Here's a place to spend your coffee break. Or maybe an entire afternoon! Jims59.com outlines - in tremendous detail - the restoration of a low-mile `59 Impala that had been stored for 35 years. The restoration photos include many shots of the car in various states of assembly; Jim also discusses methodically what type of work needed to be done to each corner and each panel. The car was so nice that he ended up only repainting the blue portion of the car; the white paint was perfect. This section of the website can be used by `59 enthusiast to see exactly what their own `59 might look like underneath the grit and grime. This car is beautiful!
Aside from the restoration, Jims59.com also provides some vintage photos of `59s going back 25+ years. Also a nice feature to the site is his section on Vintage Schwinn Bicycles. Make sure to stop by his site today and check it out!
KDC
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Website Profile: Jims59.com
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
`59 Biscayne Project For Sale on eBay
This Biscayne was auctioned on eBay. It's typical - possibly on the nice end - of what you'll find when looking for a `59 project car. A person can still find a solid low-mile edition of a `59 if they put some work into it. This particular car is described as a long-time family owned car (1964), and still wears its original Code 970 Gothic Gold / Satin Beige two-tone paint. One thing I find interesting about this car is that the "Biscayne" logo is on the front fenders above the spear trim. While I'm not positive, I would conclude that this indicates an early production vehicle since many of the print ads for the Biscaynes show the logos ahead of the doors. This car's VIN would also substantiate that theory, as it's low-numbered. My Biscayne has the logo just ahead of the tail lights instead, and it does not appear to have been moved. I have now seen `59 Biscaynes with logos in both places.
Adding to the desirable nature of this car is that it's from North Dakota. The Dakotas historically are good places to find classic cars, as they have dry climates and were not states that used salt on the roads in the winter time. Granted, this car has some rust, but I've seen `59s in wrecking yards that are so rusty they are falling in on themselves. This car isn't even close to that, and appears by all the pictures in the listing that it's mostly complete and solid.
When it was all said and done, the car got $2150 for a final bid. I would say that is reasonable for a two-door sedan project currently!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Mad Max (1979) - `59 Sedan gets The Axe
Classic movie lovers may already recognize this car. A young couple gets pounced and pounded in the original Mad Max movie while driving their `59 Chevy four-door sedan through The Outback. The car was essentially turned to scrap while the cameras rolled. I own this movie on both laser disc and DVD. It's hard to watch when you love a `59 like I do. Mad Max Movies states that the car "was on the way to ruin" at the time of filming. For years I have accepted that this `59 was a goner no matter what...until I received an email from Ken James, a previous owner of this very car.
As he tells it, this `59 was actually a decent ride:
"Back in 1977, after catching a train from Melbourne to Sydney to visit my parents, I quickly grew to hate trains and intended to buy a car to make the trip back to Melbourne. A very quick look in the newspaper and I found a Chevrolet advertised for sale on that weekend only. I telephoned the owner who informed me that the car was too big for him in the city and he wants to get rid of it. 2 hours later I was standing there looking at a '59 Impala 4-Door. It was the original Grey in colour and appeared to be in immaculate condition. A deal was struck and I purchased the car on the spot for $120.Truly sad. If we put this into context with time, it's no surprise that it was destroyed since `59s weren't as well loved as they are now. Incidentally I created a t-shirt based on a screen capture of this car. It's available through the Chevy59.com Store.
Back in Melbourne I soon realised the enormous cost of fuel to keep this beast running! Even though I really loved the Chev, I decided it was time to get a more economical car and traded it in on a Holden. I was given $250 for the trade-in. It wasn't until a week later when friends told me I could have sold the Chev for at least $1000 as they are rare in Australia. I returned to the car yard to purchase the Chev back again only to be told that a Movie production company had bought it. Because I worked in television at the time it wasn't hard for me to find out who was making a movie with a '59 Chev in it. I contacted the company only to be told the car had been destroyed! It was used in the movie 'Mad Max' and had been painted in a flame job and was chopped up by axe wielding Bikers!!!
