I had to do a double-take when I saw this one. I’ve never seen a two-door ’60 Chevy station wagon. I didn’t even though they made one. It’s easy to see why they’re popular with the Hot Rod and Custom crowds. One owner of a cool, customized two-door Brookwood confessed that the question he gets asked most often is, “How did you make it a two-door?” This survivor (1 of only 14,633 two-door Brookwood’s produced in 1960) will need a total restoration and some TLC to coax it back to life, but we’ve seen rougher ’60 Chevy’s on Barn Finds. This Brookwood had been in long-term storage and was brought out to be worked on, but health issues have forced the current owner to sell. Located in Hertford, NC (the birthplace of Hall of Fame pitcher Jim “Catfish” Hunter), this rare catch is for sale here on eBay. So far, 23 bids have pushed the price up to $5,200.
The Biscayne-based Brookwood was the lowest priced of the four lines of station wagons offered by Chevrolet in 1960. Think entry-level basic; no frills and for the budget-minded family. And the Brookwood was the only line offering both a two-door and a four-door option. This one appears to be complete (the seller says the trim pieces, original hubcaps, fender skirts, and other miscellaneous parts are inside the wagon) and the engine runs. The passenger door opens and closes well from the inside but not from the outside. Fortunately, the glass in this greenhouse on wheels is mostly intact; only the driver’s side vent window is cracked. The rear gate window also rolls up and down plus it’s sporting a new pair of shoes with correct wide whitewalls. But as Neil Young said, “Rust Never Sleeps”, and the seller is upfront about the obvious rust on the originally painted Horizon Blue body and has posted several photos of the problem spots stating: “This car needs a full restoration. It needs floor boards and has rust but is worth fixing, and it’s never had any previous bodywork, so it’s not full of Bondo or bad repairs.”
This Brookwood’s two-tone blue original, practical, Plain Jane all-vinyl interior (Chevy sales brochures called it a “housekeeper’s dream…easy to clean, hard to soil, stays beautiful even under tough family use”) needs replacing and the cool space-age dashboard and steering wheel look good. Plywood Tan wasn’t a carpet color option in 1960 but cut pieces of plywood are there now to cover up the rusted-out floorboards. We’re not sure of the condition of the headliner or of the rear seat which is folded down (giving you 92 cubic feet of cargo space).
Even though Brookwoods could be ordered with an entry-level 235 cubic-inch straight-six powerplant and three-on-a-tree manual transmission, this example appears to have the base 283 cubic-inch, 2-barrel carb V8. It could generate 170 horsepower when new and is most likely mated to a two-speed Powerglide transmission. Overall, the condition of the engine and engine bay doesn’t look too bad for a 61-year-old car. The current odometer is listed at 106,400, and the seller claims that the motor was started by a mechanic a few months ago using a gas can as a fuel source and was said to have “run good”. (The original gas tank has been removed and a new tank was bought and is included along with a new sending unit, and a new filler pipe and cap.) So, what do you think? Given the low production of these two-door wagons and that they were purchased for basic, utilitarian family transportation 60 years ago, there can’t be many survivors out there. Sure it’ll be a project, but whether this “Basic Brookwood” is restored to bone stock or given a new life as a cool hot rod or custom doesn’t matter to me. I just want to see it restored and back on the road again as Willie Nelson would say. Wouldn’t you agree?
I loved the dashes in the cars of this era. I would say the rarity alone plus being a factory V8 is sparking interest on this one.
A beautiful candidate for a restomod
LS. fever is on !
Never was a fan of the batwing cars. When the ’61’s came out it was a game changer IMO.
IMHO ’61 was the best styling year GM ever had.
Always interesting watching bids when it’s a Chevy. The comparable Ford 2dr. Ranch wagon wouldn’t be bid half that much, and is just as rare, if not more so. This Chevy now sits at $5200.?! “But it’s a Chevy!” they say. Never explaining a point because there isn’t one. Stupid is as stupid does…..
