 4tb portable hard drives separate from the main computers. My wife and I know that all we need to take out of our house is our Granddaughter when she stays with us. Then, our dog, the both of us and our cars in that order. While leaving, the procedure is to grab the external hard drives in a drawer next to the car keys and the separate evacuation only bag. Everything else is replaceable. So, if you still have the physical Mac Book Air sitting around, do some research on these recovery computer programs and one may surprise you. Years ago, I had some files and emails that I forgot to save just to the ordinary computer hard disk. So, I accidently deleted them and later, I searched every nook and cranny and other external hard drives that I had. I borrowed a file recovery program and it took a while, but it got the missing emails and recovered the files that got trashed by mistake. So, there is light at the end of the tunnel for your missing files. The modern recovery computer file programs are a lot better, stick to the big name companies if you feel better about them. Jnaki On the other hand, I lost a complete internal hard drive, due to bad incoming files in the early stages of computing. Those written files, photos, mp3 files could never be recovered as the recovery programs were not around back then. So, chalk it up to user error and trust in those that contacted you without taking precautions in their computing areas. Even my son, the computer expert could not come close to recovering that old hard drive in those early days. Eventually, the shiny discs were miniature frisbees and we had fun skimming them. Yes, a personal back up program is necessary to preserve your files. Once gone and not recovered, they are history. YRMV
Thanks for the input. I paid a local computer wizard and he recovered the pics and documents from the drive. He also told me that Macs last about 10 years. Then they die a hard death. So replace your laptop BEFORE it dies.
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