Vannin' Community and Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic Bought a '55 Chevy 210

If you guys didn't already know...
I kind of collect cars.
I have a vast range of stuff that interests me, so it's not like I have a bunch of stuff that everyone likes.
People seem to like my latest acquisition though, so I thought I'd share.
It's a 1955 Chevy 210 sedan.
I actually had people taking pictures of it while I was bringing it home.

It's the oldest (and raggediest) car I've ever bought, but it was kind of a "field find", and I bought it from the 2nd owner.
The original owner (or at least the family) owned it until 2013, then sold it to a rural junk yard who apparently decided to keep it as a decoration for the past 7 years.
They claimed it was still running until about a year ago, and I believe that because of how close to roadworthy it is now.
It's surprisingly intact and has all of the trim, a Motorola Volumatic AM radio, most of the original rubber floor mat (the one with all the tiny Chevy emblems on it), and an inspection sticker from 1977.

Yeah, I know, it's a four-door (I like four-door cars)...
but it's got a V8 (265), and it's an automatic (Power-Glide), so it checks a lot of boxes for me.
The '55s are my favorites of the tri-fives too, so I'm really happy I ran across this and went out of my comfort zone to get it. (I almost passed on it for three different reasons.)

It needs a lot of work, but it's not as rusty as it looks.
It's got a couple of layers of house paint on it and the brown is showing through the beige in most spots. LOL
The factory colors are Glacier Blue on the roof and Shoreline Beige on the rest of the body.
It's got a blue interior.

I've already pulled the dump truck tires off, and bonus points to anyone that can name what vehicle those hubcaps came off of.
It took me a while to figure that one out.

Anyway, let me know what you think, and if you have any ideas for the build, feel free to chime in.
I haven't really decided which way I want to go with this one yet.

Nice, that should be a fun driver once it is roadworthy.

Uh oh, you're asking for opinions. lol. Resto-mod is mine.

I like it. Teenage years were spent riding around in a variety of the tri fives, wagons included. I too like the four
door cars. I think that it would be a super cool car put back to factory stock. Nothing fancy. A nice family sedan. 265 Powerglide is a big plus. You could always restomod, or stealth upgrade suspension, add AC, etc. But an awesome find and a good platform to start. You did good Rusty!

Thanks guys.
I'm pretty excited about it.
It's my 62nd car, but I never thought I'd ever own a tri-five Chevy.
This one popped up about 80 miles away for the price a roller with flat tires has been going for lately, so I had to check it out.
I even talked him down a couple of hundred dollars. LOL

Right now, I've got it on jack stands in my shop with the wheels off.
My first assessment is that most of the electrics work, minus the horn (button is iffy), the headlights, and the starter won't spin.
The engine turns with a strap wrench, but the water pump is tight.
Haven't assessed the dirtiness of the gas tank yet.
All of the windows work, but the rear passenger side regulator is tight.

The more time I spend with it, the more I'm not sure which direction to go with the build.
You guys' ideas are good, and I'm glad to hear them.
Part of me wants to make a nice shiny original car in it's original colors...
Part of me wants to paint it baby blue and white (like everybody else)...
And part of me wants to make it structurally and mechanically sound, but leave it kind of ratty looking.
Unfortunately, that last one would be hard, since almost all the paint you see is probably Val-Spar or Behr.


I'm surprised at how many parts are being reproduced for these cars.
Some stuff is pricey (fenders come to mind), but at least the stuff is available.

Thank you guys, for your input.

Cool you snagged it. The history alone is priceless. 62 cars. Ithink I'm around 15, I wish I could have kept them all, so I got sales brochures instead. Lol. Good Restoring Rusty!!

The Dawn of the history of the Chevy Smallblock. I've had 3. A 69 327, and a 97 TBI 350.

The 283 out of my $250 65 Impala went into an Econorail dragster. Carlsbad Raceway, Days passed.

That's a good idea about the sales brochures.
I wish I'd taken pictures of all of mine.
I started taking pictures about 20 years ago, but I'd already had 20 some-odd cars by then. LOL

I finally got to where I couldn't remember them all a few years ago, so I put them in a spreadsheet.
Now I can hardly remember which ones I have right now.

Ha! Spreadsheet! Nice. EBay for the sales brochures. I scored Scotty some nice ones too. Go Big Red!

I was counting cars instead of sheep one night and realized I'm up to 21. When I brought the 2nd Van home in Santee,, a neighbor accused me of Hoarding. I wish I had more room.

Here in Texas I'm I'm one BBC Van, and a Mexican Dodge way past that!

Wrench on Rusty!!

Thats cool and we just bought our 30th van last Decenber,

21 is a respectable number, Wedgy.
Most people I've talked to have only had 8 or so.


Was that the new one? That's a pretty van.

I've had a lot of cars, but only 4 vans.
3 VW buses and the '92 Chevy.