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Why are '54 chevy sedans hard to find

6K views 55 replies 30 participants last post by  Iwanttolearn 
#1 ·
I eventually want to buy and fix up a 1954 chevy sedan. I've kept my eye on Ebay.com, and also this site. But all there seems to be are 55,56,57 years, and on. Hardly any 54's, especially 2 door post.
Why would this be? Were they not very popular in those days?

Thanks
 
#2 ·
I think it is because over the years people would put the money and effort into repairing and saving a popular car like the tri-five Chevrolet's. The '54 sedan would have been just another old car back in the 60's so they didn't receive the same care and attention to keep it going. The result is a '54 sedan is probably more rare now than a 55 coupe. Being more rare doesn't necessarily mean they are more valuable.
 
#4 ·
1953-54 Chevies were never popular as collector cars because they were the last of the post war "Old style" Chevrolet. Closed driveshaft, king pin front end, six volt, six cylinder only cars. A very difficult car to Hot Rod. The 54's were also cursed with the worst chrome plating peoblems because of material shortages.

The 55-57 Chevrolets were such a vast improvement, that the earlier Chevies just became old cars. With only the convertable and hardtops considered for restoring.
 
#5 ·
That is a question I have had for many years but on an expanded scale. Where are ALL the cars other than tri-5s? They surely made a reasonable number of Fords, Old's, Plymouths, Buicks, etc. in those three years - so how come you see tri-5s all over the place and RARELY see any other car? And even Chevies from '58-'64 are rare as hen's teeth. Sure those 3 years of Chevy were popular but to the exclusion of all other makes and years? I don't get it.
 
#6 ·
Probably due to popular culture, movies and rod magazines. Did they reflect or did they set the trend for the popularity of the 55 - 57 Chevy?

I'm not sure why but when I was in high school in the '70's the coolest older car to have was a tri-five. Even the early 60's Chevy's were looked upon as just another old car. And none of the guys dreamed of hotrodding a 55 Plymouth, Buick, Olds etc.

So perhaps Hotrodders had a hand in the current availability and of course popularity of the '55 - 57 Chevy.
 
#11 ·
I really dig the '53-54's ( I have a '53 210).
I didn't even know what a '53 Chevy looked like when I came across the listing for the one i bought.
Now all of a sudden it's like these things are a hot commodity or something, alot of people are digging these cars.
Good luck with your search, they're still fairly plentiful here in the States (the south anyway). I believe Dallas is the '53-54 world headquarters, I've seen more around there than I could count.
 
#12 ·
FWIW, the lady that works in my Dentists office wrecked her SUV...With the insurance money she bought a factory Air 54 Bel Air 4 door for around $12000.... All stock except for dual exhausts (love the sound of those sixes with a split manifold)
 
#14 ·
I saw it when it first aired, then I saw it again a few weeks later.
Personally, I LOVE that episode, especially with all those experienced hot rod guys!

I found a pretty nice '54 on ebay, 2 doors, needed some work, the price was around 2,000$... but it was in Indiana, so it's out of my range...
 
#18 ·
The 53 and 54 are almost identical. The grills are different. I like them both. Personal opinion. The tail lights on the 53 are ugly. Again, personal opinion. But I think you can swap out 54 lights for the 53's, assuming you can find some 54's in good shape on a donor car.

The enclosed driveline had a tube rigidly attached to the front of the pinion housing on the rear end. The tube enclosed the driveshaft and had a ball and socket affair attached to the back of the tranny which housed the u-joint. The tube resisted the rear end "wrap up" on acceleration. This is similar to the third generation Camaro except the Camaro had a bar that ran along side the driveshaft to the back of the tranny. The torque tube works OK with the original engine and tranny. Assuming you are going to put in a SBC, you will want to change the tranny. So, you will have to put a different rear end under it. Probably a good idea anyway. Better brakes. More reliable. But, if you are going to change rears, you should change the rear springs. The original springs were designed to only hold up the weight of the car. The resistance to rear end rotation under acceleration was handled by the torque tube. The springs are prone to break anyway. Adding torque retention to them will cause you grief. There are several good kits on the market. Might as well put a MII under the front to take advantage of better front end geometry, disk brakes, rack and pinion.
 
#19 ·
Other than the torque tube driveline, I think the pre 55s were less popular with the rodders was the lack of a factory V8................most other companies had one by then.

Of course when Chevy finally got one in 55, it was a "World Beater"
 
#20 ·
Okay, so I could look for a 53 too... hmmm... I'll have to find a picture of a '53 to look at the taillights.
On monster garage they pull a 454 in the '54... did the front end (inner fenders, front clip) have to be worked to fit the huge engine in, or does it just fit normally?
Thanks!
 
#21 ·
There are a couple of 53's and 54's on ebay right now for your viewing pleasure.

I don't think you have to modify the inner fenders for the big block unless you go with fenderwell headers. You may have to set the firewall back. Unless you want to putt around and just impress everyone that the car has a big block in it, you will definitely want to do a lot of frame work. MII and I would probably cut the bottom covers off the front frame rails and reinforce them. Replace the cross member with an X-frame of some sort. New rear end and springs. Power disc/drum or disc/disc with the booster/master cylinder on the firewall or under the dash.
 
#22 ·
Yeah I will definitly be re-inforcing the frame. BBC weren't made to go in, so the factory never made the rest of the components as strong as if you were to have a factory BBC in it.
I am probably thinking airbags... but I don't want the lowering kind. I just want the soft ride characteristics.
Thanks for the help, i will check out ebay in a minute.
 
#23 ·
My dad has a showroom stock `54 sitting in his barn under wraps. He takes it out for a spin every now and then. I love that car and told him if he ever wants to get rid of it to let me have first dibs on it. Rather than street rod it I have visions of just doing a split manifold and running it that way.
 
#24 ·
Iwanttolearn said:
Okay, so I could look for a 53 too... hmmm... I'll have to find a picture of a '53 to look at the taillights.
On monster garage they pull a 454 in the '54... did the front end (inner fenders, front clip) have to be worked to fit the huge engine in, or does it just fit normally?
Thanks!
Hi there...it's cool to see someone else sharing in the "love" for the 53/54 Chevy's. To be honest I prefer the 53. Go and look at the pics in my project journal to see what the 53 looks like. My current project is a 53 210 sedan.

Good luck in your search.
 
#26 ·
I Found a 53 Chevy 2dr sedan while on a scavenger hunt??

I have been building a 37 Dodge business coupe for the past 4 winters. I called about parts for a 37 Plymount...pretty much the same as a 37 Dodge and this guy told me about this 53 sedan he had stashed in the back of his garage...I bought it for $1500...pro-streeted..back halfed..Ford 9" rear end and full roll cage,350/350...now its a driver!!


Tazz


Rat Rods Rule!
 
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