You apparently dont like Chevys
Edgar, my main gripe is Chevys are usually overpriced, and collectors think they are the Holy Grail of collector cars. Ask a Chevy guy what he thinks of say, a `69 440 Plymouth GTX vs. `69 Camaro RS/SS and he’ll label the MoPar “junk”. Just because he likes Chevys. I’ve never tried to understand the mindset. It is what it is.
They’d probably bid as much on a rusted out ’90 Corsica with a bad transmission.
I’m a fan of all stock. In this case, bring out it’s born-with coolness factor with a *slight* restomod…if that’s possible.
Art Morrison makes a chassis for this, for around $25,000. Add your LS, flavor of transmission, etc. Kiss that crusty X frame goodbye.
I knew those 2door batwing wagons were rare and I’ve only seen one IRL; a restomod ’59. Their production #s are still massive if one compares to the ’64/’65 300 Chevelle 2door wagons
This is essentially a direct descendant of the tri five Nomads. As a child of the era, this design was popular with moms as a “safety feature” so your little ones couldn’t open the doors and plunge to their deaths on the highway, since there were no seat belts back then. This trait is often overlooked.
Very true, that’s why my mom bought one (identical two tone blue) after I was old enough to move around the car while in motion. It’s not like the car seat was safe, it just hung over the back of the front seat and wasn’t attached at all!
The shift quadrant on the steering column tells me this is an automatic. It’s a fairly well optioned base model with a V-8, automatic, non-pushbutton radio, heater & defroster, and the pushbutton windshield washer. The glass and much of the sheet metal is interchangeable with other 1960 Chevys.
The two-door 1960 Brookwood is rare because of low production numbers. Chevy tried the two-door wagon again in 1964/65 with Chevelle with similar results. The tri-5 Nomads remain popular because the B-pillar styling. The styling set the car apart because it didn’t look like a four-door station wagon with two doors.
Had one same color with a 283 3 speed. Hauled it around on 2 moves with a tow bar(600 miles). Finally sold it for $250. But I only paid $100 and collected $300 insurance when a neighbors car rolled down the ally and jumped a railroad tie and dented the door. Insurance Company squealed like crazy because it didn’t even have an engine in it. Even in 1983 I told them it was a rare collectors car!
I think these were more likely to be bought by tradesmen than by moms. You could get the same vehicle without the rear side glass as the Sedan Delivery model, which may be even more rare. Remember, there was (Volkswagen aside) no such thing as a van in 1960.
I agree, although this one seems to be more of a “young family” type of vehicle due to the options it has.
My father was an electronics salesman and always bought 2 door Ford Ranch Wagons every two years , the last one in 1960, the last year for two door Ford wagons. He went to Ford 300 sedans after that . The only things he wanted in them was an automatic , a rear view mirror and a radio .
My father-in-law started his home contractor business in the early ’60s with a ’60 Ford station wagon. When he took a corner too fast and “moving cargo” busted out the rear glass, he reconsidered his vocational transportation decision and quickly traded it in for a Ford pickup.
When were the Corvair 95 Vans /Greenbriers and Ford “Falcon” vans introduced? I was thinking model year 1961 but could be bought in 1960?
Won one just like this from one of my
cousin’s friends at our Friday night poker
game over at my Aunt’s house. Mine was as basic as you got with a 235 six
cylinder with a 3-speed tranny for power.
It was white with that same 2-tone blue
interior we see in this car too. Did it run? Yep with a 5 gallon Jerry can in
place of the original tank which I found
lying in the rear of the car while the Jerry can being located directly behind the rear seat with a rubber hose that ran
through a hole in the floor on up to the
fuel pump. Despite all the backyard
engineering carried out by my cousins
friend, the car ran like a top and stopped
just fine. After cleaning it up, Dad and I
took it Wherry Welding where we had the gas tank cleaned and repaired after a pinhole was found in it, and had new
floors welded into place to replace those that were badly rotted. We used it as a beater until a kid at school saw it and wanted to buy it. Made a tidy $500
profit on it after spending $300 on the
floors, the tank repair, and all the plumbing needed to make that right. In
short, I sold it for $800. Add that with
the 2 or 3 pots I won at the poker game,
and I was up $950 for the night! Best
game I ever played!
