Recently I got an email from a younger car lover looking for help. "Just wondering if you'd lend a helping hand and push me in the right direction," is what he wrote.
"I have always loved every bit of detail and beauty in the '59 Chevrolet Impala. I'm not much of a car buff or car maniac, but when it comes to the '59 you could talk to me for days and I wouldn't lose interest. ...After a while I would definitely love (and plan to) buy and restore a '59 Though I've still got plenty of time before this happens...In the meantime I'd like to study up on car restoration and anything else that could help. ...I'd like to ask for any words of wisdom, advice, tips, or resources (besides your site haha). I'm somewhat of a beginner when it comes to cars as I have only done minor checks and replacements (brakes pads, rotors...) so any suggestion will be well accepted."
Well I can't blame him for liking the `59. It's one of a kind. His email led me to believe that maybe some folks should consider buying what I call "The Practice Classic." A car from the 1960s would be a good place to start in your training towards restoring a `59. Some are more forgiving than others - six-cylinder cars and four doors - because they're often not totally trashed even at 40+ years old. Having a driver like that gives people the opportunity to polish up on old-school maintenance skills - tune ups, water pump replacement, front end rebuild etc. - and maybe even a bit of body work. It allows people to cut their teeth on an old car for which the parts are plentiful and simple to replace; this can help you later, as the car projects become more complicated (and they will...believe me). Good candidates for a Practice Classic would be any Slant-Six powered Chrysler product from the Sixties, or even a a 1967 Cadillac Sedan Deville.
Searching for a `59 Chevy currently is fairly easy, although with each passing year it becomes tougher to find good ones that aren't expensive or beat up. Craigslist is a good source, as well as Collector Car Trader. Hemmings Motor News also has comprehensive nationally-based classifieds. One of my Biscayne's suspension parts came from Montana, thanks to Hemmings. If a person doesn't have an affinity to four-doors, a Practice Classic like the `59 Chev four-door sedan is also cost-effective and usually in better shape. Biscaynes and Bel Airs can still be found functional in the mid four-digit range, with non-running projects costing quite a bit less (beware of RUST...it's deadly on `59s and took most of them out by the end of the 1960s. It's a miracle there are any left today). Hardtops? They are getting out of the grasp of regular folks in my opinion, even the four-door hardtop "Sports Sedans" are getting pricey. The project cars are out there, and most need a lot of love. And Convertibles? Yes, they exist for a price or a project; scrap ones now start in the five-digits, and I've seen some so rusty that they're falling in on themselves from rot. Funny development for a car one could barely give away in 1980.
My thought is that a `59 four door is a good "way in" to your dream. A person's relationship with a car like that can become lifelong if it proves to be dependable and fun; or it can function as a "filler `59" until such time that the desired model is found. Either way, it's hard to go wrong with a car that is getting more and more popular on the street as the years go on.
"How many cars do you own, Kurt?"
I hear it a lot, mainly because I've had multiple vehicles for years. Call it a security blanket or an obsession, it is what it is. Last count came up with four automobiles: my `59 Chevy, a `94 Chev 1/2 Ton, one minivan, and an `86 Cadillac. Plus the Harley. And don't forget the bicycles...I have four of those. Running a tally on these wheels made me think not only of the cars I own, but also the ones I HAVE OWNED as well.
That tally is closer to 33 cars since 1978, plus a whole line of motorcycles.
Some never moved. Some moved far too fast. Some cars - well let's just say they should have moved farther away from me. Each one, in its own right, had some measure of character. But character is a pendulum that can teeter as close to the muck as it can to the marshmallow. Here are some of the highlights:
In the days of yore, long preceding the electronically fuel injected pod mobiles that frequent our great nation’s mall parking lots, cars had personality to burn (no wait; "burn" and "cars" shouldn’t be in the same sentence—I stand corrected). One could be assured that each year a manufacturer released a new car it would be either original or more bulbous (sometimes both). Each year was distinguishable from the next, mainly because the Big Three shuffled trim and rounded squares annually.
And because of this great epiphany in automotive style, those concerned with image could pick and choose. If the swingin’ bachelor wanted the chicks to dig his car, man, why he put $99 down on a two-door with a big V8. Family men, unfortunately, were relegated to the side of the showroom displaying the four doors and the wagons. Sure, he still got the big V8; that camping trip was coming up and the Airstream was a-waitin’ Well, you all know where these cars ended up: the two-door ended up wrapped around a phone pole, and the four-door ended up wrapped in a cocoon of a garage—only to be sold 30 years later with 45,000 miles and paint shiny enough to redirect boats in fog.
