http://www.goldenrod-garage.com/DETAIL.ASP?DT=1&CI=5&UI=256&MI=1&DH=0 1961 Chevrolet Parkwood wagon,an original,unmolested car,with typical rust to the exterior sheet metal,but a solid frame,generally sound floors,and an original 283 V8 that turns freely,but is not in running condition,yet.With wagon's increasing popularity,this is a good restoration candidate. $3950.
The Parkwood was the middle full-size wagon in the lineup, and had the Bel Air trim. The others were 'Brookwood' (Biscayne trim) and Nomad (Impala trim)
That is a first for me - I have never, ever seen a car with the top front of the fenders rusted off. How does that even happen?
Cars like to rust in the north east, this picture was taken in June of 67 http://www.uvm.edu/landscape/search...q=9&imageSet=1532915071-5b5e6d7f890ec&AddRel=
Also, '61's did not have a rounded Inner Fender like the '62 and newer cars had. That improvement made a difference.
Yeller, I get that. And I can see how the bottoms of the doors would rust, since these old wagons were a moisture trap down in there, my '63 included. I still don't see how the top fronts of the fenders could rust away though. Granted I have never looked under the hood of a '61, but it still puzzles me.
Nope, Bill, I missed that. So they were flat or slightly sloped and caused the water/moisture to get to that point?
Yes, the whole opposite site of the Fender and related parts were exposed to the tire kicking up water and any other road chemicals. If the car was driven on muddy roads, a mud pack could form up in the pockets and hidden areas that could hold moisture, making it worse. In '62, they came out with a more rounded Inner Fender appropriately housing the wheel which very much helped eliminate the problem.
By the way, I was wondering why the '61 Wagon at the grocery store got so rusty like that and then I saw where that car was at, Northern Vermont. The car was probably exposed to a lot of road salt, but still strange how the doors got it and the fenders didn't. Maybe the car would park under trees a lot with the windows down in the warmer weather collecting debris ?? I still have '61 parts cars down back that still have good doors on them here now 51 years later from when that picture was taken.
That's actually a common problem in salt-areas of the country. When I was a kid back in PA, my grandpa had a neighbor that had a 63 Rambler Classic that had holes in the tops of the fenders and the fellow put matching black duct tape over where it was getting soft and rotting. But I digress, I've seen this in all manufacturers over the years, and it seems common to cars around the 55-65 model years.I just recently seen a 58 Edsel in a yard in PA that the headlights fell back into the fenders, they were that rotted. But you did bring up a good question - I'm not familiar - did these years of Chevy's have a good inner fender?
