Probably the most in depth look at 1959 Chevy park wood wagon
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ม.ค. 2022
- Today on what it’s like. We talk about 1959 wagons Chevy offered 4 wagons in 1959 brookwood was base parkwood kings wood and top of the line nomad (which was 4 door instead of two door that we all remember). We talk options power trains x frame. Who designed 1959 Chevy. And lots more subscribe if you dig all things automotive.
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we enjoyed your video...we previously owned a parkwood just like this one. we sold it in 2010. we did hear you say the hinged license plate on the rear tailgate does nothing but the real purpose of that is when the tailgate is down and you are driving you can tilt it so it can be read from behind still. :)
That is an excellent point I didn’t think about..
Chevrolet did the same thing on my El Camino, for years I thought that was the latch to drop the tailgate until I acquired the vehicle from dad.
The cargo area does go completely flat, you have to push down on the seat back and that panel will slide in flat. As others have mentioned the license plate folds down if you drive with tailgate open. Our family had a beige Parkwood like this one, 6 cyl with three speed manual on column. Ours didn’t come with a radio. As I recall my dad went from a fully loaded 1957 Olds sedan, to the Parkwood. He loved the Parkwood
Awesome information thank you so much for sharing =)
Great video! The rear license plate holder was hinged so when you drove the car with the tailgate down, the license plate was still visible from the rear. People drove around that way back in the day. If you ride in the cargo area with the tailgate down it is a very fun experience. Take it from someone who rode that way at age 10. Times were different back then! Always enjoy your videos, suggest you vary the format to keep things interesting. I enjoyed this video but would also like some more in the old format. Hope I make sense!
Thank you so much if everything goes good there will be a longer video coming in a totally different format.. I’m getting closer to the format that I’d like to use just haven’t figured out the opening yet once things are moving it’s easier =) totally makes sense with the license plate thing being able to see it while drive down the road with tail gate opened
My dad bought a new '59 Kingswood in the silvery blue pictured in the brochure. Three little boys all grown up have a lot of great memories involving that car. The key could be removed from the ignition and it could still be turned on and off. Or left running, accidentally, which happened once on vacation. We teased Dad about it for the next 50 years. We had a power tailgate window. Luxury!
You improve with every video and have a friendly personality with a genuine affection for these fine old rides. Happy I found your channel and subscribed.
Thank you so much =) I honestly believe I was born to late. I would have loved growing up in the 50s or 60s.
Had a buddy back home who got a 60 Cadillac when he was 16 and we went everywhere in Mark's car, AND would pull out the key when he wasn't looking and hide it.
Our neighbors had one of these with the I-6 and Powerglide. Rode in it many times. That engine/tranny combo was bulletproof. Although acceleration was leisurely, it was a smooth, quiet running car that would cruise easily at 65-70 mph (once you got up there).
Thank you for your videos the Chevy used a X frame chassis which the Chevy had to share design and chassis with Pontiac, Buick and Oldsmobile. In Australia we got Chevy's as well including the 1959 model only in base trim and sedan. These were built in Oshawa Ontario Canada as right hand drives and came to Australia CKD kits and assembled at GMH or better known as Holden (General Motors Holden). The right had dash was mirrored image to the left hand dash. The reason why they came to Australia in CKD form to be assembled was due to tax which was alot less then on assembled cars. The Chevy models were imported into Australia in CKD form up until 1969. These same CKD Chevy's were imported out of Canada to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and England. Ford and Holden Australia also imported certain models to South Africa with Holden using the Chevy brand name. New Zealand had ford and Holden manufacturing plants as well. The feature with the pivoting number plate on the tailgate of the feature Chevy wagon was so it could be seen when the tailgate was left open with long loads so it remained street legal. I enjoy your videos and I like how you use the brochures to explain the models engine's gearboxes etc to give a very important understanding how all the models worked and all the detail you show in your videos kind regards from a fellow car nutter Mick Verkerk Australia CKD kits means completely knocked down to loose parts
Thank you so much it’s important to keep all this information out there for the younger generations that wanna get into this hobby that’s what this channel is for I also love it in the comment section when people tell their stories and give insight to how these things work so it’s become more of a car community than a channel and I totally dig that like I don’t think there’s any other channel out there car related that’s a community that everybody’s involved =) which I totally dig because the stories give a layer of authenticity that I can’t give because I didn’t live with these cars and it’s just great and I love it it’s an aspect of the channel that I never thought possible.
