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

Where have all the `59s gone?

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:

1. Look at all the compound curves. What do you see? I see lots of places where dirt, road salt, and grungus can get stuck. The front and rear valances will rot easily, as well as any spot where metal bolts to metal. A very famous place for that is at the headlights; road grit gets thrown up on the back of the headlight buckets, where it gets stuck between the bucket and a panel. My wife's `59 Impala was so bad in that area that it wouldn't hold headlights IN anymore!
2. It is possible that the `59 Chevy (and to a degree the `58 as well) are victims of `57 popularity. When most people think of a classic car, the two that come up in conversation most are an early Mustang or a `57 Chevy. With such demand and such a following, it's no wonder that my friend was able to extract TWO out of a field at the same time. In my formative years,`58 and `59 Chevys were considered less desirable alternatives to the `57 and were thusly thrown away.

Now here's the cold hard truth: A website visitor wrote to say that he saw countless `59s in wrecking yards during the late 1960s. The enticing curves attracted more than longing gazes from pre-soccer Soccer Moms; those curves also invited rust, something most `59 owners will attest to with little arm-twisting. Call a wrecking yard sometime to find a solid headlight bucket for a `59; the ones that remain now all look like swiss cheese. So you can see that - sadly enough - these cars started rusting out early and eventually became part of the earth once more.

Given the unfortunate passage of time that can melt a `59 into rot, we should be thankful that even a handful of these car exist today! Now it's time for each of us to do our American duty and Restore One! A restorer friend once wrote "Do the hobby a favor: Restore or preserve a classic car, build a Hot Rod, ride a Harley Davidson or do something that adds to your life and soul."

KDC

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