Last thing in the world I need was another project to add to the list...

1959 in my opinion was the peak of style among the American car companies. Where every make and model was its own unique, rocket themed land yacht. Borderline insane vision in design with very few limitations. When manufactures decided not to slather their previous model with more chrome and looked to our future in space. Long and low was a new idea. The trend was to be new and different unlike today where everything is printed out by engineers trying to make the greyest eco box with the lowest drag coefficient. Companies all competing against each other could have one year bodies and sell to a market that was proud of what they drove. At the same time this is coming from somebody who owns a 1984 S10 Blazer that looks like it was left over from Mad Max...

I am mainly a Chevy truck guy and I currently own several in varying states of finished but I have always wanted to try something different. I work mainly as an alignment tech and do chassis work but a few months ago started part time at my friends transmission shop to help out. I enjoy working on classic cars and keeping them on the road which is mainly what I get to do since we are one of the few shops that still work on this old iron in our area. For a couple years now I could normally be found drooling over a blue barge that had been sitting in the middle of the shop surrounded by transmissions under a thick coat of dust. Last summer I finally had to ask about it. Last week we met on a price and I acquired it.

The story on the car is that it was put into a barn in the early 70's judging by the last registration I have for it. The previous owners have kept all the paper work. Unfortunately where it sat there was a natural spring under the engine compartment and driver side rocker keeping it we'll say "moist" for the last 30+ years. When the previous owner got it the engine was locked up, the rocker was gone and the whole engine compartment was covered in surface rust. Thankfully with only 35K original miles the rest of the car survived. It still sits on the US Royal Buty-Ride tires installed on 7/26/61. The rest of the body, glass and chrome is in great shape with no cancer or dents. The best part is the interior. It doesn't have a single tear or crack in the dash. All complete and perfect.

Over the last couple years the previous owner had the rocker professionally replaced, the entire brake system rebuilt and the engine completely overhauled. Even all the engine compartment tins and brackets were all media blasted and repainted then before reassembling it he found another 30's Indian. I have boxes of new parts and a stockpile of replacements that I haven't been able to fully inventory. Thankfully the PO was also a machinist so everything he took apart is labeled, bagged and organized. He also works at the shop right next to where we are rebuilding the car. As a plus I was able to get the original dealer manuals showing where every single nut and bolt goes. No complaints.

The plan is to get it all reassembled in the next few months and have it ready for the summer. To all the purists out there I AM NOT CUTTING IT UP, I have other vehicles for that. I just got it registered to the original 59 Washington plates it came out of the dealership with. At the same time I do plan on driving it not making it a showroom quality piece that will never see the road again. Just keeping it an original car.

Now to the pictures.

When it was pulled out of the barn

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As it sits now

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Love it!

 

Looks really great!

 

Very nice car.




This is definitely an eye-of-the-beholder/love-it-or-hate-it thing.


I always thought the '59 Chevy was one of the ugliest designs ever put into production.

The front-end was too heavy in the eyebrow department.





while the back end took the cake as the one of the ugliest things ever conceived by man. It looks like a cat squinting at you topped by those absolutely over-the-top, horizontal fins.






For 1960, Chevy got the front end right by getting rid of the eyebrows.




while the back end, which still had those ugly horizontal fins, although they were a bit less pronounced, disappearing as they do at the center-rear of the trunk lid, at least got rid of the cat's eye tailights and replaced them with more sedate round ones.




As I said, eye-of-the-beholder!

 

It's a beauty, and a 2 door to boot. Love it

 

Sweet car. I recently purchased a 59' Super 88 4dr HT, not nearly as nice as yours though.

 

I love this car. I also like you plans to not cut it and to drive it. I am not a big fan of 58's or 60's but I do love the 59. Very nice find.

 

White Knuckles what an amazing score!
Worthy restoration candidate for sure, but I am a big fan of using them...often.
Keep the pics coming on this great car...but then im biased


Scott

 

I love original interiors. That's the toughest part to recreate.
Sweet find.


Jerry

 

Congratulations! 59 is the ultimate for me also. You'll love it when you go for your first cruise!
Jim

 

Thanks guys. I am very excited to start on it. Hopefully next week I'll have the time to reseal the hydromatic and get it back in. If any of you want specific pictures while I have everything apart please let me know.

