Here’s a genuine Curbside Classic for you. This car has probably not moved from its place since the early 1980s, maybe earlier. Think of that–every day for 40 years, the sun shone on one side, then the other; rain came down, heavily and lightly; snow fell and melted, the wind blew; the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and several others have come and gone; elementary school students who walked past it on the way to school are now in their 30s–and now it’s time for this car to go.
This 1946 Chevrolet has just been posted on Craigslist, with a price (negotiable) of $2999. It has “been in the same family for generations,” and “currently sitting idle and has not been started in years.” I believe it.
There are a few clues to let us know how long it’s been since this car has actually been driven on the road. This license plate is from either 1977 or ’78. Those were the years when “N.J.” was spelled out “New Jersey”. But then in 1979, the plate colors were changed from straw and black to blue and yellow.
A second clue–the windshield inspection sticker is on the passenger side. The state switched it to the driver’s side circa 1983.
Here are a few more artistic detail shots:
The car is located in Glen Ridge, NJ–not far from me. As you can see, this part of northern New Jersey is very densely populated–all those little streets have houses on them. Meaning, the odds of finding an oddball old car preserved within a given area is relatively high. New Jersey is a good place to find curbside classics.
The car (and its owner?) in better days. Exact year unknown.
Here’s the title, dated 1965. Owned by Anthony J. Proto.
Let me tell you something about my fellow Italian-American paisan’s. Not all (but many of us) are thrifty and like to hold on to and preserve old, good things (houses, cars, furniture, recipes, traditional family values, and more).
We saw a little peek of this phenomenon in the movie Moonstruck. The family living room has that well-preserved “antiquish” look, with ornate furniture lovingly kept and passed down the generations. Although this is the 1980s, the heavy 1940s wood console radio is still in place, tubes glowing. Why throw it out if it still works beautifully? What about all the memories it brings forth? (And it’s paid for!)
And hey, the strategy pays off! The 1829 house at 19 Cranberry Street in Brooklyn where Moonstruck was filmed would have been purchased for next-to-nothing by the family decades before, when Brooklyn was considered an outworn area and strictly working-class. The house is now up for sale. Asking price? $12.85 million!
I’ve seen lots of examples of this. My own ’58 Ford was one-family owned. Louis Galtieri (1899-1996) bought it new, and passed it on to his son Joseph (1927-2016).
Joseph went to Harvard, so he put a HARVARD decal on the back window.
But this may be the local record holder! This ’54 Mercury was pulled out of a garage in East Orange, NJ in 2018. The inspection sticker was from 1964, meaning this Merc probably hadn’t seen the light of day in 54 years!
It too wound up on Craigslist. What happened to it after that I have no idea.
According to the ad, the Chevy is “A perfect project car—for restoration, parts or rat rod conversion.” So this familiar landmark in Glen Ridge will be departing soon, one way or another. Will people in the neighborhood miss it?
That’s an early 30’s Cadillac hood ornament.
It’s worth more than the car itself. Thieves in the area obviously don’t know what it is.
I’ll take your ’58 Ford. I hope it has the 332.
Great find here, and quite a story.
I was curious about the family’s history, since you had mentioned the Italian-American connection, and since the owners were kind enough to include the 56-year-old title in the ad. Turns out the car is still located at the same house. The house belonged to Mr. Proto’s parents (they were Sicilian immigrants), and then Anthony and his wife lived there for the rest of their lives, and the house remains in the family’s ownership. Mr. Proto passed away four years ago, and his obituary mentioned that he was a member of both the Antique Automobile Club of America and the Dodge Brothers Club, so I suspect he had a few other cars as well.
And regarding the car itself, I don’t know if the blue-gray is the original color, but it looks very good on this Chevy.
I hope this car finds an appreciative buyer!
Air up the tires and a few squirts of gas after changing the oil and you could drive it home on the emergency brake. Love to see the look on the face of the DMV lady when presented with the 1965 title. As an Italian-American and a NJ native, that’s just the way it was growing up 😉
Here the car sits in the side yard of the house from the 1965 title, however there’s a 4 car garage right there – why wasn’t it inside??
https://www.redfin.com/NJ/Glen-Ridge/92-Glenridge-Ave-07028/home/36165052
Beautiful house too!
