Express Delivery: 1955 Chevrolet Handyman Wagon






















As I may or may not have mentioned before, my family owns a cabin up in the Pocono Mountains in Pike County. From time to time, the family will head up into Carbondale and Dickson City to check out the local shops and stores. While driving through Carbondale, there is a ratty-looking 1955 Chevrolet two-door sedan sitting in front of a car wash business (unfortunately, the car is not for sale; believe me, I checked). While this 1955 Handyman is a two-door station wagon and not a two-door sedan, this wagon is almost an exact twin to the two-door sedan. Find it here on eBay in West Chester, Pennsylvania, with no bids and a little under 22 hours left to bid.




















In 1955, Chevrolet revolutionized the automotive industry with its full-size models. Featuring bold, new styling inspired by Cadillac, the full-size Chevrolets ditched the dumpy styling of the 1954 models for edgy, cutting-edge styling. This 1955 Chevrolet is a 150 Handyman two-door station wagon model, and is one of 18,496 cars built for 1955. A fairly solid car, the Handyman is fairly rust free, with the exception of two small holes in the storage area. The car appears to have been white at some point, and with the Supreme mag wheels and the thin-line whitewall tires. I dig the US Mail sign, though I would either source another or ditch the roof-mounted light. I would repaint the car in white, straighten out the rear bumper, source a new front bumper, fit the 150 side trim, and drive this car in the nice weather.




















Seeing how this car looks like a hot rod, it only makes sense that a hot small-block Chevy is under the hood of this Handyman. Running a strong 350 SBC and a four-speed manual transmission, performance must be haulin'. The valve covers look out of place on this car, so I would swap them for a set of finned Corvette ones. I would also dress the engine to look period-correct; I think the 1957 283 from a Corvette would be a good inspiration piece. I would also clean up the engine and engine bay, sandblast and paint the headers white, and take this car out on the road for long, smoky burnouts.




















I can see a very nice interior in this Handyman's future! Inside, the interior is fairly stripped down, with no door panels, no floor mat, and no cargo area cover. The only seat inside is the front bench seat, and though fairly complete, the seat material will need to be replaced. The floor-shift four speed manual shifter is pretty cool, and I dig the black wheel and black dash. I would redo the entire interior in black and add some modern amenities for some comfortable, speedy driving. Overall, this 1955 Handyman station wagon is a cool project, and though in need of a full redoing, the low price is worth it. I could see this at local shows and hot rod events. What are your thoughts on this hot-rodded Handyman wagon?
Location: West Chester, PA, USA

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