Today with the snow I have plenty to do at the house and need to finish a couple last things on my other projects before I dive into this one. Always something to do.

 

Very cool, and when I saw that this was a '59, I checked immediately on your location, hoping like crazy that you might be in Washington state. You are!

For the last several years, I've organized an annual driving tour in the Puget Sound area for the 1959 General Motors cars. Most of us have unrestored, original cars, and we invite only cars that are stock, original-type cars.

We'd love to be able to connect with you when the car is back on the road! Please drop me an e-mail at: brianL@americanconstco.com

Here are a few images from past events:

 

Centurion,


They are way cool cars and a great concept!
Any more pics? 59 was a great year

 

lazy394, I love your '59 Ninety Eight. Rather than divert further from the original topic, please drop me an e-mail at brianL@americanconstco.com , and I'll send you a link to additional photos!

 

Quick update. Just about done digging out around the car... It's been a busy few days at work. Found this and am definitely keeping it.

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Today I also mounted some new rubber for the car so I will be able to move it on round tires. After finding out my cost being around $900 on Coker Classic Radials to keep the 14" wheels I decided to go to a 15" wheel. I called my supplier on some Astro steelies and mounted some new 215-75R15 thin white walls for a total of $350. I'll eventually go to back to the 14's but these will work. The tires are exactly the same height as the factory 85014s just 1/4" narrower. Watching my budget until I get the thing on the road. Plus I could also use them on my 48 GMC if I ever finish that project.

Centurion those are some great pics. Did you have something on youtube as well?

 

Well yesterday I finally was caught up enough at work to do some tinkering with the Olds again. I finished digging it out and got it jacked up. Good god I never knew how large the rear end was in these cars... Ended up getting the engine unwrapped and the trans most of the way in it. Still gotta find the cross member but its almost in. The trans mounts are thankfully in great shape. They look almost new.

I finally went out to the outbuilding with the rest of the parts I got for the car. So far I found pretty much another car in parts. Bumpers, fenders, NOS trim, steering columns... There are 2 of everything and a surprising amount in GM boxes. Going back out there today and try to do some more inventory. Plus I need to take a look at the brakes and wheel bearings. The fronts are a bit tight. The plan for the next week is to finish mounting in the drive train so I can get it to an exhaust shop. Hopefully start it in the next couple weeks before I start on assembling the front end.

Now to the pictures...

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Found the cross member. Everything is mounted. Starter and a few other accessories are on the motor. Just waiting on getting the manifolds and a few other brackets back from media blasting to hopefully take it in for the exhaust. I'm planning on keeping the single exhaust with crossover but I do have access to some 394 manifolds to dual it off. Thoughts?

In the meantime I have been finishing the interior of my 91 Chevy stepside and today put some different valve covers on the GMC. Of course I just did it while I was filling the cylinders up with marvel mystery oil. It has a newer SBC and over the last year of sitting decided to stick on me... Too many projects...

Here is a pic of the GMC motor. Can't wait to get the tri-power working.

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Were it mine, "which it ain't," I wouldn't even be asking. She would be sporting duals!

 

White,
How do you get the Hydramatic linkage to work with multiple carbs?

 

Sorry the tri power is on the GMC. Here's a quick run down of other projects while I wait on my parts to get back for the olds.

The GMC is a 48 3 window I picked up as a cab and title and put on a S10 frame that I 4 linked and bagged. For the drive train it is just a 350/350 but I am trying to dress it up with as many 283 and old hot rod parts as possible so it isn't just another damn small block chevy. Now I have all the parts but still have more time to spend with a cut off wheel to get everything to fit.

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Then I have my summer driver 91 C1500 that is all new underneath with a recent 4/6" drop. Newer TBI 350 with a rebuild 700R4. I've been finishing a new interior for it and it's finally about done draining my wallet.

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Here is the Blazer I referenced in my first post. I've had it for 7 years now, mostly spent as a planter and parts storage. It is just a street strip build legal enough to drive to the track but should run in the 11's as soon as I get some slicks. It was my first performance engine build so just is running a full roller SBC 350 that we squeezed every hp out of on the cheap. Plus it does have a large scull painted on the back... haha

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Last I have the $400 beater I drive through the winter and use as a parts runner. A year and a half of never stranding me and the worst oxide orange paint with brown interior combination... Gotta have something to haul the woods bike. When I built the GMC I ended up parting out 2 other 1st Gen S10s for the build so I pretty much have a warehouse of spares to keep this thing on the road...