Glad you dig =) PS I love the old advertisements so as many as I can dig up I’ll make sure I put as many ads and videos as I can I’ve been looking at old owners manuals I’ve been adding those into the mix as well
Took my driver's test in a Nomad wagon.. and yes, I did parallel park it😊
Awesome =)
I would proudly own AND drive this Car over ANY Car built today!!💕💕💕
Agreed
I recall a friend whose family had one of these. Six cylinder, 3 speed. Those seat convers were a thing then. You could just about fry an egg, much less your behind with these! My friend used to shift into second gear at about 5 MPH. The Chevy six had enough torque to handle this. He would shift into third at about 10 MPH or so. This is my dim recollection of how my several Chevy sixes also worked. Liked the video
Thank you so much for sharing that story.. yeah I could totally see those seat covers getting hot. That parkwood was the nicest one I ever saw it was like I just came off the show room floor.. glad you liked the video =)
The rear plate folding has a specific purpose. Rear plate folds down when the gate is open so it can be read from behind
The number plate drops down so you can drive it with a long load and have the tail gate down and still have the number plate visible. They used to have the same feature on Minis
Awesome thank you so much for sharing that info =)
My dad had a blue '59 Parkwood. That was known as the "work car". Always loved the design of it.
Awesome =)
Tailgate section of this video is very interesting, telling us (and future people) not only how the 1959 Chevy wagon looks like, but also how it works.
Not entirely accurate explanation of the 1959 Chevrolet (and other 1959 GM full-size cars). The original plan was for all those 1959 cars to have warmed over 1958 styling. However in the summer of 1956 some GM designers traveled to a Chrysler Corp backlot to spy on the new 1957 Mopar designs shortly before their introduction. As a result, plans for mildly facelifted 1959s were shelved. Instead, a totally new design was created with shared windshields and cowls (most costly body components to engineer) among all five GM divisions. In comparison, the 1958 full-size GM lineup had three separate windshield and cowl structures depending on the GM division. It was a crash engineering program that took less time than usual for a complete redesign. This reset engineering decision took place while Harley Earl was in Europe during 1956, basically overruling him without his consent. But Mr. Earl acquiesced by deferring at that time to his protege Bill Mitchell who succeeded him two years later. Mr. Mitchell had a different aesthetic than Mr. Earl. The full-size 1961 GM cars were designed under Mr. Mitchell's complete control.
Thank you so much for the insight
I have to agree with Kirk here. The exact same story is in the book 'The Cars Of Harley Earl.'
Earl is quoted as saying "I wouldn't piss on it" when he saw the '57 MoPars.
The Parkwood and Kingswood had the same trim on the interior and exterior as the Bel Air sedans. Owners usually bought plastic seat covers if they had children..my parent's 1961 Impala had them when I was a little boy.
Excellent overall. Well done perfect
Thank you glad you dig this episode =)
Your comments and presentation this car was on target and to the point. All advertising materials was correct. Keep your current plan on explaining how cars of this period. Thank you for your support. SFC. Aubrey Reid US Army Reserve Retired.
Thank you so much it really means a lot
Also thank you for your service.
The x frame on the full sized chevy was used from 58 to 64 other gm divisions used a variation of x frame
Thank you so much fir that correction
At the :50 mark when Harley Earl's retirement in Dec. 1958 was being discussed, it should be mentioned the 1959 cars had already been in Chevy showrooms and indeed on the streets since about early October of '58. Furthermore the '59 Chevy (and all 5 of the '59 GM's) were designed in 1957 as part of a "crash" re-do of the entire '59 line-up of cars, due to Chrysler's '57 models.
One feature of your reviews that must be kept is the glovebox review.
