The OP did the owner a courtesy by not publishing his license numbers. They were edited out.
Vehicle Sighting - 1956 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
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The OP did the owner a courtesy by not publishing his license numbers. They were edited out.
manicrodder
$50 site donor 2022
Mine too.
One more for you - the 307 was introduced for the 1968 model year, but was only used in the full-size Chevys that one year. It was also available in the Nova and the Malibu, and I think last appeared in the Nova in '73.
The 307 had the same bore as a 283 (3.875") and used a 283 crank (with a stroke of 3.25").
In comparison, the 305, which was introduced around 1976, was an under-bored 350 (bore = 3.736", stroke = 3.48").
With a larger bore, I presume the 307 had larger valves and therefore breathed better than the 305. It also would have revved better with the shorter stroke. I don't know why Chevy didn't simply reintroduce the 307.
But the 307 had a reputation as a bit of a gas hog, whereas the 305 was pretty thrifty back in the day.
Not to forget the 307.
The only thing not fun, is the single circuit master cylinder with 1 brake line for all four wheels, with 4 wheel drums , its not fun to drive in modern traffic. And with a single circuit, you lose all brakes with a cylinder failure or major leak, or the master cylinder fails.
To drive it on the road now, i would change that master, and upgrade the front brakes to disc, especially with a v-8.
I think 1967 was the switch to dual master cylinder. These cars were heavy; the drum brakes worked ok for the 1st few stops and then got hot!
Yep. Forgot the 307.
It's also been converted to "Side Motor Mounts", Either the firewall was massaged a little to fit the HEI or the engine was moved forward a little with the side mounts........But that would require getting rid of the Bellhousing Saddle Mounts & installing a Crossmember with a single trans mount along with a later 3-speed with trans mount provisions.
JHZR2
Staff member
Neat car, original survivor other than the engine. Too bad they’ll “restore” it and take some of that away.
No, those are collector plates, so he's limited to a certain low number of miles per year. Typically, collector-plated cars are driven to car shows, swap meets, Sunday afternoons in the park, and out for ice cream (as this car had been).
I missed that - good catch.
I'm guessing that vacuum wipers were superseded by electric when 12 V electrical systems replaced 6 V. Late 1950s?
They use lots of salt here, unfortunately. I would guess that the car did a few years of regular service, was parked for a long time, and now sees only summer driving.
The chrome dealer decal on the trunk (Community Chev-Olds) indicates the car was sold here originally, but it's also possible it was mostly driven in a rural area with less salt.
How was the rest of the vacation in Havana?
I've been told that there are lots of pre-Castro vintage cars running around with Lada drivetrains. These would provide ... leisurely ... acceleration.
What's the rush? They've got no place to go.
Chevy cars went 12V in 1955. Vacuum wipers were still standard for a few years after that. Electric wipers became an option (not sure which year) before becoming standard.
thanks for sharing these pics and story. It would be a shame to restore this car, as it really isn’t bad in its present state.
Vacuum wipers were such a weird thing. Electric was an option in 57, and they were driven by wire rope and pulleys in the dash. Vac wipers would sling the rubber inserts out during deceleration and come to a near halt on acceleration. And the leather contact surfaces in them got dry and wouldn’t move. We’d feed it a capful of brake fluid into its snout every year or so to soften them up.
speaking of drum brakes, back then they were evenly distributed, so the rears would lock before the fronts were ever near full stopping power. That, and they could be a real problem in the rain. I nearly rear-ended some of my best friends in high school as their Corolla came to an easy stop in the rain in front of me and …. we almost didn’t. I did everything I could including hand brake and L range from 45 to drag it down to stop. Hand of God abruptly stopped us 3’ off their bumper. The guys in front wanted to be mad, but the open floor of that car revealed to my passengers everything I tried, and the folks with me explained it. We are all scared by it. Flat out, discs wipe water better.
these cars had a 1000 mile maintenance interval for suspension lube and manual brake adjustment… we had the factory owners manual and shop manual. I don’t recall the oci.
speaking of drum brakes, back then they were evenly distributed, so the rears would lock before the fronts were ever near full stopping power. That, and they could be a real problem in the rain. I nearly rear-ended some of my best friends in high school as their Corolla came to an easy stop in the rain in front of me and …. we almost didn’t. I did everything I could including hand brake and L range from 45 to drag it down to stop. Hand of God abruptly stopped us 3’ off their bumper. The guys in front wanted to be mad, but the open floor of that car revealed to my passengers everything I tried, and the folks with me explained it. We are all scared by it. Flat out, discs wipe water better.
these cars had a 1000 mile maintenance interval for suspension lube and manual brake adjustment… we had the factory owners manual and shop manual. I don’t recall the oci.
I've driven them, and when on the roads with modern cars, down right dangerous. Was ok when everyone else had drums too.
For a show car i get keeping them original. But for a driver, you really need to change the brakes. Remember the steering wheel on these cars cause severe chest trauma.
I don't know the recommended oci, but most of the tri-5 had no block oil filters, mine had some sort of a factory bypass type filter.
Anybody remember the Chevy 267 or 262 V8’s ?
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