Four doors have long lived as the "tolerated" alternative to the two door. Their lines, at least in the Sixties and Seventies, tended to be more conservative and mainstream than their twice doored contemporaries. Given that, most Rodders and gearheads have walked away from perfectly good four doors (me included), because the lines weren’t right, or chicks didn’t dig `em. It’s true, there have been a few who have taken four doors to the slack jawed extreme by jacking them way into space with air shocks and making them try to be something they aren’t. On the other end, there have been people who have taken four doors and made them into some of the most beautiful street rods and some of the fastest "sleepers" on the street. I know this from experience, as I have been slaughtered in street races with at least two four doors—a 401-powered AMC Matador, and `61 Falcon (yeah, I know; I had bad reflexes and he had a good first gear).
Here’s some background on a few four doors that are worthy of our discussion:
Number 5 reminds that a huge advantage to choosing a four door as a Classic project is PRICE. Four doors, in many cases, cost half as much as two doors. Case in point--a friend once purchased a `70 Plymouth Satellite four door with 78,000 miles and beautiful Buttercup Yellow paint. The previous owner had maintained it as a stock and factory-correct sedan and it showed. A two door version of this car would go for over $7000 currently; this car was purchased for less than $2000. My friend still gets his fair share of thumbs up when he's cruising around, and gets 18mpg to boot! And think about this: with four door hardtops, the styling and the lines are clean enough to make high school cheerleaders wish their boyfriends had one. Four doors also make great sleepers. Trust me; I know from experience. Big motors fit under the hood of a four door Chevelle just like a two door. With quiet exhaust and generic wheels with black wall tires, this car could rule the roost and still look like it belongs to Aunt Percy.
So, in closing, don’t fear the four door. The result of building one often is the same as a two door; you end up with all that wonderful styling and plenty of room. Also, your car will be much more admirable than current four doors, which look like faceless nameless little beans. Fear beans; fear beans very much.
Kurt Clark
Originally written February 25, 2000 Edited and updated for this blog
The `59 driveline is a two-piece affair (front and rear shafts) and a carrier bearing in between.
The carrier bearing attaches to the inside of the "X-Frame Tunnel" between the trans and the differential. If you crawl underneath you'll see what I mean; the driveline runs through the frame in that spot. The carrier bearing often fails in one place, right where it attaches to the frame. When it fails the driveline flails around like a big floppy fish when you gun it. This is a common problem with all X-Frame Cars (1958 to 1964), and the carrier bearing is common part to order from your local parts store.
To remove the driveline, first back the rear wheels up onto a pair of ramps and set the parking brake. Block the front wheels once the brake is set, and then put the car in Neutral (I'll explain later). Look for two bolt heads on the underside of the X-Frame; these are the two bolts holding the carrier bearing inside the tunnel, and the holes through which they pass are slotted for adjustment. Remove these bolts completely. In addition, four bolts hold the rear universal joint in the differential yolk. Remove them and pry lightly forward on the driveline to unseat the u-joint from the yolk. Once it's free, just pull slowly on the driveline to remove it from the tunnel. 
When it's on the ground, look at the attachment point for the carrier bearing (it's upside down "T" with two bolt holes). Chances are the metal around the base is broken or torn (see picture). It's a weak point that has been addressed by the aftermarket, with the use of a billet aluminum support and replaceable bearing. These are available through periodicals like Lowrider Magazine, and are for specialized applications like hoppers or cars equipped with hydraulics. For most purposes however, a trip to your parts store will get you a carrier bearing with a support made of mild steel; this will likely last for many years and is not an expensive item.
Now the tough part. Because this driveline is an intricate press-fit deal, it's best to simply give the whole assembly -- along with your newfound carrier bearing -- to a machine shop and have them do the installation. While they're at it, have them install 3 new u-joints (also a very common Chevy part); that way your driveline is fresh and ready for battle. When you get it back, reverse the process to put it back into the car. At the front, turn the driveline with your hand to line it up with the back of the transmission and then insert the yolk. Since the transmission is in neutral, you can then spin the driveline to line up with the differential yolk. Fresh bolts on the differential yolk and the carrier bearing are also a good idea, since the ones on the car may be circa 1959.
Before pursuing a hard core exhaust project on the `59 Chevy, it's important to get the big picture and figure out exactly how to accomplish the job. It's not a simple deal using aftermarket stuff. On the contrary, the `58 to `64 Chevrolet requires some finesse in creating an exhaust system that works correctly. It's all about the X-Frame design. Allow me to explain...
One nagging problem I got with Big Daddy was the exhaust; the car had been drag raced for a number years and still had the big-tube racing headers installed. They did a great job breathing, but the shear size and length of the tubes caused multiple problems. Underhood heat was high, undercar clearance minimal, and oil drainplug access was sacrificed. In fact, the drainplug couldn't be removed completely because of a header tube running right in front of the hole!