I totally agree there’s four episodes coming up that I wasn’t able to get in the car so those ones don’t have glove box test unfortunately but it’s definitely a staple that is going to stay on the show =)
Hey...a '59 Chevy. Not a favorite of mine but as I have gotten older, they've grow on me. I think the wagon looks the best with the fin. Not so pronounced. My friend for 48 years has always loved the '59 Chevrolet. He loves all the Chevrolets. When we were 18 he had a '64 Impala SS 327 and I had a '63 409. I have never heard someone (I'm 66) comment on the fin as looking like a wave. A distinctly different observation and refreshing. Thanks. I like the mild backing track you had. Easy to listen to music works best IMO. I can tell you have worked on you presentation and editing. I still really like your enthusiasm when researching or presenting the vehicle. Please don't take the harsh criticisms to heart, just look at each one logically and see if any of it makes sense. If it does, apply it, if it doesn't just discard it and move on. You're having fun and when it becomes a chore then you know when it is time to stop.
Thank you so much for telling that story it’s awesome, I don’t think people understand how much goes into ever video it’s like 8-10 hour process... what I found works for me is to shoot 4-5 cars one day and then research afterwards every car is different every situation is different...yesterday I only did 2 cars one brand new ev and the other was 2016...something lol. Anyway getting back to the point it’s a lot work to make video content you literally start with a blank sheet everytime... I have a photography business so I know cameras and angles stuff like that, but when you start adding music there is a whole new learning curve to it... That you wouldn’t think about like the music has the flow with what your showing also flow with your tempo and the beat in which you speak otherwise it will be a train wreck.. you can’t use music that’s copyrighted or you’ll get Whammied... it’s just a lot to think about... tomorrow I’m going to shoot for another TH-cam channel and totally stoked about it... get to take some cool cars out finally it’s 60 here in western Pennsylvania today
I learned a lot from this video 🙌👊😎
=)
I think the I6 with 3 speed/overdrive would be awesome, with manual steering/brakes you had to be a darn good driver, then I remember my aunt who was about 5 ft tall and 110 lbs who drove a 59 Biscayne with no options
I have yet to drive one can’t wait for spring I live in the rust belt... but can still tell the story of these cars just can’t drive them until the salt is gone... I drive that 1 ton Chevy daily it’s the first video and when I get into my Honda van after driving the truck for a week it’s like a rocket ship lol. Not saying it’s slow but there is a lot going on when you drive the 52 . No power brakes or steering pump the brakes to stop have to turn before the turn... I don’t have to double clutch which is good so there’s that.
Steering isn’t bad as long as your moving the brakes need upgraded the truck has a hydrovac but it’s leaking just disconnected it to drive it
My mom, too, had an early Biscayne and she was similarly diminutive. Tiny streets in an old town, doing the tap and stop parking tricks. . . .
nice parkwood. i own a Nomad with 348 and 4 speed
Awesome sweet what do you think of it? What do you like the most about it what do you like the least
i love the hole car,@@What.its.like.
My step-dad had the same key for his 64 impala 4 door post sedan
Turns out they used that key for a while
On the back seat when you fold it forward, if with one hand you push down on the top cushion and push down on the folding panel they will lock down in a more flat fashion. in 1960 they switched to a dual hinged panel that essentially did the above on it's own.
I didn’t mess with it that much honestly couldn’t believe how heavy the seat was.. it also had that seat covers on it
My grandad had a 59 Biscayne sedan. It had the 235 I6 and 3 speed standard. No power or air. It was so anemic you really had to plan when you were going to pass someone. We had a 58 Brookwood equipped the same way. Dad added AC because we lived in Arizona. The thing I remember about the seats was how they burned my legs when Mom came to get us at the local pool. The AC only cooled the front seat passengers.
That was a great story thank you so much for sharing I have a 52 Chevy 1 ton truck when I first bought that truck it was a lot of the same you had a plan out your trip it had a 327 Chevy in it at the time but it was one that didn’t have a whole lot of power.. We upgraded and put a 350 unit that had less power but more torque.. I can pass people now but I have to plan it out a little bit downshift etc.
It’s not fast by any means but it’s adequate... realistically I was thinking about going to An LS motor more horsepower but was afraid that the rest of it wouldn’t be able to handle it (brakes, suspension).. didn’t have the money to do all of it.. I Dove a 235 straight 6 and I know they are a bit sluggish it’s like driving a vw it’s slow... I’ve seen guys liven them up with carbs and cams.. thank you for commenting =)
5:51 Hey, you're using music written by a guy who graduated from the same high school I did. Thanks! On the frame, X-Frames don't look safe. No frame members to protect people from side impact from the looks of it. The 59 and 60 dashboards were and excellent design, don't know why Chevy abandoned that set up so quickly. Imagine it was new for the sake of new.
