There are few weirder tales in automotive lore than the one concerning the origin of right this moment’s Good Value or No Cube Powell Sport Wagon. Let’s discover that story and see if it makes this challenge truck’s worth palatable.
Like seeing the golden arches on the finish of the day on an extended highway journey, there’s one thing comforting concerning the considered a V8 Mustang. Heck, it may very well be just about any V8 Mustang; with only a few exceptions, they’re all fairly nice. A kind of exceptions, it appears, seems to be the 1993 Mustang LX 5.0 convertible we checked out yesterday. At first look, issues appeared as much as snuff. A fast peek inside, nevertheless, revealed what seemed to be an ostrich and purple velour customized inside that, aesthetically a minimum of, hasn’t held up all that nicely. At $13,900, lots of you discovered that discomforting and the one reduction was a large 92 % No Cube loss.
As odd because the customized inside on yesterday’s Mustang was, it could’t maintain a candle to the historical past of right this moment’s wild, completely distinctive candidate: a 1957 Powell Sport Wagon. The truck itself is fairly fascinating, however its origin story is one thing else.
All of it started within the Twenties when two Southern California brothers, Hayward and Channing Powell, being contemporary out of commerce faculty, started a enterprise manufacturing house radios. That segued into constructing motor scooters, with the corporate then increasing within the mid-Fifties into auto manufacturing with the introduction of the Powell Sport Wagon pickup and two-door capturing brake. Powell was capable of produce the four-wheel automobiles of their small Compton, California manufacturing facility as a result of the Brothers primarily based their design on the present chassis’ from 1941—49 Q Sequence Plymouths, pulling these chassis’ from native wrecking yards.
Every was totally inspected and rejuvenated, with the Plymouth 6 engines rebuilt and all worn gadgets changed. They have been then mated with a easy metal and fiberglass physique designed for ease of manufacture and restore. With the recycled underpinnings and easy, economical design, Powell was capable of promote the vans for underneath $1,000 at a time when a mean automobile price extra like $1,700.
Powell produced round 1,050 Sport Wagons and fewer than 120 enclosed automobiles earlier than ending manufacturing, not as a result of monetary difficulties however as a result of the corporate had merely used up the native provide of previous Plymouth chassis. The Powell brothers then switched to creating off-roader mini bikes.
Jalopnik pal and automobile collector extraordinaire Myron Vernis owns a Powell. I’ve a private connection to the corporate, as the primary self-propelled car I ever owned was a Powell Challenger minibike.
You could possibly add your title to our illustrious group with this 1957 Sport Wagon challenge. The truck is tough, however total, it appears to be like to be largely full. We don’t get to see the again or a lot of the mattress, which is just too unhealthy since one of many Powell’s get together items is a piece of stovepipe constructed into the right-hand mattress cap that gives storage for lengthy skinny gadgets like fishing poles or get together platter submarine sandwiches. One noticeable factor on the truck is the collection of holes within the bodywork on every flank, indicating that this truck probably as soon as had the optionally available facet trim. When new, the trim was pulled from a Ford sedan, however it will probably be difficult to search out right this moment.
Luckily, the 201 CID L-head inline six appears intact, save for an air cleaner. Naturally, that may require a whole overhaul (once more), as will the ‘three-on-the-tree’ guide gearbox. Different points embrace some banged-up bodywork, lacking passenger-side door deal with and badging, and an inside that has seen the Powell’s bench seat changed by a pair of a lot later buckets and the elimination of the instrumentation.
As I famous, this can be a challenge, and the bones appear to be a strong begin to making this an incredible weekend whereas away. In keeping with the advert, the truck really has a clear title and has lately been pulled from—prepare for this—50 years of storage. The asking worth to get your Powell on is $8,000, and per the advert, solely severe individuals want apply.
What’s your tackle this small slice of automotive historical past and that $8,000 asking? Is {that a} truthful worth for the Sport Wagon because it sits? Or is that an excessive amount of to resurrect this Lazarus of a truck?
You resolve!
Dallas, Texas, Craigslist, or go right here if the advert disappears.
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