1954 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe, not mine.

[Xander Wildeisen]

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1223531095439085/?ref=search

[Twisted Shifter]

I'm sure there are bus loads of South Dakotans flocking to Edgemont with fists full of cash to grab this Chevy before winter sets in on the prairie.

[Fossil]

1 hour ago, Twisted Shifter said:

I'm sure there are bus loads of South Dakotans flocking to Edgemont with fists full of cash to grab this Chevy before winter sets in on the prairie.

Being from SD I'd bet not. 

54's are one of my favorite GM products but not at that kind of money. 

 

 

[Gearheadengineer]

I like it, but somewhere there is a Nova disputing the “all original and unmodified” claim. 
 

Cleaned up and running it might get some interest at that asking price. 

[drhach]

It comes with a 2 door pats car. I've never seen (or maybe noticed) that roof line on those cars. It looks much like the 58's. 

[rocketraider]

Pontiac also used that roofline on 53-54 Catalina Sport Coupes. Most sources credit Harley Earl with its design.

[58L-Y8]

3 hours ago, rocketraider said:

Pontiac also used that roofline on 53-54 Catalina Sport Coupes. Most sources credit Harley Earl with its design.

From its inception, Pontiac always shared the Fisher A-Bodies with Chevrolet that used those exclusively.  All GM Styling Studios were led by Harley Earl, Vice President of Design, who assembled the lead styling powerhouse of the industry from the best talent of the day.  Each nameplate had a studio, but also worked within the parameters of the common body series assigned by top management.   The vehicle packages were carefully laid out and costed out to insure as much as possible profit from every car and to reach breakeven point as quickly as practical.  Misterl, as he was referred to among the designers themselves but never to Harley Earl to his face, he was always 'Mr. Earl' had the complete backing of Alfred Sloan, Chairman of GM in those years.   Upper series Pontiacs were allowed B-Body sharing with Olds, Buick, LaSalle, even Cadillac at times.

[Sal Hepatica]

If it were in Southern California, it would sell in 10 minutes. I don't think the price is unreasonable; Chevys sell for stupid money, and this is a BelAir hardtop.

[58L-Y8]

9 minutes ago, Sal Hepatica said:

If it were in Southern California, it would sell in 10 minutes. I don't think the price is unreasonable; Chevys sell for stupid money, and this is a BelAir hardtop.

The seller wouldn't have to go very far to tap a receptive market: any of three front-range Colorado cities have an active automotive subculture that centers around Chevrolet, colloquially referred to as "Chebbies!"

[Xander Wildeisen]

1 minute ago, 58L-Y8 said:

The seller wouldn't have to go very far to tap a receptive market: any of three front-range Colorado cities have an active automotive subculture that centers around Chevrolet, colloquially referred to as "Chebbies!"

Are you saying cleaning it might help?

[Buick35]

I bought one in 71 while stationed at Ft. Sill, Okla.a two door with a three speed on the collom but it was orange with a white top.I think I paid $600 for it. Anyway I ran it out of water and ruined the engine so I went to the junkyard and bought a 348 with a power glide and dropped in it.I found out later it had one 348 head and one 409 head but it ran o.k. Wierd.

Edited September 26 by Buick35
Add more text. (see edit history)

[Fossil]

6 hours ago, Buick35 said:

so I went to the junkyard and bought a 348 with a power glide and dropped in it.

We do what we have to do. The head thing was strange. It would have been interesting to compare compression readings from one side to the other. 

[B Jake Moran]

As usual, some of you and I will disagree on value.  It might get that price but the optics are horrible.  Meaning - what it says about value, price etc makes me depressed.  This seller has done nothing with it for 20 years. Has the now infamous “ran when parked” nonsense, and wants “cruise ship balance payment is due” money.  Can’t be bothered to clean it up.  
 

 

[drhach]

The listing is gone. 

[Gearheadengineer]

1 hour ago, Fossil said:

We do what we have to do. The head thing was strange. It would have been interesting to compare compression readings from one side to the other. 

If I remember right (risky assumption) the 348/409 combustion chamber was not in the head. The cylinder/piston design accommodated that. So maybe no compression difference at all. 

[Ed Luddy]

2 hours ago, Gearheadengineer said:

If I remember right (risky assumption) the 348/409 combustion chamber was not in the head. The cylinder/piston design accommodated that. So maybe no compression difference at all. 

This ^

[Twisted Shifter]

16 hours ago, Buick35 said:

I went to the junkyard and bought a 348 with a power glide and dropped in it.

 

If I recall my misspent teenage years, weren't '53 Chevys equipped with enclosed drive lines (torque tubes)? Installing that 348 + powerglide (assuming the powerglide used was OEM with the engine), it must have taken a little more effort than just "dropping it in". I don't recall seeing any adapters that easily joined a torque tube to anything.

[Buick35]

7 hours ago, Twisted Shifter said:

 

If I recall my misspent teenage years, weren't '53 Chevys equipped with enclosed drive lines (torque tubes)? Installing that 348 + powerglide (assuming the powerglide used was OEM with the engine), it must have taken a little more effort than just "dropping it in". I don't recall seeing any adapters that easily joined a torque tube to anything.

The 54 I had didn't have an enclosed driveshaft,thank goodness.

[Fossil]

I don’t have any experience with the 53’s but I’m just about positive the 54’s were open shafted. 

[Bloo]

1955 was the first open shaft. That didn't stop people putting v8s and open driveshafts in 49-54 Chevrolets. They just change the rear axle too. The springs are not intended or designed to take axle windup, but some people did it anyway. Also, the spring mounts for the torque tube did not encircle the axle like they did in the 30s, they were more like a hinge. The center pin on the spring is not at the center of the axle. With the new axle solidly attached to the spring, the wheel is too far forward in the fender. Watch for it. Once you have seen it, you can't unsee it.

 

It was also possible to put in the differential center section from a late 50s Chevy and then weld up the hinges, I think. Small blocks were tight in those cars on the left side. A 348 sounds like considerably higher difficulty to me. I probably wouldn't have attempted it.