And contrary to reports, the car was in very good condition when I traded it in. A sad ending for a beautiful car, but at least it's demise has been immortalised on film for the world to see."
Monday, September 3, 2007
Print Ad - `59 Chevy Bel Air & Canoe
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Print Ad - Gold `59 Impala Sport Coupe
The dedicated artist at work, along with her slackjaw assistant.
Inspiration comes only when your `59 Chevy is driven into a grove of trees that is merely a darker version of the Gothic Gold and Satin Beige two-tone color code #970 spread across your car. The subject of this picture is surely outside of the ad's borders, because it certainly couldn't be sleeping book guy. Or maybe it is, with the artist twisting his realistic figure into surreal Picassan mockery. "Yes honey, your nose is growing out of the side of your face. Well maybe I'm a bit off dear, but it's so hard to tell when Catcher In The Rye is covering your skull."
Gothic Gold as a color is rarely seen these days. I don't know if it's hard to match or if people just don't want the shade anymore. Maybe it's just too darn close to "Sit-Around Brown." I've seen one `59 in this paint code and it was really striking up close. Two tone schemes like code #970 make it even more dramatic. My Paint Chip Data can give you a close view of the color.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Print Ad - `59 Cadillac Sedan Deville
This Cadillac ad from 1959 just oozes style. It's hard to resist a red `59 Caddy, especially when it has fins the height of my chest and is surrounded by slender fifties models in "Gowns by John Carter."
This car easily rivals my attention for the `59 Chevy. It's not surprising, considering the cars were designed and built in the same era. But the Cadillac just carries itself like the big attention getter it was meant to be. It's funny to think that the `59 Cadillac was once thought of as a rolling joke towards its maker, representing a time when America went fast, drove big, and shot high. Harley Earl was in charge of the GM design studios when this car was drawn up (by the way the `59 Chevy was the last car for which he controlled the design). If you look at the `60 Cadillac, you can see that designers began to trim down the garrish nature of the car after Earl retired; look at where the tail lights are and how the front bumper is designed and you'll see what I mean. 1961 models arrived as both beautiful and a design departure extreme enough to get a couple of designers fired (it didn't look "enough like a Cadillac" for the bosses).
How amazing now that a `59 Cadillac commands a premium in the classic car market not matter how many doors or what condition. If I had the money and the space, there would be one in my driveway, but until that unlikely day I have this advert to keep me happy!
`59 Chevy @ Dick's Drive In
Print Ad - `59 Chevy Nomad Wagon
Over the years I've received emails from people saying they have or have seen `59 Nomad wagons; some of the folks don't believe they existed, while others have examples in their possession.
Most people are familiar with the most famous two-door Nomads built between 1955 and 1957, but have no idea what happened to the model after that time.
Well I'm here to tell you they did exist. In 1958 the Nomad was continued as a four-door wagon at the top end of the trim level equal to the newly introduced Impala. The 1959 Chevrolet Nomad was Model 1735 with a six-cylinder and 1835 with a V8. In place of the I-M-P-A-L-A letters on the side there stood N-O-M-A-D instead. It was the most expensive model for the year, with a price of $3009 that was higher than even the Impala convertible ($2967). The Nomad was highly optioned like the Impala in the way that a Cadillac Escalade can be considered a highly optioned GMC Denali.
In this add you will see the Nomad in paint code 905-A Highland Green. Crossed flags on the hood mark a 348 powered car (not surprising for a high-end wagon). It's also sporting the "California one-piece" front bumper and chrome trim behind the spears along the tops of the front fenders. As a higher end model, it would also have more brightwork along the lower half of the dashboard, and as a Nomad it would have more chrome around the door pillars.
The Brookwood in the lower part of the ad - a Biscayne trimmed two-door wagon now heavily sought after by classic car enthusiasts - is shown in two-tone color code 973 (Roman Red and Snowcrest White). The Bel Air level Parkwood is Harbor Blue code 912-A with "dog dish" hub caps. The Kingswood wagon with Impala level trim is shown in two-tone color code 963 (Crown Sapphire and Snowcrest White).