This wasn’t a bargain-basement model as it has a V8, automatic transmission and color matched interior. At one time, a nice car before the rust ate half of it away.
Also, how many bargain basement models came with fender skirts?
Nice looking car. Assuming the car is authentic, this has to be the rarest 1960 Chevy station wagon I’d ever seen. I’ve seen many 1960 Chevy Bel Air, and Impalas, but never a station wagon, never mind a 2 door 1960 Chevy station wagon. Assuming parts are available, I can see this being a good restoration project, or a good restomod.
Never heard anyone call a ’69 440 GTX “junk” I would take the GTX over the Camaro everytime. They’re badass cars & I’m a bowtie lover & owner(Novas are my thing)
That Ford guy might as well be a Deak….I had no idea.
I’d want less rust being a Chev, Ford, or anything else. This thing needs braces welded from one end to another once it’s planted to a jig. Very likely the rust starts 3/4’s the way down the firewall and doesn’t stop till to you get to Cuba.
My grandpa had one of these 2 door wagons, was his car when he retired and helped a friend with carpenter work and was his car for taking me fishing. I don’t remember ever seeing the rear seat up always down ready to haul. Before this he had a 57 Ford 2 door wagon. Wish I had them both today.
I own a ’59 two door Brookwood the same color as this ’60. I’ve been told they made around 19,000 in 1959. Mine’s rougher than this one, but the glass is all good! I saved it from the crusher years ago.
i have a 60 brookwood 2dr wagon i have had mine about 20 years its turquoise with a white roof. i first seen it in 1973 then found it again around 2000. i payed $200 and put floors in it and a 1960 348 with tripower and a 4 speed .
i also have a satin black 1959 sedan delivery
with a zz3 350 HO crate motor and th350.
Love the comment on holy grail and such . You can without a doubt switch the Chevy slam with the word Mopar .
I love bench racing and talking cars ( almost any — some foreign)
No one should bash anyone.
It’s rare fix it .
Hell they’re showing fenderless cuda and chargers and challengers.
Here is an example of Ford and Chevy values. My friend has a 57 Fairlane 500 2 door with 56,000 miles. True barn find sitting in a barn since the early 80’s. Very complete and original with minor rust. It was repainted once a very long time ago. He wants $ 8000 for it. If it was a 57 Bel Air in this condition it would bring $ 15000 – 25000 easily.
Because the Bel Air had better styling.
That’s highly debatable
Missing the all important 2 door wagon/El Camino trim which is hard to find and expensive when you find it. At over 5g’s it’s past it’s limit on frame rust alone but frames are easy to find – it’s what you can’t see is the killer. How are those rear wagon hinges ?
Can never understand the Americans love of 2 doors rather than 4, for a passenger vehicle. The inconvenience doesn’t make sense, and in the case of this waggon the body shape, windows, profile etc, it’s the same as a 4 door. As a a previous writer said “stupid is as stupid does”. Just because it’s rare, doesn’t mean it makes sense or is practical, or even looks good. IMO.
God knows a 2dr car never populated DownUnder. The place that loves 2 seat cars without a decklid. No decklid and a cardboard box stuffed in back. For sure they needed a place to put their favorite sheep. Toss in a couple stumps with 3 meters of tree trunk and you have an extended box. They even have a special name for the ewe contraption that hauls around their favorite girl, oh look it’s another ewet. They ure like their sheep DownUnder.
Reminds me of Nomad
Reminds you of a nomad? Why, the only similarities are it’s a Chev, got two doors four tyres, steel body and glass windows and chrome bumpers.
It ever a car begged to be resto modded it is this tasty 1960 long roof