1954 Chevrolet test drive

test drive

[@carlv8168]

Those radios were NOT instant-on transistorized.....they were strictly tubes that required a few seconds to warm up before the radio comes on.

[@discerningmind]

Tube radio warm-up is usually in the area of 20-30 seconds.

[@carlv8168]

@@discerningmind Yes, I know. I owned several early '50s cars, including a '54 Bel Air; all with OEM radios.

[@discerningmind]

@@carlv8168 I know that you knew that. But you said "a few seconds" to warm-up and I wanted to clarify for people that don't know that it takes longer than that.

[@carlv8168]

@@discerningmind Yeah, I get it.....I guess it's all a matter of interpretation and splitting hairs. A "few seconds" has no finite numeric value. My point was some KZbin posters selling cars like this tend to be young and not very well-versed about the nuances of these older cars. It was frustrating to hear this kid flick on the radio, hear no sound and immediately assume that it doesn't work.

[@lvmy57]

I see it over and over again on these type of videos. Young people get in an old classic, snap the radio on, give it about 3 seconds and snap it back off. Cracks me up.🤣

[@Al-thecarhistorian]

You didn't give the radio a chance. Being a tube radio, it takes a moment to warm up.

[@michaelbenardo5695]

Funny how the younger people don't realize that tube radios take awhile to warm up. Just like they think the lap-robe cord on the back of the front seat is a hand-hold.

[@jamesbosworth4191]

I always laugh about that and wonder why they don't notice that most of those are not sturdy enough to be able to be used as a hand-hold for very long.

[@rogermccloughan2736]

I had one that looked just like this one in the early 1980's. Solid car!

[@robertchristie9434]

Bought a '54 210 4-door in '67 when stationed at Fort Carson at a Nash dealer in Pueblo for $200. It was tight, solid, rust-free & everything worked. It idled a little rough, had a moonlighting mechanic in Colorado Springs rebuild the head for $40. After that it was whisper quiet & drove it home to Detroit a few times without any issues. What a great, reliable car. Thanks for bringing back a lot of great memories.

[@vishnushanbhogue7882]

So nice looking this vintage beauty.

[@monarch1957]

The radio is a tube radio so it takes a minute to warm up.

[@ericthatcher3462]

Great car! My favorite year prior to the tri 5's. The 54 has full pressure lubrication with an oil pump instead of the rod and babbitt splash system of previous years. I bought a sold good running one for $50 in 71 and drove it to work for two years and sold it for $150. It ran and drove great and did not burn oil. Even the radio worked. The guy that I bought it from thought it was toast because it smoked like crazy. It was billowing smoke from under it as I brought it back k from a test drive. He was asking $120 and I offered him $50 which he jumped at on the spot. I put in a couple of quarts of oil the short drive home and the next day went to NAPA and bought a new oil line and filter for the bypass oil filter and some engine decreased cleaner which took care of the massive oil line leak that was squirting allover the engine and manifold. It didn't burn a drop of oil or smoke after that. Best car buy that I ever made!

[@dennissmith418]

My first car was a 54 210 4 door like this one only it was a darker blue with white top.

[@michaelcochran7531]

my first car was a '54 chevy 210 I bought in 1974 for $85.

[@jamesbosworth4191]

The radios on these cars had tubes. You have to let it warm up. No Instant On here.

[@williamschoemann4209]

It appears a likeable car. It was the simple, basic transportation of the day. It could be fun today. The demonstrator seems pleasant and well-intentioned. He shouldn't demonstrate all items working (lights, wipers, signals, etc). Someone should already have checked and repaired all of those things. The seller is incompetent or uncaring.

[@collectorcargallery2475]

Ah yes.... Another internet expert. So sophisticated. A sales expert no doubt..... The car is sold Bill. The customer is happy. Thank you for taking the time to let the world know what you are thinking. We were all wondering.

[@williamschoemann4209]

@@collectorcargallery2475 You're welcome.

[@Bossrich6287]

I used to work for a judge who had a 54 model but it was red,he wanted 3000 for it

[@GenerallyGeneralLee]

Would be better to have someone a little older doing a demo like this. He couldn't find neutral & had no clue about tube radios. When they start every sentence with "so" you know you're in for a laugh.

[@collectorcargallery2475]

I have driven the car many times. Glad you got a laugh. Checked out your page... cool cars. I got quite the laugh too

[@GenerallyGeneralLee]

@@collectorcargallery2475 That makes you even dumber if you drove it many times & didn't learn anything. You should have re-shot the video to avoid so many insults from all these viewers.

[@realtruth172]

that is the car i first drove when i was twelve in 1957 and i rebuilt a couple of those motors and one in school dad bought the new 54 in waukesha wi . but there is one thing in my life that i remember the most about the new 54 was the smell of a new car later years i got to drive a 53 in 1961 it only had 11,000 miles on it stored in a garage i got to drive this old lady to town and that new car smell was still in it . oh how i could smell a new one again . it must have been the paint rubber floor mat and the upholstery .

[@NipkowDisk]

I've always loved the sound of the GM three-speed and four-speed transmissions of that era. They had a very pronounced but rather pleasant whine IMO.