The good cars were in the garage…. 😀
Property tax $20,000 a year! Yikes!
A beautifully proportioned car. Chevy’s “7/8 Buick” look of the ’40s was so handsome. Great story, too. Maybe we could employ quantum mechanics to connect Scott from Cold War Motors with this great looking Chevy. He could start it in two hours without leaving Alberta!
Nice car, looks good up top but I’d think that 40 years of sitting over grass haven’t been too kind to the undersides.
A common problem these days, old car seeks energetic caretaker with money and time, finds nobody 🙁
Wonderful article about New Jersey, which gets very little attention in car circles.
Interesting rust. 1946 was a bad year for materials, with all suppliers in the middle of demobilizing, and strikes slowing things down even more. Carmakers had to make do with what they could get, often on the black market. The rear quarter must have been worse or thinner steel than the rest.
Actually, the license plates on this car were issued quite a bit earlier than 1977. The Historic type was introduced in 1964 and bore the full “New Jersey” legend from day one. These particular plates also have an raised border around the edge, which was replaced by a flatter bevel around 1971.
One of these lived next door to my Grandma into the early 1970s – it was regular transport for the elderly couple in the little house next door in her small town. It was the fastback sedan, though.
This poor think looks about done for. It was an attractive car, once upon a time.
Oh, one more thing – it seems that every old car I see lately has an upside down wiper arm on at least one side. What’s with that?
I love an old car from the long time family owners story. I wonder how many offers and slips of paper left on the car were ignored by previous owners? I was lucky to get an old car from the original owner’s estate. His three son’s had all learned to drive in the car, and their Dad drove it into his late 60’s. The clutch got too much for him. So he got a Bentley with an automatic. The car, a ’51 Jag Matk VII sat for 25 years. The owner was a real British car fan. He also had a Hillman, two E Types and the Bentley at the time of his death.
I’ve got it safely stored away, and I MAY fix it up some day! If you’re interested in the car, be sure to contact my estate when it becomes available! Here’s a pic when it came home.
Someone will want that Chevy… great shape for its age… and older Chevy’s seem to be fairly rare…
Such a fun read and great pics – thanks!
My Dad bought a 1947 Chevrolet coupe like this one on April 27, 1957. I still have the cancelled check from his files. He paid $99 for the car and drove it a year or two as a work commute car until it “threw a rod.” As a kid, I used to sit and play drive in that old Chevy until it was finally towed away.
This car was a prized possession in 1946. The story behind its original purchase when new would be interesting as cars were in such demand in the immediate post-WWII era and wait lists were long.
Having grown up in essentially the same area, my initial though too was “I hope the floors are any good” .
-Nate
I actually bought this car, and my daughter and I are currently working towards a multi- staged rolling-restoration.. I am currently replacing the wire harness with new, although updated and still fabric wrapped, keeping her 6 volt, but upgrading the brakes to a dual pot system.. Her original Ensign Blue Metallic paint poked through during pressure washing, and eventually she’ll be that color again. I have been lucky enough to source many parts for this car, but oddly enough fenders are hard to find. The fronts are from a 47-8, and their replacement is what I suspect prompted the paint job. This car may have been bought here in Riverdale, NJ, at the old Degraw Chevrolet the same year my grandparents bought the house I am also restoring. One of my uncles friends stopped buy and even recognized the car, stating he’s positive he’s worked on it. I possibly have a little picture of it on the old two lane 23, I have to go back and verify, but it certainly would be cool. I was told the car spent most of its life in the garage, and I believe it, I have not broken a bolt on her yet.. unheard of in New Jersey!
Good to hear that. All the best on your restoration.
Meu sonho!
Gostaria de adquirir este Chevrolet coupê 46, mais como é uma burocracia pra trazer o carro para o Brasil, esse desejo só vai ficando no meu sonho.