Project Cars from the Past: 1936 Chevrolet

Multiple layers of paint, blotches of rust, spotty primer, dry-rot tires and fogged glass. Must be a “barn find.” Permanently chained down to a trailer at a swap meet, to boot.

Fall Carlisle, to be exact, back in 2007. According to the card stock on the passenger window, this is a 1936 Chevy Standard Coupe, complete with a clean Montana title and an $11,000 asking price. “Four good fenders, front and rear bumpers, four Coker tires and tubes, left and right taillamps, original 206 engine, new brake parts, NOS hood bird and many accessory parts” were also included; though clearly the front bumper was not attached (nor were the new Cokers). Nothing was said of the missing grille, or just how bad the interior might have looked.

Back in 2007, a Standard Coupe in average condition – think most cruise night cars driven as much as two or three times a week from May to October – was commanding an average asking price of $10,000. A project such as this could have conceivably been priced under $7,000, or even $5,000. Which may have explained why it turned up a week later at Hershey, less than an hour’s drive to the east.

Note that the front bumper and grille were still MIA.

Time has not been that much of a factor since these pictures were taken. Current trends indicate that this Standard in – again – average condition now commands a loftier $11,000. Production of this model was north of 59,000 – not exactly rare when new. But then there was the wartime scrap drives, circle track drivers and the hot rodders who no doubt cut surviving numbers, so it’s not unusual to find that values of more vintage metal are skewed from book versus actual. Then again, condition #1 examples today are showing to be $20,000; only $2,000 more than two years ago. Which begs the question: Was this ‘36 worth the restoration fees?

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Four-Links – pizzaboy searches for Camaro, CJ-6s galore, kustoms in Italy, Stanguellini tour

* So even though we don’t have a Papa John’s anywhere nearby, we see their commercials on the television around here, and one of the latest commercials features founder John Schnatter tooling around in a gold second-gen Camaro. As it turns out, that car’s a clone of the ‘72 John owned when he started the pizza chain, but was forced to sell to keep the business afloat. Now, John’s on the lookout for the exact car he sold off many years ago and has started a site to follow his search. (via)

* Though the CJ-8 seems to get all the attention when it comes to collectible CJs nowadays, the CJ-6 certainly has its own dedicated fanbase, and Boyink has a nice blog dedicated not only to his 6, but to all sorts of different CJ-6s. (via)

* There’s something quite incongruous about a kustom show in Italy. While kustom builders and Italians both appreciate aesthetics, the homegrown American aesthetic of the kustoms seems entirely out of place against the backdrop of handsome old-world cities criss-crossed with cobblestone streets. Which makes Lowtech’s photos of last weekend’s kustomweekend near Florence all the more compelling.

* We’ve been digging Retro Scene Magazine’s online content lately, and they deliver again with a tour of the Stanguellini family’s dealership, which includes a number of the family’s sports and racing cars from the etceterini period.

* Finally, another kustom post. This time, though, the Transforming the Pickle blog has a boatload of photos of SoCal customs and the shops that churned them out in the 1950s. Perhaps it’s time to create another Google Map to determine the kustom hotspots in SoCal?

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‘Toy’ cameras, expired film and old cars

While at the Import Carlisle show earlier this month, Dan Meade, who’s a graphic/web designer by day, took a bunch of photographs with cameras from his collection of plastic and toy cameras. He agreed to let us share some of them with you.

Here’s what he told us about his technique:

Lately I have really gotten into plastic/toy cameras, I have several and keep adding to my collection. It’s a great escape from the digital world I work in each day as a graphic artist/web designer! A friend I met at the local photo lab knew I was into lo-fi photography, and saw my enthusiasm for film. He had a Lomo Lubitel, a Russian camera from the mid-1980s, that was never used, in the box, and he passed it along to me since he knew I’d use it.

Some of the shots you saw, from the Lubitel, were slide film/chrome that is balanced for tungsten (Fuji 64T/RTPII). Normally this would create a very blue cast when used in natural light. Here, I had it cross-processed (developed in C-41/color negative chemistry rather than the intended E-6/slide chemistry). This creates extra contrast and the golden/greenish color shift. The fact it expired over 8 years ago also produces unexpected and retro-looking results.