Nice, like the channel
Awesome =)
Excellent
Thank you =)
The Nomad remained the top-of-the-line Chevy wagon as you stated (in many ways) as it had since the 2-door '55-'57 models. It went to a 4-door with the '58 of course, because the tri-5 were very, very expensive, and didn't sell that well because it was a 2 door causing limitations as a working station wagon, and because it was so expensive it was not about to be used in a rough & tumble way a normal wagon would for that reason. Also the tri-5's had the big 'greenhouse' look that while SO beautiful, was also SO hot on warm days.
The '58 would be all-new, and it was decided no tooling would be done for the exotic door from that point on. It was still the most expensive wagon, but much more in line with the others. At least they kept the Nomad script on the '58 tailgate and the 7 chrome vertical 'bars'. In that regard the '58 was a carryover from the tri-5. The '59 here and later didn't lend themselves to that per the fins ('60 also) and the '61 just didn't at all.
Awesome information thank you so much for sharing =)
@@What.its.like. Thanks. In my 2nd paragraph I left out a word while typing away. I meant "... no tooling would be done for the exotic 2-door again from that point on."
Nowadays, Tri-Five Nomads sell very well for big bucks
So was the rear power window an option on the ‘59 Parkwood? As a boy dad bought one for the family; red with a white top. The rear tailgate power window button was a circular type button easily reached right under the dash. I recall it was to the left of the radio. Turning the button in opposite directions would raise or lower the window. As a kid I enjoyed messing with that button.
It’s possible the one on this car was manual. =) thanks for sharing that great memory
No air cleaner on that straight 6?
The “copper and cream” two tone color combo was very popular. You can see why, it still looks good. The clear seat covers were sort of common. Some people even did it to their furniture at home. It was uncomfortable. The background music was from the 40’s, Glenn Miller Band. Look up the most popular song in the year the car was made. Music isn’t necessary though. I think the copper color was called Aztec Bronze.
Yeah it was a Glenn Miller song from 1939 but I thought it went pretty good with the big bang thing I should’ve did more of a rock ‘n’ roll but it’s hard put music to a piece has to coordinate with the piece as well as your tempo so it’s a lot harder than people think I gave up on the music thing it might show up again later there’s too many loops To jump through you can download music that says free royalty a copyright and TH-cam will still give you a copyright disclaimer for it
Most purchasers of this car new had been teens/young adults in the 1940's. They likely still listened to swing music from that era in 1959.
Aztec Bronze was a 1966 color only. This 1959 is called Gothic Gold.
You sound like you really like cars always check the accuracy of your information unfortunately some of the info on line is inaccurate. Just be genuine. You present your channel very well keep up the good work
Thank you it’s come a long way since that episode, this is not a car channel but a car community, I don’t have all the information but want to keep this information of these car alive and you guys and girls in the comment add to it can ad information stories experiences problems encountered and share memories =)
as a kid, I can remember we had this same car, a 1959 CHEVY wagon
That wagon was the cleanest wagon I’ve done for the channel.. but if given the choice between the three of them I’d do the Hudson there is something and that design.. and got pretty good gas mileage and it wasn’t a total dog.
GM was able to cover every market niche with 5 division, and the different series in each division. Ford tried to counter with the disastrous timing of the Edsel in 1958. It wasn’t a terrible car, but was introduced during a recession. Had Ford done this a couple of years earlier it might have worked. Even in lean times GM was able to satisfy any buyer, and price range.
My Father had a 59 Chevy 2 Door Biscayne that was Blue with a 235 6 CID 3 ON The Tree
Awesome did you like his car?
"This does nothing" is so the License plate will hang down (so it can be seen) if you are driving with the tailgate open...
Awesome I didn’t think about that while filming but it makes sense
The Chrysler tail gate is counter balanced the Chevy is not.
I think the wave as you call it does look like a wave however back in the day they were called gull wing because looking from the back it looks like a bird in flight.
When you fold down the back seat you have I think you have to fold the seat bottom forward before drooping the back down flat.