After working with and around these things for a while, I decided that installing a more factory-type exhaust was the only way I would have a better system. Full size headers wouldn't work well on this car, as it sits 2" lower than stock. The simple act of carrying a passenger has the car scuffing the tarmac all day long. I considered stashing the Big Block in a corner and installing an L-82 350 - that thought lasted all of 10 minutes, because I LOVE Big Block motors and will probably always have one in this car. I considered Block Hugger headers, which have become popular with the Street Rod crowd; these would have been ideal for this application, given their ability to pass pipe in the smallest of places and close to the engine block. They also have an exit point that is closer to the stock small block manifolds that would have been available on the car. But when someone offered me a pair of 454 exhaust manifolds for FREE, I snapped them up and went stock instead.
The manifolds I got were from a `71 454 Caprice. Luckily they were "oval port" just like the heads on my `72 402. The collector was all the way towards the back of the manifold, closer to the firewall than the front of the car. If you've ever seen a "ram horn" off a small block, you'll understand that the collector drops straight down the middle of the manifold below the 2 middle exhaust ports. The 454 manifolds exit at the back of the engine, so the point where the exhaust system would begin is not advantageous.
Why is this a problem? Frame clearance primarily. Things aren't always easy with cars that sit on X-Frames. Rather than having parallel rails (which the exhaust would between), the X-Frame meets in the middle and has space for the driveline to run through. Because of the path of the rail toward that middle point, the exhaust system has to make a very tight 180 degree turn from the inside of the rail to the outside. This is accomplished with exhaust pipe that measures 2 1/4" OD or less. I am told that, if a person tries to bend a bigger OD pipe at this tight angle, the result will be a pinched pipe. Another bottleneck is the rear frame area where, according to a veteran exhaust builder, there is only enough room to run 2" OD pipe past the differential. Bottom line is that these cars were not built to run contemporary Big Block Exhaust!
So for me the resulting exhaust is described as follows:
The sound is deep and mellow. The exhaust is toned well inside the car at freeway speeds, and cannot be heard by someone even two car lengths away with the windows up. I have seen underhood temperatures drop, and my neighbors are happier now when I fire it up in the morning. I initially experienced a drop in gas mileage, but attributed that to the inefficient nature of the factory exhaust manifold design. Turns out my carburetor on the way out and I got the mpg back when I switched to a fresh carb.
Small block cars are much easier to configure, because the stock path can be utilized stem to stern; Miss Ruby, our `59 Impala, had 2" factory exhaust, quiet factory mufflers, and factory routing all the way out the back. The 350 breathed just fine with this system.
Kurt ClarkFinding a `59 Chevy isn't as easy as finding a Camaro or a `57 Bel Air. It is common to come across the two latter cars as often as you try. `59 Chevys are a different story. Since so few survived the 1960s, the search for that finned wonder car takes more effort and patience.
But the search is worth it, because the result is a car in your driveway that is not often seen or considered by enthusiasts. You too can be a only one at a cruise-in or a car show with a `59, and park it next to the dozens of Camaros and `57 Chevys in attendance. The car generates questions from youngsters, and memories from oldsters, even when it's in less-than-pristin shape. When you drive a `59, you become accustomed to phrases like "my grandma drove one of these until she died," or "is that real?"
Once you've decided that a `59 is right for you, start your search on the Internet. Impalas - two & four door models - will be the most common types for sale since their general value made them attractive restoration projects. Other models - the Biscayne Utility, the Biscayne, the Bel Air, and all wagon models - still show up for sale from time to time, but not in the same numbers as Impalas. If you have the funds, I recommend that you buy a finished vehicle in need of little or no repair; it's a great way to start enjoying your Classic `59 right away. Project cars are still out there, and if that's your thing make sure you buy one with all the parts (especially trim); some stuff is just darn hard to find now.
Here's where to look:
When I go to car shows, I see many beautiful `55 to `57 Chevys. Don't get me wrong...I like them nearly as much as the next guy! The lines are clean, the cars are well proportioned, and parts are readily available. But for every fifteen or twenty Chevys I see from "The Hot One" era, I will see ONE `59 Chevy - if I'm lucky.
So where the heck did they all go?
There were over a million of these cars made in 1959, 1.4 million to be more exact; given those numbers, a person should see a lot of them. Even in the seventies I remember seeing them surfing the streets of North Seattle. But unlike the `55 to `57 cars, the`59s didn't survive. A while back a friend of mine picked up TWO `57 Chevys for $600. Try finding TWO `59 Chevys anywhere...well, okay I had two in my driveway at a one time.
But the point is this. Old tin is still out there, as long as it's a `55 to `57 Chevy!
Here's my speculation regarding the `59 survival rate:
