'59 Barn Find
 

Well....sort of. A former colleague of mine just recently inherited this '59 from his uncle. I won't get into the particulars but the car has been sitting since '65. The plates have a tag as late as '77, but while it may have been licensed, it has not seen a city street or county road since the mid 60s. I would speculate that the 40,000+ miles on the odometer is the correct mileage.

The car was owned by the family (as second owners) since 1961. It is a base engine CQ suffix with a BW T-10. The motor has been cammed and the induction system now sports three Stromberg (I would guess 97s) 2 bbls.

My friend has enlisted me to help him in getting the car driveable. He is not at all interested in doing a restoration and would prefer to keep it fairly original without submitting to the temptation of rechroming, painting, etc. The paint and body look quite good, as does the frame, from what I could observe by viewing it in the dark shed. We will know more once we get it transported to the shop and get it on a hoist and subject it to the "light of day".

I will post some pics in a few minutes and will keep you up to date on what we find. I have my own ideas as to what we will need to do, and alot of it is has to do with refurbing the fuel, brake, and cooling system and probably pulling the original motor and replacing it (code: saving it), but any suggestions from members are always welcome. I will let him see your reaction and ideas to give him some sense as to what C1 aficionados would do if they owned this car, so feel free to fire away.


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More Pictures:

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Where's the pictures? :toetap: :D

You've covered a lot Dan, but one thing I always do with an old car, especially one that has been sitting is to replace ALL wiring

UUUggghhhh. I love stuff like this. :thumbs:

WOW ! Sitting in a vault since the mid 60's those seat covers look real good. The foam inside them will be dust but what a car. That is a ripper. It's such a shame that the car has been in a Vault for so long. I hope he drives it once shes up and going. I'm Soooooooooooo jealous I would love to find one of those. Ask him if I can come and wash it and give it a good buff. I think it will come up shmik ! :thumbs: Stewy

Oh and I kind of like the tripples look to. Way cool....... Stewy

Very cool. Thanks for the pics. Like I always say, there are a lot of them out there,you just have to find them.

Jim

Wish my 1959 was as complete when I started it

Rory

AWESOME!!
I would pull the drivetrain and go thru all of it. Def keep the 3x2's...after all there is a hole in hood for 'em!!! Plus they are way cool!!!! Edelbrock makes a new trip sb manifold...and keep the flavor of a 60's rod!

If he wants more "go" build a 350/383 but keep the look 60's...

Lets hope the cold Wis climate has preserved much and Mr Mouse (Mice?) have not been tenants :D

Perhaps best not even to clean it up. NCRS could one day invent a barn find survivor class to complement their survivor class. This car would be a lead pipe cinch winner. Neat looking piece of history just the way it looks now.

Sweeeeeet! Give it a good cleaning before make any definite plans. I love the 3 2's. I'd make a scoop just big enough to cover the hole in the hood and keep them. Fuel system is a must to check as well as the wires. Be careful the first time the battery is hooked up. This car will suffer from project creep for sure. Looks like a lot of fun ahead. :thumbs:

FANTASTIC!!
great find... goes to show you they are still out there.
regards, xiaoman

Jim find me one ! Stewy

LOVE IT!! :cool:

Way :cool:. :thumbs:

Looks like she saw a little trailer towing duty in her life !! :) I love to see old cars like this that get a second chance. They are still out there !!! Thanks for posting. :thumbs:

I am going to suggest that the 3x2bbls. stay. There is a company in Florida that reproduces the Strombergs. They need to stay with the car, I think. By retaining them, it would preclude having to patch the hole in the hood and matching the paint to the rest of the car might be an issue. I see no hint--at this point--of mice issues which surprised me. I know he wants to keep the car looking the way it did back in the 60s. My suggestion to him will be to save the OEM block and drop in a mild 350cid. They are plentiful and the cost is reasonable. Again, he just wants a driver.

Stewy:

I think you are correct. I think that the paint will buff out fine. The body and paint look pretty good, despite the half inch patina of dust. I have a few more pics that I will post later.

I love it and the garage its in. Classic old coffee cans for nut/bolt assortment storage. Are those rectangle oil cans made into drawers?

That's just WAY TOO damn cool!!!

:thumbs:

Some advice:

DON'T throw away anything, nothing.nada. Keep all of the old hardware and reuse. Anything that will dry rot ie. rubber, vinyl, gaskets, hoses, brake line, etc. check, check and recheck, if anywhere near bad replace with new, keep old. Change all fluids ( can throw that stuff out but that's the only stuff). Do one area at a time. Do the interior and top last, you'll be in and out of the car a million times, with the top up and down many times, don't want to mess up a new interior if you do need one. Good luck. Nice find