Awesome information thank you so much for sharing =)
I would say that license plate flips down so it could be seen if you're driving with your tailgate open
Awesome observation that I didn’t think about thank you so much for sharing that
Where does one add the fuel?
When you did the backseat if you push the backseat completely down and then put that thing back and then push the backseat completely down it would lock that other part and then you'd have a complete flat back-end he just didn't push it down completely where that other part would lock in place then you would have a complete flat rear when you were behind the front seat pushing on that rear seat down and you flipped the other piece back if you would have went back and put that rear seat completely down it would have locked the other piece in place and I say again then you would have had a complete flat rear
Thank you so much for that correction
Our family had one of these, same colors, etc. I don't know which model it was (Peckerwood?). I do know that it was an automatic, and that it could be push started. I know, we kids had to push it. Probably one of the 2 speed transmission. It had the 3rd row facing back seat. Oh, the smell of exhaust in the morning! Six kids, big family. This car replaced the 2 tone pink Rambler Mom crashed into a mail collection box. That car is another story.
You’re talking about the Brookwood that’s the nine passenger model
Awesome story thank you so much for sharing
Pontiac never offered the X frame. Pontiac always had the perimeter frame.
Another fact about the X frame, GM widen it body, except it used the same frame from the 50', except Pontiac. Pontiac had the "wide track ", which matched the frame to the wider bodies.
After market wide oval tires were installed on GM full sized cars (except Pontiac) to make up for the narrow 50's frames.
The X frame were designed to be easier lengthed. GM could length the frame for the Olds 88 into a Olds 98 at the X, instead of having to length two perimeter rails.
The X frame was unsafe.
If a car was T-boned, then there was no outer perimeter rail to slow the impact.
The X frame was discontinued in all GM cars, never to be used again without a perimeter frame.
Also wide oval tires were never used in passenger cars.
Thank you’d so much for taking the time and sharing all of that information very much appreciate it.. I didn’t know Pontiac didn’t use the x frame
@@What.its.like. It's an interesting fact. I don't know how Pontiac got away with going against the GM.
Another thing is how GM got away the X frame, until 1965.
The development of cars in the 50's and 60's was retarded.
For instance, fuel injection was used in fighter from the 30's.
GM, Ford, & Chrysler put fuel injection in '57 & '58, but gave up on fuel injection. VW developed fuel injection in the 60's.
Front wheel drive was developed by Citroën in the 60's, but didn't appear in America cars until the 80's.
@@jamesmooney8933Citroën had FWD from 1934 in the Traction Avant. Cord in the US had FWD from 1936.
Most beautiful car Chevrolet ever built!!!!JMHO People go GAGA over the 5-6-7, but they aren't nearly as pleasing to look at as the 59 in my opinion.
I think the tri 5 are over rated 57 Chevy offered fuel injection, but so did amc and in 57 rambler rebel is one of the fastest cars of the 1950s some say it was the fastest.. I would love to do a comparison rambler rebel vs golden hawk and race them and find out once and for all which one is the fastest
our chevy wagon was a medium blue, with white..
That sounds like an amazing color combo
"does nothing" license plate mount swings down when tail gate open so plate visible to drive with gate open.
Thank you so much for that information =)
Did they have an asking price on it?
I just asked him he sold it.. he sell them fast.
Constructive Feedback? Drop the Toodeloo at the end. Please. Please.
All medal dash... Nice to smash your teeth on when you get into a head-on... LOL!
Pros and cons to everything with the metal dash you just clean it off and sell to the next person. Do you remember the dashboards used in cars in the 80s vinyl would crack... airbags would cushion the blow But I’ve never been hit with an airbag before I could only imagine it probably is like getting punched in the face
First of all I love your videos and secondly it's Wrong music for 59 even though it was made around the same time you really want to use music that better encompasses the era that your covering. It's kind a like using Nirvana music from the early 90's to cover a vehicle made in late 90's, it's out of two WAY different era's and it tends to come off as tone def towards the era that the car was made in. You want the watchers to get into the "vibe" of the era and empathize with the style of the car.
Totally agree it’s hard to find the right tempo for what I’m showing put trying to keep in tempo with voice finding the right music is hard =)
My dad would never buy this wagon....he was a "Put a 4'x8' piece of plywood in the back." kind of guy. 😅
I’m hoping one day I can get to a point where I can drive these till like Home Depot and test that out that would be really cool but I don’t think that’s ever going to happen unless I own one.. but who knows =)
@@What.its.like. That would be cool.
