If you’re a fan of pre-war autos, you’ll want to take a gander at this dusty Texas tank! It’s available through this craigslist ad on the edge of Austin, Texas. Keep reading to see more about it!, and thank-you to Ikey H. for letting us know about it!
For those of you interested but unfamiliar, please let us give you a brief background and some information: The “Series 50” line started as early as 1930, and sold well through 1935, but was put on hold from 1936 through 1939. Production began again for the ’40 model year, as the “Super”, but was halted in 1942 to re-tool for the war effort. After the war, Supers graced American roads all the way up to 1958. (A run of Supers wasn’t made again until 50 years later, but it was only a trim level on two models, and we digress) All 1940 models featured, among other changes, the new “torpedo” styling, which was considered cutting-edge at the time. It shared a C-body with the Roadmaster and Special, as well as the Caddy Series 62 and the Olds Series 90. Gone were running boards and high ride height, and with “three-on-the-tree” column shift transmission, you could fit six adults reasonably comfortably. Power came from a 248 cubic-inch, 107-horsepower “Fireball” inline-eight, and one could have a Super in their choice of 5 different bodystyles and multiple exterior colors. Approximately 129,000 units were sold that year.
Now, we turn our attention to this example. The seller is a bit shy with details, however they say that it has 25,000 original miles and little to no rust, and that is hasn’t been on the road since 1980. We must then let the pictures speak their thousand words, and we can see a very, very dusty old car, with four flat tires, and plenty of patina. Interior looks to be mostly there, albeit a bit tattered. We think it’s supposed to have a turned-metal-finish dashboard, and we’re not sure whether or not that steering wheel is correct. Outside, we see a complete-looking car that desperately needs a bath, and would probably need more than just a buff to bring back the shine.
Overall, it’s a decent car in my opinion. It would need so much work, and some of the parts are rather tricky to obtain, however with the right resources and care, it could be given new life, or transformed into something extraordinary. I have seen a few of these made into Rat Rods and Street Rods over the years, in one way or another, and it might make an interesting Icon Derelict-type project as well.
That’s what I think, what do you think? Let us know in the comments!
That was a rough 25,000 miles!
I bought a really nice one that looks amazing and drives well for $3500. It even has new tires.
Yes, the steering wheel is newer, from about 1954 I would say.
Looks to be solid enough to start with!! I wonder if a nail head would bolt right up in there without to many modifications??? It would look awesome opening that hood up and seeing it in there!!!
I agree a nailhead would look good in there but you’re not going to just bolt it right up in there without fabbing engine and tranny mounts, changing the rearend and hanging a dual exhaust. That’s just what I can think of off the top of my head.
I knew there would be fab work dusty! I’m just more concerned with it fitting in between the frame rails the most!!
It does have the rear turn signals on the trunk lid/handle. And nitpicking, but the Special probably shared the B body with the small Olds, and maybe even parts of the A body of the Chevrolet and Pontiac. This continued through the 1950’s anyway, a friend’s father explained buying a Buick Roadmaster in 1950, since if he bought a Caddy he would be accused of posing above his “station” in life, since his boss only had a Mercury, and the Roadmaster was essentially the same car as the Caddy.
I want to know the story on this car along with the rest of the estate. I clicked on the link in the ad to see the other ads the poster has up, and there is some cool old furniture for sale out of the same estate, along with a 1990’s era Mercedes convertible. One item is an old wood burning stove being represented as a 1 owner item. Did some weird guy grow up in the depression & just horde everything he ever bought? One of the furniture ads states the house is a “tear down”.
Sometime a story can add a little to the value. Maybe not a lot, but a bit.
How can a Texas car accumulate only 25,000 miles? Especially a cruiser like this. I wouldn’t buy this based on the mileage claim, if that is what is important to an interested buyer. I’ve never really understood the importance of that anyway, unless a buyer is looking at/for a purely collector car.
They say not on road since 1980. License plate is 1970.