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Too much junk...

Back to the Olds, I just found out the manifolds that I had media blasted are rusted through and useless. I have access to a 394 parts motor. I'm assuming the two motors share the same exhaust manifolds and other bolt on parts. Is that true?

 

Ahhh...cheers for the reply and the pics, love it!
As for the manifolds im sure they fit but are the single exhaust and dual exhaust manifolds different?

 

They should be. The left (driver side) exhaust manifold should have a different exhaust pipe attachment point. The right side would be the same. However, with duals it does require a blocking plate where the crossover pipe attached in a single exhaust system.

 

Gotcha. Well after digging though an actual mountain of torque converters I was able to get to the parts motor. It appears to have the exact same crossover pipe and the manifolds are identical. Looks like they are in much better condition as well. Always good news when the car you're working on makes parts counter guys give you a blank stare. "You need a what for a what?"

Now to the drivers manifold I have. The heat riser where the crossover pipe connects is completely seized up. I'm assuming it is to heat the intake manifold in cold weather. Can I just remove it or will I need to block off something else as well? I have it soaking in some nasty penetrating oil but its been a couple days and still hasn't moved.

 

You have a couple of options on the heat riser. Cut out the stuck flap or remove the riser entirely.

The first option is the easiest. It also has the advantage of maintaining the factory appearance. The heat riser is not really needed unless one runs a car in cold weather. Even then it only functions until the engine is warmed to operating temp. It takes all of a couple of minutes of run time until the riser would open, so let the car idle for a minute or two before putting it in gear and taking off.

With the second option you will have to fill the space the riser occupied, as the exhaust pipe will not mate properly to the manifold with it absent. It could be tough to find something to fill the space. The simple solution there would be to extend the length of the exhaust pipe. Not necessarily easy or inexpensive to do.

 

Thanks for the info. After breaking a corner off the heat riser trying to get it all free looks like all be going with option #2. Thankfully? I guess... I'm having the crossover pipe and whole exhaust done anyway. Hopefully it will go in Friday so I can get closer to firing the motor. I'm taking February off so let the progress begin.

 

"Too much junk"...

Well said Jr. Now quit posting pics of that rat-iron and get back to work on the '59.

White_Knuckles Senior

 

Well a short update. I cleaned up the gas tank and put together the rest of the interior. Still waiting to take it to the exhaust shop.

I ended up selling the orange truck and picked up another k2500 that was supposed to be a quick weekend fix up... It's turned into more of a project than I had expected but with the rainy weather we've had I'll be back to the olds soon.

 

Quick question. Currently I'm trying to find a carburetor for the car to fire it and break the engine in. Out of all the parts that came with the car I did get a complete 394 with a 4 barrel carb and intake. Should I keep with the 2 barrel or upgrade the intake and carb with the one off the 394? Would that be too much for the 371 without any further modifications?

 

Nice find. I agree 1959 was a year of creative vision in Detroit. It's not an eye of the beholder thing, more so, not everyone can wrap their mind around what was going on in the world in 1959. That was a land mark year for the US automotive industry add we ushered in the space age.


I believe the Dynamic 88 came with 371 & 2 barrel carb. There's another thread here about a Junk Yard in with a few '59 parts cars. That might help. That 4 barrel Rochester 4c(?) should be too hard to find.

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...-98s-yard.html

 

Well my updates have been few and far between... same as days working on the car. So far over the last few months I've located an original 2 barrel carburetor that will work with the hydro, it was in a box still wrapped in plastic and had been completely rebuilt. The most time consuming problem I encountered was finding all the carburetor linkage and trans linkage. All the original linkage was damaged and mostly rusted solid but I was able to source everything I needed. So far my plan for labor day is to finish installing the core support, fenders and rest of the nose. I haven't given up on driving it this year unfortunately other projects have gotten in the way because of priority.

The new work truck went from this

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To this

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Helped get my friends falcon van running and driving

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And helped another friend install a new motor and trans in his 56 Pontiac

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Plus working 50+ hours a week on customer cars and pulling the motor in the Blazer 2 more times... It has been a productive summer, and I'll have some free labor to help hang sheet metal, which I hate.