How fun would this be to advertise your business with? Nothing more classic than a 1957 Chevrolet! This panel truck has apparently spent most of its life in Texas including its current residence in the town of Spring. For sale here on craigslist with an asking price of $7,000. This truck would be a fun parts hauler or billboard.
At first glance, the engine looks good. Your eye is immediately drawn to the shiny air cleaner and painted valve covers. If you look closer, you see a new alternator, decent hoses, etc. The seller says it was running about a year ago. I would bet it wouldn’t take much to get this truck going again. There are some vehicles that just look “honest” and this looks like one of them to me.
The interior is certainly spartan but clean. It wouldn’t be a problem to drive it as-is while you work on small projects on the weekends. I’ve always liked the looks of the ’57 Chevys. While this one has a white grill, bumper and headlight trim, it kind of fits with the flat black paint. If this were going to be my project, I would go with a classic color and maybe leave the front end bits white then ad some thick white wall tires to tie it in together. How about you?
I had one like this in the mid 70’s. Bought it for $50.00. It needed a new clutch disk. Put a new one in it and drove it for 3 years and sold it for $300.00. I once get rear ended by a ’65 Buick Electra 225. It hit me so hard I was actually lifted out of my seat. I got out expecting the whole rear end to be completely caved in. As I walked back I could see the front end of the Buick caved in and dripping radiator coolant. As I got to the point to see the rear end of my panel I was amazed. No damage but a 3″ round dimple in my bumper. I could not believe it and still don’t to this day. I drove off after exchanging info and the Buick was towed away. That evening filling out the accident report I called the owner to get a value of repair costs to her Buick. She said she had got one from the body shop as they were still cutting the hood off the car. I put down totaled on the form. Her insurance adjuster said he couldn’t believe that my panel was what she hit, I ended up getting $100.00 from them. I have been in 4 rear enders in 50 years and in the other 3 the results were not anywhere near as favorable.
I am going to pick a bone about this truck being all original. The seat is not original, the seat sat on a raised stamped sheet metal box and was much higher than the one shown. I couldn’t imagine driving the truck with this seat, you would be peering though the steering wheel. The master cylinder is no longer underfloor and the V8 engine is not also. More like original looking but upgraded.
It may very well be a ’57 although the hood is from a ’55~’56. The ’57 hood has two distinctive “humps” similar the the other Chevrolet line up for that year.
Hi jw, from what I see, ’58 was the 1st year for that hood ( and quad headlights) ’57 still had this hood.
http://momentcar.com/images/chevrolet-panel-1958-5.jpg
Howard,
If you Google 1957 Chevrolet truck you’ll see the hood I’m referring to.
The ’58 Hood had even more aggressive treatment of the hood detail along the outer edges. The 1957 design was smaller but were still there.
Solid looking panel truck and the $7000 asking price is reasonable. Trucks of similar vintage that were featured on BF were in worse shape and their sellers were asking more for them than what the seller of this Chevy panel truck is asking for it.
Just the fact this truck is here at all, probably reinforces the price. These, at the time, were usually company trucks, past down from one driver to the next, each taking less and less care, and finally, relegated to the “tool shed” out back. There usually was nothing left but the rear storage area. Great find, not the best vehicles to actually drive, but certainly rare.
I admit, I like it.
FYI, this isn’t in “the town of Spring.” That’s just the mailing address. It’s actually north, in The Woodlands.
So it is in the “North Wood”lands…?
Nope. “The Woodlands” is a very large development that spans 2 counties. Properties in the southern portion have Spring mailing addresses, and those in the northern portion have Conroe mailing addresses. Neither is very close to those two cities, though.
For reference, The Woodlands is about 30 miles north of downtown Houston.
Trucks like this make great tow vehicles. Good to see a solid hitch.
man I am chafing at the bit on this one!
Rare panel! Just finished painting one of these. They are definitely old school as far as driving one! This one has a 454 under the hood!