You need some good looking Lady's to show off the cars, other then that you doing a nice job! :-)
My wife wouldn’t go for that this is a family friendly show lol
@@What.its.like. Too Da Lou! Lol ! :-)
Brilliant video but that car has no leather anywhere it’s all vinyl
Thank you for that correction =)
Excellent vedio however the price would have been helpful
It’s sold, guy sells them faster than I can make movies for them..
Thx
It was 58, not 57.
My guess is those clear plastic seat covers were from Fingerhut. A VERY common add on for that time period.
I like Voice only. I found the specification brochure pages a little bit hard to read on my cellular phone. I don't have that problem with your other videos where you're basically showing a black background with white text and explaining the different numbers.
I also much prefer the style of station wagon seat where the seat bottom falls forward and the seat back folds completely flat without having to undo and flip another piece like the Chevy has. Also I never knew about the ash tray vacuum. Seems like a strange thing, but having had to dump astrays in many cars I owned over the years when I smoked. I can appreciate the fact of being able to not have cigarette ashes spilled all over the interior of your car while you're trying to unclip and remove an ashtray.
Thank you so much for all that insight that episode was almost a year ago The format has come along way since then, finally have a format that I really like and make tweaks to it every episode so that it’s not like watching the same thing over and over again, but like the way it flows now
The tooling to make those complicated contours in that sheet metal must have worn out in a week or two!
There is a lot going on with that design.. pictures and video don’t do it justice
that was back in '65 before my baby sister was born, it got hit, on the left rear, and then we got a brand new Dodge /Plymouth Fury 111 wagon to replace it.......kept it till '72 when it was "STOLEN"!
One with the stacked headlights? Man that sucks it got stolen did you ever find it?
@@What.its.like. Nope, it never got found
Save superlatives like awesome and amazing for cars that really were. This thing is so pedestrian I'm surprised it has tires instead of shoes. In other words, talk about the cars in terms of their relevance during the era they were on the road, not how they look in a virtual museum today.
It’s awesome now all wagon’s are awesome now anything that wasn’t cool back then is cool now... it’s weird everything I think will do well fails take a look at the series iii e type jag vs this video or the Lincoln mark v video just before it... cool is the uncool of yesterday...
Any restored car taken out of its era and seen in a pristine environment is going to be impressive. On the other hand, the historical value of the 1959 Chevrolet design was its ugliness. The design was so ugly that the Chevrolet Division advertising agency didn't show the car in their TV ads until its release. What they did was show it "subliminally" by popping one-second stills on the screen so the public didn't know what the car looked like until they saw it in the showroom. The worst part from GM's point of view was they were stuck with the thing for at least two model years. Compare Ford vs Chevy model year sales for 1959.
This may be a big surprise, not everyone has the same opinion about the 59 wagon as you, I find them quite awesome 🙂🤷♂️
Yes I agree wagons are awesome some people get it others don’t =)
Why use 30s swing music fo a 59 car ? Use Chuck Berry !
I was looking for big band I couldn’t use chuck berry would have gotten copy right claimed
Why are you playing music from the 1940's for a 1959 Chevrolet?
It was on a big band track from high school production I think it came out in 1939 could be wrong... but went well with the clip probably use it again when I do a packard or a fancy car
Good video but quit saying “your”.. “ here is YOUR window crank, here is YOUR ashtray, here is YOUR wiper switch etc.
Ok will do thank you for the input =)
@@What.its.like. didn’t mean to offend. Others may have no problem with that.
I’m not at all offended
I didn’t like how much you talked before getting on with the content
Thank you for the insight that was an older episode things are a little different now
It’s like the summary of a book do you just pick up a book and read it or do you read the summary to find out what it’s about that’s all I was trying to do =)
Nice, but 6 banger? No thanks.
6 cylinders got good economy tho.
@@What.its.like. I suppose so. But I’d rather have a car this heavy with the 348. V8.
Me too but this was way too nice to pass up. This looked like it just came off the show room floor.
@@What.its.like. back around 1977 I had a 58 biscayne 4 door hardtop with the 348. It was a good car.