Finally, someone who knows how to picture and treat a true barn find! This 1954 Chevrolet 210 (I think, based on the level of trim) is listed for sale here on eBay, and this is what it looked like when it was pulled from a barn in Texas where it had apparently resided since 1968. The seller purchased it from the widow of the original owner. It’s now located in Montgomery, Texas and has been cleaned up substantially! Bidding has not gotten past the $2,000 point, but it also hasn’t met the reserve.
Here’s another shot of the car immediately after removal. All four tires were flat, and the car spent some time on the dirt floor of the barn. More about that later. The seller also reports that a horse caused some body damage. But I know my audience pretty well, and your eyes have already migrated down to the next picture, haven’t they?
Now THIS is how to sell a barn find. Show it as recovered, but also clean the darned thing up! And in this case, the seller has also done some work on the wheels and added new tires. As it turns out, the seller originally purchased the car for a father-son project, but mom decided a modern car would be safer, so junior is now in a 2016 Subaru.
The seller also purchased another 1954 Chevrolet frame that has already had a later model subframe attached. Because there was some serious rust in the front frame due to ground contact, the plan was to use this other frame. It hasn’t been installed yet.
There’s also some pitting in some chrome, and some other parts that will need replacing if you want it to be perfect. Personally, I don’t know that I’d do much cosmetically.
Here’s the frame on the seller’s lift. As you can see, there’s some corrosion to deal with.
The cylinder head was off the engine upon rescue. The seller reassembled the engine but was unable to get it to turn over. You’ll end up at least disassembling it, I think.
The interior doesn’t look bad at all! I’m actually pretty surprised. Read the ad for some more details, but I’m impressed with the seller’s detailed description and presentation of the car. If it doesn’t have to go a lot higher to meet the reserve, this might be a real deal!
I totally agree, this is the correct way to present a barn find for sale.
I like this little car but, It would take too much for me to get it back in good running order. Nice to see it out of the barn though.
On the motor, it could be something simple but, in any case you could source another motor fairly easy if necessary.
Here is another one. http://www.ebay.com/itm/391828752221?ul_noapp=true
HA HA HA It’s July 1’st not April 1st.
Crusty
“As it turns out, the seller originally purchased the car for a father-son project, but mom decided a modern car would be safer, so junior is now in a 2016 Subaru.”
Poor kid.
Moms are weird.
Wives are too. Luckily, mine doesn’t read this.
That would’ve been a death warrant in our household. I was almost disowned for buying an import pickup back in ’71; of course after a couple of weeks I almost disowned myself for buying an import pickup back in ’71. When you have relatives and friends who served in the South Pacific during the war there is a tendency to avoid certain products.
Isn’t that the truth. Poor kid will grow up to learn nothing of a love for cars.
https://youtu.be/joMK1WZjP7g
Easy to make a joke about a parent spending savings to protect their kid, but I admire it. Too bad they didn’t keep the Chevy as well, it is a nice car, but the fact is that for a daily driver that will keep your kid alive in a crash, the Subaru is a far, far better choice.
A Subaru doesn’t have a full steel frame that this old Chevy has, and the good thing is you can add things like a airbag with an aftermarket steering column and seat belts if you so desire, but even still I would rather have this 3800 pound car in a crash with a 2400 pound Subaru.
This car cleaned up very well. It’s really too bad that there are some issues with the frame. My ’49 Chevy came out of a barn after a lengthy slumber. It was completely covered with dust but it cleaned up remarkably well. It had/has no issues with the chassis other than leaky seals, rusty brake cylinders and some minor details. But it’s gone 24K miles SINCE it was brought back into the sunlight….
How can you compare a Suburu to a classic Chevy!!!!!! Not near being safe as a Chevy.
Can’t tell if you’re kidding or delusional.
I have seven vintage cars as well as a few daily drivers (including, as it happens, a 2016 Subaru), and I enjoy them all, but I’m under no illusions about the relative risks in an accident.
The Subaru is way safer watch the YouTube video that JayE posted cars that crush absorb impact better….
A new frame and engine recon for sure. Then better resale than a 2016 Sooby 😁
I don’t think the existing frame looks beyond salvaging, however (!) I owned my first and only ’54 Chevy 235/3spd quite recently and honestly found the gearing alarmingly low. At 50+ mph I would keep one eye on the transmission hump expecting the seemingly inevitable day shrapnel from the tranny would explode through the floor and sever my leg…these cars look nice but aren’t honestly practical as-is in my opinion. Primitive suspension, torque tube driveshaft, low gearing, 6 volt system, etc…I also found many of the aftermarket parts to be substandard. The repop hood and trunk emblems for instance quickly faded on a car that I religiously kept garaged. These cars are like cats, best appreciated when they belong to someone else.
I dropped a 350/350 hp with a 350 TH, Mustang II front, Maverick rear end power brakes in my ’54 and my (now X) wife used it as a grocery getter. Yes, I put seat belts in to keep the younguns’ safe. She spent more time in the store than getting there and back home again. Yee Haa. The new owner drove it home from Georgia, repainted it black and now drives it around in South Dakota. Sweet ride it was.
Well my kid was in a new Impreza a friend of his was driving while drunk last year. He hit a curb in his neighborhood at a 45 angle at 62 mph which sent him into a tree after one revolution head over heels then sending him into a full roll over. They both crawled out unharmed and not a piece of that car was recognizable except for those special wheels. I believe it was a miracle even though there is no such thing.
We then got a new outback for our family car which was rear ended while my wife was stopped at a light by a Honda Oddessy doing 40 while texting. It was totaled but you could still open the front doors and my wife walked away with zero back injury. We got another one.
This car would have killed both of them andmaybe others.
Anyone notice that this one has vinyl seat upholstery and carpet floors? This is the rarer “Two-Ten” Delray model.