It’s important to be able to laugh at yourself, even if it’s only to keep from crying. The seller of this 1954 Chevrolet One-Fifty Handyman station wagon says that he “had the engine running until [he] rebuilt the carburetor and did not succeed.” Well, we all have to learn somewhere, but our seller in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has decided that it won’t be on this Chevy, and thus it’s for sale on Craigslist for $4,500. Barn Finds reader Zappenduster happened upon it and sent it our way so we could all decide if we want to try our hand at getting it back on the road.

Full disclosure: I’ve made an educated guess on the model. The seller calls it a “tin woody,” which is a fun nickname for a wagon from just after the end of the “woody” era, but it’s not an official Chevrolet model designation. The lack of trim on the body itself and the rubber stone guards on the rear door make me confident that this is a One-Fifty. The fenders are almost certainly from a Bel Air or a Two-Ten, as the passenger side has a bright molding and the driver’s side has an outline where one used to be (the One-Fifty had no side moldings). The seller says that “it has some spots of rust but [he] would not consider it a rusty vehicle” and it comes with some spare parts in the back.

All 1954 Chevrolets had the 235-cubic-inch six with full-pressure oiling (the last year for a “scoop-and-dipper” engine was 1953, and it was only featured in cars without Powerglide). With a three-speed transmission as our featured wagon has, the engine made 115 horsepower with a 7.5:1 compression ratio. “Press in” bearings also became standard at the same time as full-pressure oiling, which makes rebuilds a little easier for the home mechanic (although we want to keep those babbitt pourers pouring!). The seller will include a “brand new carburetor,” which appears to be one of those inexpensive pieces you can buy online. I think I may try to go through the original one more time first, but a spare carb is always nice to have.

The interior looks tired and incomplete, but this is the kind of wagon that is probably best served by a “get it back on the road” restoration, and those don’t require a brand-new interior.

It’s hard to believe that the 1954 and 1955 Chevrolets emerged from the same division of General Motors. While the classic old “Stovebolt” six remained under the hood of the new cars as a standard engine, there is a distinct line between the old and the new. There are, however, a lot of fans of the pre-1955 bodystyle (I’ll take a 1950 Fleetline, please), and this one might be a fun driver, at least if you can succeed in getting it running again. Don’t forget to laugh it off if you can’t.