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Print Ad - Thunderbird for `59
So what was the competition doing in 1959? Well the Blue Oval had it in their mind set on a four-seater Thunderbird that was new for 1958. Frankly it's a car that people either love or hate. This particular body style lasted from 1958 through 1960. I love it. If I wasn't an entrenched `59 Chevy fanatic I would probably be saving up for one of these right now.
Ad depicts affectionate skiers with their wonder car. If you look at Thunderbird ads from this era on through the sixties - then into the early seventies - they all seem to have the same flavor. Dramatic skies or building backgrounds, interesting angles, and impossibly adorable people. And when I purchased my `68 Thunderbird I joined their svelte ranks.
Okay, not really. But I would own another one at a moment's notice.
Print Ad - Mrs. Arthur Murray and her `59 Chevy
The Jet Set knew how to dance, and certain knew what car to rent. Here's "Mrs. Arthur Murray" - aka Kathryn - posing in front of her rented small block `59 Chevy for a Hertz ad.
For those who might not be familiar with her husband Arthur Murray, the man practically invented the dance studio franchise. They co-hosted The Arthur Murray Dance Party" on TV through the fifties. They even appeared on "Disco Fever" in the seventies, when Arthur would have been near 80 years old. He died in 1991.
Featured in the ad is the flat top four door "Sports Sedan" in color code 903A - Aspen Green. Simple "V" on the hood denotes the 283 V8!
Friday, August 24, 2007
`59s @ The Office
What can I say? `59 Chevys got into my blood. With the vast proliferation of `57 Chevys, Camaros, Chevelles etc., 
people like me come to appreciate anything `59 related that shows up in the consumer world like die cast toys or models. Even old ads on eBay about `59 Chevys are fun to find. How happy was I to see Ramone the `59 Chevy in the movie Cars? Yeah...real real happy.
Given my love for all things `59, I have a shrine at my office desk with die cast models, plus a couple of Hot Wheels. If you click on the picture you will see:
- Yellow Impala convertible from Road Champs
- Green Ramone from the movie Cars
- Purple Revell Impala special edition lowrider
- Gold Impala from Hot Wheels
- Black/Silver two-tone Impala with 20" rims from Hot Wheels
- Gold Ramone from the movie Cars
Behind the collection you will see the parking lot is guarded by Static Rat, who has been with me now protecting my desk for seven years (60 cents on close-out at the local drug store after Halloween). A restricted-use license plate from Alberta Canada is behind the convertible, alongside my Washington State University water bottle (Go Cougs!). Stashed somewhere I also have a couple of Road Champs `59 El Caminos, one blue in color and other one red with a flamed nose.
Having `59s @ the office is a nice way to remember them through the day!
Saturday, August 18, 2007
`59 Chevy Print Ad - Impala Sport Sedan
"What would you want with more car than this?" I don't know...a garage long enough to fit it would be nice. This print ad depicts the Impala "Sport Sedan," which is better known as "The Flat Top" (and for good reason).
As supplies of `59 2-door hardtops have dried up, people have started to look at the more desirable versions of the 4-door cars, which include this one. Frankly I've seen some pretty righteous customs built from these flat tops; if you lower them even two inches and paint them in a two-tone scheme, they look as long as an aircraft carrier. Guaranteed there's about as much room in one as well. The pillarless design is classic. If you've never driven a hardtop car, it's tough to describe the feeling with all the windows down at 60mph. Think of convertible without the sun beating down on your neck. I've owned several hardtops in my life, and would love to own another. But having even a `59 sedan like I do is almost as much fun without breaking the bank.