[@magnus9165]

Me too. We always called the three speeds 'Saginaw' tranny. Great whine. We had these old Chevys all over the place.

[@davidpancerev9658]

Likely a pre-war design.

[@jamesbosworth4191]

@@davidpancerev9658 Yes, they really were! Lasted well into the 60s.

[@garyhartley6636]

For sale?

[@collectorcargallery2475]

Sold

[@jimbo97]

I drove my '54 210 w/Powerglide for 6 years in high school and college. Great car. You didn't mention that little black plug in the middle of the wiper knob. Windshield washer was optional and the ones that had it had a chrome button to push where that black plug is. Also, I would have liked to see the engine.

[@collectorcargallery2475]

Very cool. Check out the channel for the vids you are looking for.

[@KDoyle4]

The 1955-1957 Chevys get all the attention, but I've always like the 1949-1954 Chevys. And yeah, give that radio half a minute to put out.

[@richwalling6694]

it may need a vibrator, it changes the dc to ac or it may need to warm up.

[@realtruth172]

i would love to smell the inside of a brand new 54 chevy dad bought one ill never forget that smell

[@vishnushanbhogue7882]

I too rembr a special aroma coming frm th car….probably when th seats get heat in sunlight…

[@realtruth172]

dad got 81,000 miles on that old girl and traded it in for a used 57 chevy . the motor got sluged up i guess the oil was not as good in those days .

[@jamesbosworth4191]

It wasn't. Plus, most folks used non-detergent, including myself.

[@jamesbosworth4191]

One tip, youngsters. When slowing down, you do not shift into Neutral, nor do you declutch right away. You are supposed to keep it in gear until you get down to about 15 MPH so that engine braking helps to slow you down. When you get to 15, THEN you declutch. That's why stick-shift cars were known to be easier on their brakes - better engine braking.

[@GenerallyGeneralLee]

I did that a lot when i was a dumb teenager, spent half my local driving time coasting in Neutral.

[@jamesbosworth4191]

@@GenerallyGeneralLee I sometimes would deliberately coast down steep hills to see how fast it could coast as a teen, so don't feel bad, and when I got my first Buick, I immediately opened it up to see how fast it could go. Got up to 110 before I backed off. We did have a lot of fun though!

[@davidstrohmeyer1691]

great car

[@stickshiftdriver1832]

That's a vacuum radio. It's takes a while to come on

[@dennissmith418]

My first car was a 54 210 4 door like this one only it was a darker blue with white top.

[@ابنالمرقاب]

كيف احصل على هذه السيارة اريد شرائها انا من دولة الكويت وهذا رقم تلفونى الخاص ارجو الاتصال

[@kfl611]

Don't forget to install seat belts !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@johnskogman5623]

clueless

[@carlv8168]

Gawd, he sure was!

[@GenerallyGeneralLee]

Couldn't even work the wipers, nevermind find Neutral or wait for the radio.

[@jamesbosworth4191]

@@GenerallyGeneralLee You have to remember, these Internet types are only familiar with Datsuns and Toyotas, maybe Hondas as well, so they are lost when they have to deal with a REAL car.

[@realtruth172]

i still loved the sound of starting up one that was just overhauled .

[@johnboettger864]

He's pleased..... so you buy it!

[@collectorcargallery2475]

So glad that you were able to take time out of your busy Monday afternoon work schedule of scrolling KZbin videos to pause and leave a completely worthless comment on my video.

[@GenerallyGeneralLee]

Watch it, this brat is very touchy from all these viewers pointing out everything wrong with this awful video about such a great car.

[@realtruth172]

gm always run a car design for three years but they made a big change for 55 i think the reason was to get a v 8 in dimensionally the 54 for was better .

[@jamesbosworth4191]

I think it was to catch up to the other GM divisions. They were all new in 54. Chassis-wise, the Ford and Mercury were as well, with re-bent sheet metal for 55.

[@jamesbosworth4191]

These were excellent cars - super reliable, easy to work on, and, despite not having "crumple zones" and things like that, held up really well in accidents.

[@johnhatfield9021]

Is it for sale?

[@collectorcargallery2475]

Sold

[@ClassicChrome86]

Looks great and sounds better!

[@reyzapata9375]

Is it for sale.?.

[@collectorcargallery2475]

Sold!

[@reyzapata9375]

Ok 👍

[@MarcioRSilva-ho1zj]

Great baby-blue 1954 Chevy 210! The engine & transmission sound brought me terrific memories! I was 14 in 1965 when I learned to drive in my dad's 1957 Chevy 210 indian ivory & sierra gold 4-door sedan. The sound of the 6 cyl with the manual transmission! One can tell easily the 1st speed by its bass sound and the 2dn speed by its sharp sound. I guess the factory gear finish treatment depended on the speed - as the 1st was used just to move the car from inertia, it was not necessary a long costly "gear shaving" machining process, while 2nd and 3rd received a more apropriate shaving treatment, to remove excess of roughness, that helps reduce gear noise.

[@jamesbosworth4191]

It was also due to the pitch of the teeth.