The Best 1950s Cars to Restore

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Have you always dreamed of restoring a 1950s classic car?  Not to many years ago, the cars of the 50s weren’t considered great restoration material because they just weren’t terribly valuable when finished. Well, those days a long gone.  Certain cars of the 1950s are quite valuable today when finished and, as a result, are in big demand as unrestored vehicles.  In this article we will look some of the best 1950s cars to restore.

 

1950-1954 Packard
It used to be that the only desirable Packards were the cars of the 1930s and some of the 1940s. Today, the 1950s Packards are becoming highly sought after mainly because they are great looking cars and quite affordable too.  As far as replacement parts are concerned, nearly all mechanical and electrical parts can be bought new, and for lower prices than what you’d think. Body and trim pieces are still tough to locate so look for a vehicle that that is in pretty good shape to begin with then you won’t need to chase missing trim parts.

 

Studebaker Golden Hawk — 1956-’58
Studebaker’s classy Golden Hawk is just a great looking car. Plenty were built, so you should have no trouble finding one to restore.  At one time, restoration parts for Hawks were few and far between but that’s changed now plus, there are lots of New Old Stock (NOS) parts that are flooding onto the market. The Studebaker Hawks were well built cars so they aren’t any more difficult to restore than your average Chevy or Ford. Thanks to their upscale character and smashing good looks, a well-restored Golden Hawk will command a nice sum when finished.

1955 -1957 Chevrolet Bel Air

No list of 1950s cars could ever possibly be complete without a mention of the famous “Tri-Five” Chevys – the 1955, 1956 and 1957 models.  These are tremendously popular cars and you can buy just about every single part on the cars.  The service guys at Landmark Chrysler in Belton, MO say the Tri-Five Chevys are easy to work on. Plus, they are big cars with lots of room under the hood for easy access to components. The huge following of enthusiasts worldwide ensures that these cars will always sell quickly and for good money. Thanks to being produced in large numbers, there are still many project cars available on the market.

1955-1957 Cadillac Series 62
With almost 100,000 of these cars produced, finding a good, restorable example of these Cadillac models isn’t a hard task. All Cadillac sedans made this year were of the hardtop body style, so they all have that fantastic stretched Fifties look.  These year Cadillacs weren’t simple cars.  Most all of them were loaded with power features so you have a lot of sub-systems to take care of.  Fortunately, there is a very active club, the Cadillac-La Salle Club, that currently has thousands members that can provide assistance. If you need body parts, you’ll be scouring the nation’s junkyards, but at least all the mechanical parts are available new.