Looks like this particular car is painted two-tone Code #962 - Frost Blue body with the darker Harbor Blue on the top and rear decklid. It appears to have the "V" emblem with crossed flags on the hood, which denotes a 348 V8 engine. There is no radio antenna(e) or side view mirror, nor does the car have the optional "spinner" hubcaps. Junior Ahab in the back seat is pining for a boat ride, but Mom's got Capt. Ahab all to herself for awhile. Mom's wearing jeans...was that even legal in 1959? The hat is the same color as Junior Ahab, showing that she cares enough to wear the same color.
The ad makes reference to "New bigger brakes with better cooling for safer stopping." They're not kidding...brakes on the `58 Chevy were junk with not near enough stopping power. `59s changed all that, thankfully.
Click on the picture to see a larger version of this ad!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
`59 Chevy Styling
Recently I was going through a stash of magazines that had been sitting in my parents' attic since the mid-1980s. One of the magazines was an issue of LIFE that outlined "The Ten Most Beautiful Cars" and "The Ten Ugliest." Guess where the `59 Chevy showed up?
In the 1980s they thought `59s were ugly!
The lines of a `59 Chevy share nothing with any other car. Even the `60 Chevy is considerably different to the `59. The body is formed in overhanging fins and curves that give one the feeling of speed, even if the car is parked (an intentional design treatment). In the early 1960s people customized these cars with different body treatments; one doesn't have to go to all that trouble, since the car already looks like a custom.
The population, even today, seems split on the styling issue, although as the years go on I seem to get more thumbs up for mine than blank stares; some folks who grew up watching these things cruise the streets are not nearly as enamored with them as people who have grown up around nondescript import sedans. I sort of fall in the middle; `59 Chevys were still regulars on the road when I was growing up, but back in the day they looked kind of freaky. My first recollection was a `59 El Camino sitting in my neighborhood sitting in the weeds. The styling has grown on me as I have gotten older, and as contemporary automotive styling has become less interesting.
Another article I came across from the 1980s says "1959 - Did Chevy Go Too Far?" Back then I think the population still swayed towards seeing the `59 as an overboard example of the 1950s. It is because `57 Chevys ruled the car shows, and to many it was the only worthy example of Chevrolet from that decade. As the years have gone by the supply of `57s dried up; they've also been customized in so many different ways that it's hard to think of any unique job one could do with the car now. Invariably this is leading classic car buyers to look for alternatives. The `58 and `59 are the next in line. Their suspension design is 'fairly' modern, they can hold a ton of people, and there are as many of them left in the world as their older brethren. Time has come when people realize the `57 Chevy Bel Air is no longer affordable in any form, and that other models and years could very well bring as much enjoyment as "The Hot One."
Last month I opened a custom car magazine to see no fewer than FOUR `59 Chevys. Prior to that I saw TWO in another magazine. It appears that public impression of the `59 Chevy has started swaying towards the positive. So what does that mean overall?
Now they don't think `59s are ugly anymore!
Kurt D. Clark
Originally written January, 2003 / Edited and updated for this blog
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
`59 Bel Air Custom
Monday, August 13, 2007
`59 Cop Car in Leawood, Kansas
"Car 641...come in Car 641. We've got rabble rousers down at the soda fountain, over..."
The license plate under the nasty dent
on the front bumper says "Kansas Centennial 1961" so we can determine that the picture is from the early 1960s. Knowing these bumpers, I'd have to say the "incident" that caused it was no small matter. These things are extremely sturdy and tough to bend. I once uprooted a cement post with the front bumper on my `60 Buick (similar to this car) when I was 15 and learning to drive. It did little or no damage to the Buick.Now take a look at the line down the middle of the bumper; for those in the know this is called the "two-piece" bumper, which denotes a car built somewhere other than California. "One-piece" front bumpers were put on all cars built in Los Angeles; I've never heard the true reason behind it, other than the rumor that it was for purely aesthetic reasons - the one-piece front and rear bumpers look far cleaner than the two-piece front and three-piece rear bumpers that were on all other cars. Given Leawood's proximity to Kansas City, the Chevy plant there probably built this car.
