This car was in the midst of a nut and bolt restoration when the owner passed away. In fact, he met his demise while working on the car!
He began the restoration in 2012. He had been working on it for five years. He was in the final stages. All that was left were the final details such as emblem installation, charging the Air Conditioning, finalizing the wiring and making adjustments.
I purchased the car from his widow in 2017. The car was built new in California, but they lived in Florida. It was shipped to WI. I sold it to my part-time co-worker and he finished it. After driving it and showing it for three summers, he purchased another car. I have always loved this car, and was happy to buy it back.
When it Florida, it was all taken apart. It had never been rusty, so that certainly helped. The body was disassembled and refinished to the two tone blue and silver paint scheme. It is gorgeous!
New body bushings, suspension components and an American Autowire system were installed. All new weatherstripping, handles, emblems, ornaments, trim, bumpers, grill and bezels were installed.
The interior kit was ordered from Ciadella. In my opinion, they manufacture the finest interiors of 50’s and early 60’s Chevrolet cars. Vintage Heat and Air Conditioning was installed. Seat belts were added and the radio is now a Retro Sound System.
The engine is now 350. It was nicely detailed with lots of chrome. A Classic Performance power steering system was installed. The ignition was converted to electronic. An Edelbrock carburetor was added. The cast iron manifolds were retained and a 2.5 inch welded exhaust system installed. The radiator is Aluminum and it is painted black to appear as original. An electric fan was added for parade cruising and while the A/C is running.
The entire braking system was refurbished and the fronts were converted to disc. The Master Cylinder is vacuum boosted and is finished in brilliant chrome.
The transmission is now a 700r4 overdrive automatic. The rear end is a heavy duty ten bolt from a Camaro. It contains 3.23 gears with a positraction limited slip differential. The overdrive doesn’t kick in until you are over 60 mph. This car will cruise comfortably at 80-85 mph.
It now rolls on new polished American Racing Wheels that are wrapped in new radial tires. There is a matching spare, too. Along with the spare is a jack and lug wrench.
This car has only been driven a total of 96,550 miles since new. I would guess it has less than 3000 miles since restored. It is very attractive and shows quite well.
You will find all features work properly with exception of the parking brake. The doors lock with the key and there are multiple sets of keys.
We have receipts for most of the parts utilized in the restoration/modernization of the car. As you know, it would cost much, much more to build the car than our asking price.
The expensive restoration has been completed. Now it is time for the car to be shown, driven and enjoyed.
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