Looks like a good, solid beater, doesn’t it? It did to me, too, way back when. As long as I never looked under anything, it was solid. Always assume the worst.
I’ve heard that over the last year, things like old cars, old equipment, sleds, ATVs, etc. have all been going crazy high at auction, but today I witnessed it. What I thought might be a good, cheap driveway project turned out to be more desirable than I ever would have imagined. It had the perfect combination of flaws going for it, as well. Body filler cracking and flaking? Check. Number of photos of the chassis and undercarriage? Zero. Engine? Unknown big-block Chevy that ran many years ago but wasn’t seized. Transmission? No clue, but it had a Hurst T-handle and three pedals. Rusty Cragars with weather-checked fat bias tires and faded yellow slapper bars under the leaf springs? Of course. It was almost too glorious. Big Holley, big headers, and the opportunity to use my el cheapo winch for a second time this year. It was perfect. There was absolutely no interior unless you count the fact that it had a pair of ratty and incorrect bucket seats, but all exterior trim and bezels and what not appeared to be there. The car was a 1955 Chevy two-door post, and having leisurely worked on the Pontiac version of one off-and-on for the past decade, I had a working knowledge of what to look for and thought a quick beater would be the perfect companion that I could slap together in the driveway.
When I bought my Pontiac, it was a rusty, mouse-infested disgrace. Any repairs or modifications that were done were done either poorly or incorrectly. There was a 283 installed on home-made front mounts where the six once sat, which was backed by the transmission that came from the same donor car that the 283 did. The shifter and clutch linkages were all cut and brazed back together, and the clutch looked like it was ready to explode. The front brakes had no cylinders or shoes, and the wheel bearings were new but installed dry. The rockers both had jack creases, and everything around them was mostly rotted through. Also, the roof and trunk had been walked across numerous times, likely used as scaffolding. There were fifteen-hundred bucks worth of patch panels ordered, many of which had to be modified, as Chevy and Pontiac parts interchange, but they’re not the same. As I type this, the car’s main body is painted and just needs a good cut and polish to be right. The interior is done, and in boxes ready to be installed. The engine is built, and the Ford diff is bolted in. So, if I’m that close, why would I be shopping? Two reasons. First, beaters are the best. The Pontiac started as a beater but was so far gone it required major reconstructive surgery. By the time you spend several hundred hours on rust and dent repair, you might as well make it shiny. Second, I always like keeping my eye out for a deal. Throughout the auction, I kept re-evaluating how much I was willing to pay for a car in that condition, which I already had a bookend to. The sale price? Thirty-one thousand dollars, plus five-hundred bucks for fees and taxes over and above. I don’t plan on being there at the finish line on my Pontiac. I guess it’s fiscally responsible to finish it and utilize it as a shiny beater instead. It’s got a big engine, small mufflers, and a posi. I only planned on two pedals, but I still have the third one hanging there, just need to find the right four-speed to make it worth using.
Have a question or comment for Kelly? Post it at lmtimes.ca/kirk