Some of the men are smoking, and although they look like my parents some are lik
ely younger in this photo than I am now. Notice there isn't a single t-shirt wearin' mechanic among them. This was the button-up and slacks generation, accented
by a pack of Lucky Strikes and Thursday night bowling. The big pod thing on the fender was called "The Growler," which we all know now as The Siren. It sounds like a cross between a big bird and an air raid warning from the Cold War. Nothing like the Flip-N-Blip psycho sirens we here now; The Growler was purposeful and simple.This is still one of my favorite pictures involving `59 Chevys. A copy of this picture was also donated to the Johnson County KS Museum for their collection.
`59 Driver's Ed Picture
"Your Chevrolet dealer helps make driving safer."
Came across this great looking ad a while back, when I was buying old magazines at Goodwill (click on the pic to see it larger). It depicts the sparsely appointed Biscayne sedan; from the outside we can't determine if it is the Biscayne Utility (no back seat) or the standard Biscayne. Either way, the driver was not given much in the way of comfort or convenience. This was all car and no frills. Color is Highland Green DDL-42495. Notice the lack of sideview mirrors; it's likely that the car also lacks seatbelts, as at least in Washington State they weren't required until 1964.
How nice it would have been to have a `59 Chevy Driver's Ed car, instead of in my case a wimpy Volkswagen Dasher. And when they wanted to pull out the big power, they rolled the Dodge Aspen out of the garage for our freeway test. Having this car would have been much more fun, and possibly safer given the amount of metal each one took to build.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
`59 Chevy Wagon Commercial
The Practice Classic
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.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Don’t Fear The Four Door
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:
- `62 Chev Impala Hardtop; a former neighbor owned this four door while going to Seattle’s Lincoln High School in the late sixties. As soon as he bought it, he pulled the 283 and dropped in a 350-horse 327 purchased directly from a Chevy dealer. That Corvette motor was backed by a 3-speed manual transmission that he could fix in a matter of minutes (because he had fixed it so many times). He told me that there were only a few cars who could really match him when the car was in its prime. He spent some time drag racing down by Shilshole Bay when the police used to turn the other cheek to street racing. When someone got in a head-on accident with a racer, he and the `62 moved on to the working world.
- `74 AMC 401 Matador - We raced. He won. I cried. My friends laughed. I went looking for a 429.
- Any Police car from the Seventies; There is something ethereal about driving a car that powerful and that heavy duty. The mid-Seventies Chevy Nova was a fairly small car with huge front and rear sway bars, and a Z28 motor under the hood. How cool is that? My personal fave is the `78 440-powered Dodge Coronet. The last big-block pursuit vehicle, this bad boy would clock you all day and then bring the badge home for grits every night. There’s still a few of these Jurassic Justicemobiles around. Most are strapped with ailing cooling systems and weak motors from years of thrashing, but they are still a piece of American History that hold their value better than most four doors. Did you know that Oldsmobile's 4-4-2 was a police package that meant "four door, four barrel, dual exhaust? There’s justice for you!
- My `65 Chev Impala; this four door hardtop is only worthy of discussion because of its incessant undependability. An ex-rental car, it was a beater with only 66,000 miles. As soon as I fixed the lumpy idle, the radiator gave out. As soon as I replaced the radiator, the fuel pump took a dive. As soon as I repaired the fuel pump (and was pulling it out of the driveway), the car dropped a u-joint in the street. As soon as I fixed that, the transmission started making crummy noises. After I replaced that, the "NEW" transmission also started making crummy noises. The radio never worked, the front suspension was shot, the power steering took more effort with than without a belt on the pump, the windshield looked like it had been sandblasted (direct sunlight? Forget it; just pull over and wait for the clouds—or hang a head out the window). The parts replacement didn't end until I replaced the whole car with an even older pickup.
- 1940 Chev Special Deluxe; just try to find an affordable two door `40. Go on; I dare ya.
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
Repairing The `59 Driveline
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.
