1959 Chevy Kingswood project

mine had hubcaps and white wall bias ply when i got it but it was a brookwood which was the bottom trim level ,yours being a kingswood was second from the top so they might not be the same . i can dig out the old brochures if ya want and see what they show.
this is a copy of the pic i got before i went to look at it

 

I did some double-checking and, since I believe the Kingswood (and 6-passenger Parkwood) was the same trim level as the Bel Air, these do look like the correct hubcaps - unless for some reason a different cap was used on the wagons. They show up on pics of the '59 Bel Airs.

 

A few more pics from the shop today.

Working on the rear quarter panel. Rusted-through areas will be patched:



Block sanding a door. That must be tedious.

 

I'm very impressed with the work your body shop is doing. Lots of progress for a short time............

 

This whole thread is fun. Really enjoying the build from my end.

 

:2_thumbs_up_-_animaThat shop is getting right after your wagon. You must have caught him at a good time. Usually it's a very long wait.
Back where we lived in central Illinois there was a hubcap store and another on the south end of Peoria, Illinois. We never went in either but always thought they looked neat with all of the hubcaps decorating the outsides. Both places disappeared later. Always wondered what happened to all of those hubcaps.
Used to see small gas stations and even home garages with hubcaps on the walls and fences for sale. I've got several dozen assorted hubcaps growing in our old greenhouse out back. Was tempted to hang them on our board fence. I have a rope along one side of our drive way closer to the house with license plates hanging. Those, a few traffic signs, and two traffic lights always lets people know they are in old car country.

 

They are working fast, aren't they? Good people. Husband and wife are owners and tell me the timing for them was ideal. We really got lucky.

We've made a decision on the engine... it will be pulled and picked up by their engine guy and gone through. If it's sound, we'll keep it, and the Powerglide transmission. The guys in the shop keep telling me it's an engine that is more than adequate for our needs, even while running a/c and towing a trailer, if we decided to ever do that.

I feel pretty good about the decision, because keeping it as stock as possible is important to me. If, a few years down the road, we decide we need a bigger engine, we can replace it later.

 

Our "House Of Hubcaps" closed a while back, too.

I prefer to run "dog dish" hubcaps on my stuff. I managed to find a set of 66and/or 67 Chevelle dog dish caps for our 67 Malibu wagon. Painted up some 15x7 wheels white and put the caps on, looks pretty good to me.........

 

Lisa glad to hear you are sticking with the original engine and tranny for now. As you wrote, things can always be changed down the line. Many small RV's have been pulled with a straight six. I'm not fond of the Powerglide but they've also been out many years and some still have them built up for racing or just cruising.

 

If you cannot find the tailgate panel you need, make a cardboard template and go to a sheet metal shop and have them build one. Won't cost much, they typically work pretty quickly and have all the equipment at hand. Just a suggestion. Same goes for the drip cap.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I talked to the shop owner, who likes to do metal fabrication, and he said he can cut off the bottom of the panel and weld a patch on. He also an make a drip rail.. it probably would have been cheaper to have found these parts, but at least we have a solution.

 

Here is another question for people who know about Kingswood: what is the correct hood ornamentation? Our car just has the script word "Chevrolet." No chevron or crossed flags. I've seen three different combinations of emblems on the Kingswood: Script "Chevrolet" only, both script with chevron symbol, and also script, with chevron and crossed flags. I think the word "Chevrolet" alone dictates a 6 cylinder engine. But are the other two combinations denoting the small block and big block V8?

 

small block and 348 or "W" series engine

 

Lisa - Here's a question:
What is the intended result when this car leaves the shop? Will it be fully finished, running, driving, stopping going, upholstered, wired, gauges, lights, just get in and drive etc etc? Or will they be doing the hard messy stuff and you and hubby would finish the incidentals?
Just asking as I know the crazy skills and know-how that your husband has and I know you're certainly a hands-on person as well.
Just curious what the plan is.

 

The general plan is to have the shop do all but electrical and interior/upholstery. Dave's schedule might make it tricky for him to be available when the shop needs the wiring done. I'm also guessing that things need to be done in a certain order after a point; wiring might have to go in before the shop can proceed with anything else. I wouldn't want them waiting on Dave. However, I believe Dave could do a better job than about anyone... he's very meticulous about such things.

Personally, I'd love to help install the upholstery (if it's anything like re-doing furniture I'm all about that!) but Nip's is a one-man show and I wouldn't want to hinder him. I may be perfectly content to just take pictures.