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I first saw this 1955 Chevrolet 2 door Handyman wagon in the summer of 2018 at a friends house in Riverside, California as he had just bought it and was going to clean it up then sell it on. This was a Californian car with what seemed to be a good frame and not too much visible rust.
At some point there had been an air ride system on it and power steering fitted, not much of an interior but it was all manageable if I were to rebuilt or restored it. As far as I can tell there were roughly 29,419 2 door 210 6cyl & 8cyl Handymans in 1955, how many have survived I’m not sure, but probably not that many.
I was back in California in Jan 2019 and he still had it, and as I've always been a sucker for wagons I had a chat with my friend and I became the owner of my very own 1955 Chevrolet Handyman wagon. I have owned many cars over the years, for the most part I have kept them all original if they have been restored. As I was starting with essentially very little, just a chassis and body, I thought this would be a good candidate for a classic car but with a modern updates, something I could use all the time and jump in and do a long road trip without the worry. Plus have a few creature comforts of a modern car too, like A/C, satnav, power steering etc.
I first published the progress of this restoration and build on the H.A.M.B. website, it’s a great source of inspiration for traditional hot rods and custom cars, but as I am going down a non traditional route now, I have to respect their rules and so can’t publish any more updates on the progress of the build. This is not a problem as it means I can create this website for regular updates.
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July 2018: As found
February 2019: Ready for media blasting
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April 2019: Back to bare metal
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December 2019: Rust repair
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August 2020: Repairs and new metal
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October 2020: Body now in primer
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April 2021: Chassis repair work
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May 2021: Final repairs
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August 2021: Engine and wheels
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September 2021: Wagon now on wheels
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October 2021: Suspension & steering fitted
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November/December 2021: In storage for the winter
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December 2022: Nothing happening
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August 2023: Final back in the workshop
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September 2023: A few small changes to the body
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