Jay,
Sounds like a car that has possibilities and the O/D and original radio
are real bonuses! BTW the wing thing on the top of the horn button is the
directional signal switch. The mechanical tachometer was hung under the
centre of the dash.
Why are all these cars on the west coast? :(
Later,
Bob
At 08:06 AM 8/16/99 -0700, you wrote:
>I saw the '55 Alpine I mentioned. This is a great car if you want to
>restore one at a great price. I am not going to get it because we simply
>do not have room and my wife, who the car would be for in the first place,
>is not too hot for it. But, if one of you folks are interested, let me
>tell you more.
>
>First, I think he'll take around $2,000 for the car. It generally appears
>to be all there. Even the original door panels are there in seemingly
>great condition, except that they have faded. The body is straight and
>does not appear to have ever been in any major accidents. Actually he says
>it is the factory paint. So, it does not appear to have been in any
>accidents. The top is there, with possibly the original material. The
>seats are covered in plastic bags. But, underneath appears to be the
>original seat material, hanging by threads, literally - for those that like
>the restorations where original materials are used where possible, the
>seats might work for that too. The car does have the optional overdrive
>that engages by this nice neat chrome sliding piece on the steering wheel.
>The car is even still standing on 3 early white walls (though they really
>are history). The engine is apart. The auxillary pieces (carb, manifold,
>generator, etc.) all looked very clean. The front grill and bumpers have
>already been rechromed. The original radio is there too.
>
>The dash was also different than the dash on the '53 one I saw, with the
>Datsun engine. This one's speedo was much bigger, and it had a tach, and
>some weird winged thing that was on the steering column. Didn't get a
>close enough view to figure out what is was.
>
>The guy bought the car when it was 5 years old, in 1960. He has the
>original owners manual and this really neat color poster/chart that shows
>all the lubrication points and various other tune up areas on the car.
>
>Now, let's not think this is all great. Here are some problems I noticed
>too. The only place I noticed significant rust was in the hinge area for
>the spare tire door. In fact the hinge mechanisms seems all screwed up
>too. But, that may be minor. The steering wheel is there, but the
>ceramic/plastic that surrounds the metal core of the wheel itself is all
>but gone. The center badge seemed messed up too. The windshield was
>cracked by a golf ball hit by the owner's dad. There is no guaranty what
>the condition is of the crank, cam, waterpump, etc. The lenses on the rear
>tail lights were missing (but the housings were there, as well as the front
>lights and signals). He said they were in the car. One chrome side strip
>piece was not on the car. He said that was in the car too. His brother
>started working on it and stripped the paint off of the trunk and never
>covered it. So, it has a layer of surface rust on it. I did not see into
>the floor boards since a lot of parts were piled inside and I was running
>out of time.
>
>I only got to spend about 10 to 15 minutes looking at the car. The drive
>took longer than expected (2.75 hours) and I had to get all the way home
>for dinner in 2.5 hours. So, I didn't get to see more. Let's just say
>that it's nice sometimes to have a car that happily passes other cars at
>speeds I shouldn't have been doing even without passing.
>
>He did e-mail me a few pictures. I'd be happy to send them to anyone who
>is interested. Let me know. As I said, if you want one of these beauties,
>this is a great car, especially for the price.
>
>Jay
>
>
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Robert (Bob) A.C. Hamilton, Waverley, Nova Scotia, Canada
The Man of Many Sunbeams - Alpine, Drophead and Saloon 1953-1954
REVISED Home Page: http://www.navnet.net/~hamilton/index.html
NEW REVISED BATANS Home Page: www.batans.ns.ca
E-Mail: hamilton(at)cast.navnet.net
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