While old station wagons continue to be a collector’s hit, I’m not certain about the prospects for this 1960 Chevrolet Parkwood. The listing states that the car is in “Good Condition,” but I think that’s a debatable position. The listing for this Port Washington, Wisconsin resident, is an exercise in minimalism, so we’ll have to see what we can determine via the images. Hans H. gets the nod for this tip, and those with a potential interest will find it here on Facebook Marketplace, where it’s available for $7,200.
Chevrolet’s esteemed “Nomad” model was still on the books in ’60, residing at the top of the station wagon heap. It was not, however, a stylish two-door body style, but a four-door variation that possessed no unique styling cues. Following, were the Parkwood and the Kingswood, essentially the same car, though the Kingswood was a nine-passenger model, while the Parkwood, such as our subject car, accommodated just six. Bringing up the markers was the Brookwood, available in both two and four-door varieties. Chevrolet’s total 1960 four-door station wagon count (the numbers aren’t broken down by model/trim level) reached 198,000 units, though there is a separate measure for the Brookwood two-door variety, the last full-size two-door wagon that Chevrolet offered, and it’s 14,600 copies. This one’s rough! It has surface rust and what looks like even more, though the body is straight and all of the stainless trim is still attached – the bumpers aren’t bad either. As for the floors and frame? An inquiry will have to be made. This Chevy will need a new windshield.
Under hood (either one, it comes with two) is a 230 gross HP, 283 CI V8 engine connected to a three-speed manual transmission. This wagon is equipped with overdrive, but it’s a non-runner. There’s no mention of completeness or the motor’s ability to turn over. The powertrain has seen at least 100,000 miles, so assume work or replacement will be required.
Oddly, the rear seat is in worse condition than the front. And the front seat, well, it looks original, but it’s worn and stained. The steel dash is blooming with surface rust, so I’d guess damp exposure has been the case here. Assuming that my eyes aren’t deceiving me, it appears that the rear floor pans have been replaced with new ones that have been installed with sheet metal screws. That’s good news on the surface, but that makes me wonder about the rest of the car’s integrity; odd that the seller wouldn’t have disclosed the floor repair. I’d like to see an image or two of the wayback, but none are included in the listing.
Possibilities for the future? I’d suggest none at an ask of $7,200 – come up with a more reasonable price, and something good may happen. What’s your thought, is this Chevy a project that merits an undertaking?
I think I’ll stick with the recently announced reissue of the AMT 1/25 scale model kit.
she is needy. really cool looking. get it running and put a 4sp auto in and you’re ready for a rt 66 cruise
Following.
In high-school one of my buddies and I rebuilt the engine on his sister’s ’63 wagon. 327, 4 bbl., 3 on the tree and overdrive. Once we were one with the car. He wouldn’t let her drive it until it was broken in / rings seated. Once he was convinced it was properly broken in. We took it for a top end run. There was one road we all took our cars for top end runs. It was straight with no intersections and with only a few farm driveways in it’s 6 or 7 miles. Up to 100 mph with no issues. Shift it into overdrive and the speedo needle was buried to where you could no longer see it. “Bob, well I guess that’s good enough for Sis!” BOB! The railroad tracks! OH SXXX! Foot on the brake as hard as possible with his butt off the seat, slowed us down to about 100 mph. Turn off the overdrive, shift down into 2nd, shift down into 1st, meanwhile smoke pouring out of all 4 wheel wells. We get to the VERY ROUGH railroad tracks and very slowly creep over the tracks and the right front wheel falls off! And our heats skip several beats! I go chasing the wheel out in the corner field and he jacks up the car. The grease cap, hub nut, washer and bearing are all under the poverty cap. We put it back together and Bob finds a nail on the side of the road that we use as a cutter pin. “Bob, I guess I should have checked the brakes!” The spindle and nut had no damage at all. But the bearings were toast. All this happened at about 11:00 PM. One of my heart stopping “fun things” in my early high school days. Fortunately no one ever got hurt. But it wasn’t for the lack of trying!
Sounds like an installment of Vice Grip Garage! I always get anxious when I’ve gotten a powertrain to operate as it should, impatient because I now have to make the car relatively SAFE to take that first test run. Brakes, rubber hoses, rusty gas tanks. suspension or lack thereof. And seat belts if you plan on having passengers. My last three vintage restorations were daily drivers that took months to get to a point where I knew every system, every bolt and screw, had been replaced or inspected.
Another engine picture with a missing air cleaner. I sometimes wonder if there’s an alternate universe where they go to hide?