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.

Finding Your Own `59 Chevy in a `57 Chevy World

Finding 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:

1. The single largest source of information that can be used is Collector Car Trader Online. This website has a international focus, and its searches can be broken down even to into specific area codes or price ranges. Various links within the pages can also provide automotive shipping services etc. With the entry of the proper criteria, one can have access to all the `59s listed with Trader Online throughout the world.
2. Craigslist has emerged as an "up and comer" in finding `59 Chevys. The site interface is simple - sometime #1 seems to lack - and that makes for easy daily searches. Most times the cars that show up in ads here are projects, but there are usually pictures of the cars which helps to determine if they're even worth looking at.
3. Hemmings Motor News online classifieds have also arisen as an excellent source for finding `59 Chevys. Hemmings has been trusted for decades by classic car nuts all over the world, for its ability to put buyers and sellers in touch with each other. How else can you know that someone in Montana is parting out the very car you need to scavenge? That kind of help becomes priceless as these cars get older and tougher to keep roadworthy.
4. Not surprisingly, eBay Motors has at least a handful of `59s for sale each week. It would be worth the money to be in touch with a classic car appraiser and with a car transporter, as both of these individuals will come in handy when the final bid has been made. It's not impossible to get a `59 cross-country, but more complicated than picking it up down the street. Most important thing to know about bidding on a car? "Buyer Beware." Educate yourself, and only bid on cars that are within your reasonable expectations. It's pretty hard to return two tons of Chevy if you don't like it.
   
5. Swap Meets will sometimes have complete `59 Chevys or even some project cars. It's almost guaranteed that you will find parts for `59s at the swaps, little stuff like handles, chrome bits, some trim etc.
6. If you're headed to a car show, bring a pen and small pad to write down phone numbers; you never if you'll find a `59 Chevy for sale down the aisle from six Mustangs, four `55 Chevys, seven Camaros, and a `72 Chevelle SS clone.
7. Chevy59.com also has links to several auto dealers in the US that are focused on classic cars These companies often have information on available cars that the Internet doesn't have, and can be contacted to do more than sell you a car. They can often point you towards unbiased classic car appraisals as well for a fee, which really comes in handy when you live in Buffalo NY and your dream car is in Tigard OR. Believe me, it's worth paying someone to check it out, especially if the car is selling somewhere in the five-digit value range and is close to fifty years old.
8. One source that often doesn't pan out in a search for a `59 is the local newspaper classifieds; for some reason, these cars don't get advertised there too much. This is not to say that you won't find your dream car in the local paper, just less likely. Try anyway! What the heck? You may end up with something that the seller just thinks is "another old car."
   

The key element to your search is patience. Don't always jump on the first car you see, just because you're afraid that another one won't come your way. Relax...it will. Don't "settle for one" if you don't like it. Be patient and keep looking. Your search may take a while before you find the right car but - like I said before - the search is worth it.

Now go get that finmobile!

KDC

Originally written October 13, 2001, edited and updated for this blog