The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Optional goodies.

I once saw a 57 4 door sedan with a factory outside sunvisor.I was 16 and thought that was like one of the coolest options I ever saw.Same thing when I saw the Continental kit for the first time.Now I heard some people say ,if they had them they would just take them off, they look like some old mans vehicle.Well, I've always loved those cool looking options, including tissue dispensers ,bumper guards and many more.When I find these goodies,I use them reguardless of what other people say to discourage my taste.I also like to have some horse power to make the vehicle fun for me to drive, so it looks stock but goes like a Camaro.How do purists feel about this, is this sacrilidge to waste rare factory options on a street rod?

Hardly - for one thing you could always put it back to original. And for another, its not like these trucks are so rare you have to preserve the last one for posterior. Its your truck so do it like you like it. For example I have a CD player, GMC Van seats, a power brake booster, a 292 I6, and kevlar brakes on my 59. It looks mostly stock, but these improvements made it a lot better to own.

it also depends on what the truck was like to start with. if your intention is to modify for daily driving, bigger engine, more of this and that, then you probably would not want to start with a nice original example but instead find something that could benefit from a nice resurrection.

i have a really nice original example that my granfather bought new. if it wasn't for the fact that this is as original as it is, i would definitely be considering modifications. i do think it's nice when they look stock even if they have been upgraded for better performance, but i've also seen some top quality modifications too.

as some wise bolter said, it is your truck, do as you wish,, you are the one that has to be pleased with it,, I like them stock and I like them modified,, just depends on the truck,, mine is both...regards..Fred

I love sunvisors!I became fasinated with them when I was a young kid.I have owned about 300 of them.

I never cared for the sunvisors at all.. if I had a truck with them on it, i'd take 'em off and sell them on eBay.

I'm all about saving the old iron.. Deco and AD trucks are not too hard to come by.. but it isn't like they're making them anymore.

I personally wouldn't do heavy modification to a restorable truck that couldn't be reversed (like chopping) but at the end of the day, it's your truck, do whatever it is you want.

For the folks that say there are plenty of trucks out there, and there is no need to worry about ever running out.. thats what the guys said 30 years ago when they were chopping up the cars of the same era that now command crazy prices.

I personally like them when they look mostly stock but have something hiding under the hood. I think that chevy did a bangup job of designinng the bodies of these old trucks, but I think that the powertrains can leave a lot to be desired in modern applications. This does not mean that I don't love my 235 and granny low 4 spd but if I could trade them for a firebreathing smallblock and a 5 spd I would do it tomorrow. Anyway what it really comes down to as mentioned before is do what makes you happy. I think that those who stay mostly origional will be happy in 10 years when their trucks are worth triple what they are now. Most importantly keep driving the old iron and keep the old truck alive.

Those options add value to the collector vehicles. Try buying an outside visor at a resonable price. It,s all in personal taste. I like the visor but detest those cont. kits.

I have a 52 Deluxe and the sunvisor makes the car.
the rest of her is bits-n-pieces. but she is complete, drives well, and old men still tell me about the old chevys of there past.

My 54 Savoy is original and a great survivor.

My Bolt 59 is as original as a daily driving (gotta have seatbelts and turnsignals) can be.

Some of my rigs are original, some are a little this and a little that but what I like is DRIVING every one of them.

Do what makes you happy.

Cliff59

There is no point in building a truck that you don't enjoy, regardless of the reasons. If you like original and you want one then these guys are right go for it. Yeah trucks that are original may demand some high prices, but who is going to pay them. Its like any antique-it isnt worth anything if the market is limited. So modifications to me make sense. I want to drive across country and keep up with the modern vehicles. There are too many old original trucks to be worried about value, but thats just my humble opinion. The 49-53 trucks are really a dime a dozen. I have seen them everywhere in the states, and 216, 235 engines only go fast enough to irritate other drivers.
My brother in law just bought a maxed out every option all original Nova from the early 60's. Recorded value was 40000 dollars-he paid 18000 dollars and thats about all the guy could get from potential buyers. The guy probably spent 35000 dollars to restore it, so in my case I want to drive it and have a truck I can easily fix and have the look of the old days. Those trucks were beautiful. The chevies I see now dont even come close to the old looks that rocked. My favorites are the 61 chevy truck, the 54 Chevy truck and the 64 through 71 chevy trucks. All of em kicked butt, and I wouldnt buy a new one now if I had to. New KIA's wil log 200000 miles before needing a tune up and even our American products like Chevy, or Harley are getting their parts from cheap overseas countries.