The others with less unusual color were taken with a Holga, using more recently expired Fuji Pro400H film. I yanked the film mask from my Holga to get more unpredictable light leaks and less defined borders on the edges of the frame, as well as extra blurring and vignetting. The plastic lens and poor optics of this camera also make for very dreamy, old fashioned looking photos.

I have a pro lab develop my film, since 120 is not something that can be done at any 60 minute photo. But I scan the negatives myself – and no matter how well I clean my scanner, dust and hairs from my feline friends always seem to end up in the image, which further creates the “authentic film look”

Thanks to our friend Ric DiDonato for sending these our way.

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Rat rod ragout

Couple of weeks ago, we were at Rhinebeck and before the rains came down, spotted this interesting piece. The owner called it a 1946 Chevrolet pickup. Yep, we get it. It’s also the most unconventional pre-Advance Design truck-em-up treatment we’ve seen in a millenium or so.

Yes, that’s a Hemi, the first-gen variety, with that bulbous air cleaner that Genghis Khan could have pressed into service as a party hat. Some interior there, indeed, all oxidized nicely and by all indications, mostly GM-sourced. Peter Duvalools of Saugerties, New York, gets the creator credit. Just had a thought: Is rat rodding the Unseen Hand’s answer to HGTV?

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But to help prove our point for soon-to-be collector car owners (or any ...

Regular readers of our Hemmings Classic Car title can tell you that we periodically publish deals under X-number of dollars - that’s then-current average book values for select collector cars that tend to fall a very distant second, third, or even tenth in demand statistics behind something like a 1970 Chevelle SS LS6.

But to help prove our point for soon-to-be collector car owners (or any number of hopefuls waiting for things to turn around), I’ve put together a very short list of running, driving and presentable cars that I found for sale at the recent Spring Carlisle event this past April. This is aimed for those of you who are on the fence; want an old car, not sure what, and think everything is way over priced. If you’re thinking that the only real cars to obtain and enjoy is a Hemi-packed Road Runner or the like, skip over to another post.

First up is this 1976 Chevy Vega GT with what was touted as 13,000 original miles. Automatic, buckets, air conditioning and complete owner history since new. It was also advertized as “mostly original.” The asking price nearly hit our ceiling at $9,950, which at the time was nearly spot on ($9,000) for a condition #1 example. This one was closer to a high #2. Fits in for any cruise night, car show and even a wagon meet!

Pardon the shadow and off lighting, but I could not resist including this 1968 Buick Sportwagon. The asking price was $6,500 here, and the seller - or someone prior - had done some work to it. Whoever applied the paint “about 10 years ago” did a bad job of masking. Though the badges said “400,” under the hood was a 350 from 1973… gauges were added under the dash and a modern CD system was well hidden. New seals would be needed and rust was starting to show in the “Oregon” body. Anyone could go down one of two paths here: just drive it without fear; rip out the 350, apply a proper paint job, fix the seals and return it to stock or implant a big 455 for some extra fun after the show.

How about a 1962 Buick Skylark for $5,500? That price is way under the current market value for a hardtop in condition #3 - by close to $6,000! In place here was the aluminum 215-cu.in. V-8, and although a little detail work could have been used, it didn’t exhibit and seal failures. Likewise for the overall condition of the interior, and the paint was a recent recoat. But these are desirable among certain circles, and a Skylark edition of the compact Special for this price is cheap money. Drive it for a few years, and then restore it!

Finally, there’s this rarely seen 1968 Mercury Montego MX wagon - perfect for my Wagon Snippet feature, but it serves a point here with a $6,700 price tag. Probably negotiable, like the others mentioned, but not far off in value for a condition #3 example. As a whole, it fits the bill as another solid, presentable car that more than four people can enjoy - comfortably. With just over 54,000 on the odometer, the suspension had been rebuilt and aftermarket air had been added.

Need more proof? Look for my upcoming post on cars I found for sale under $5,000 - and they don’t look like this either:

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