Don Sealy's 1933 Chevrolet

A photo of Don standing by the door of the truck. Robert is sitting on the driver's seat. "Dad used to tell me he had to be careful not to leave the truck running in the driveway, as he would hear it revving, and go out to find me hanging from the steering column pressing the gas pedal!" The photo was taken late 1963 or early 1964. Photo courtesy of Robert Sealy.

A photo of Don's wrecked 1957 Chevrolet 210. "Supposedly my mother was driving home from work, and a drunk driver hit her. This picture was taken in May of 1963. Dad pulled the drivetrain from it before scrapping it, and that is where the story takes an interesting, and sad, turn." Photo courtesy of Robert Sealy.

In 1964 Don decided to pull the drivetrain out of the pickup and replace it with the drivetrain from the '57. This picture shows the pickup backed into the shop. "The '57 rear end is already under the pickup, and I assume this picture is when they were putting it in. This was February 1965." Photo courtesy of Robert Sealy.

Survivor. The Hauler as it sat in 2020, when Robert decided that it was time to finish what his dad started, "as it was recently the 15 year anniversary of his death. The plan is to build it just the way Dad would have in 1964/1965." Photo courtesy of Robert Sealy.

There are several unique things to the truck that Robert hopes to be able to recreate. "There is pinstriping on the tailgate, along with "The Hauler" painted on the driver's side of the cab." Photo courtesy of Robert Sealy.

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A photo of the pinstriped tailgate as it appeared after Robert had cleaned it up. Photo courtesy of Robert Sealy.

The signature of the pinstriper can be found on the tailgate. It is signed "59...Hollywood." Do you recognize it? Robert hopes someone will be able to tell him who did the work. Photo courtesy of Robert Sealy.

Another mysterious signature. Photo courtesy of Robert Sealy.

The remains of a business logo can be traced on the doors of the truck. Robert will be gently wet sanding down the door to see if he can reveal more of the logo. Photo courtesy of Robert Sealy.

The interior in the truck appears to be 1950s style Tijuana tuck and roll. It features white seats with red panels and gold piping. "They are very dirty but should clean up well." Photo courtesy of Robert Sealy.

A picture of the 283 from the wrecked '57. "I was checking numbers, and have found out some interesting things about the engine. The block is a '57 283, 4 barrel, 220 hp, with a Powerglide. However, the heads are 539 castings, which were only available on the 1957 fuel-injected Corvette! The other interesting thing is that it had been converted to a 2 barrel before Dad bought the '57." Robert has a 1958 4 barrel manifold that he will use to put it back the way it would have been when built. Other plans for the engine include a Duntov 097 replica solid lifter cam, Ram Horn exhaust manifolds, and glass packs with turn downs before the gas tank. Photo courtesy of Robert Sealy.

Lost and Found

1933 Chevrolet Pickup owned by Don Sealy of Grants Pass, Oregon.

"As far as I can tell, my parents got the pickup in 1959 or 1960," Robert Sealy told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in 2020, adding that it may have been a little later than that, "but definitely, before 1962 when I was born. I know that for sure, as my mother says she used to drive the truck to the laundromat to wash my diapers."

The gift

The story Robert was told was that a young man stayed with his parents for a period of time. "He did not have any money to pay them, so he gave them the pickup. Different people recall different names for the young man, and I have not been able to verify who gave them the truck yet. There is a title search request filed with the Oregon DMV, but I have not heard anything at this point. The truck has not been titled since 1967, so that may hinder the search."

1957 Chevrolet drivetrain

In 1963 Don's 1957 Chevrolet 210 was wrecked. "Supposedly my mother was driving home from work, and a drunk driver hit her," Robert told Kustomrama. "Dad pulled the drivetrain from it before scrapping it, and that is where the story takes an interesting, and sad, turn." In 1964 Don decided to pull the drivetrain out of the pickup and replace it with the drivetrain from the '57. By February of 1965 Don had installed the rear end from the '57 under the pickup.

Abandoned and resurected

"Unfortunately, that is as far as Dad got with the truck, and it has been sitting since then." In 2020 Robert decided that it was time to finish what his dad started, "as it was recently the 15 year anniversary of his death. The plan is to build it just the way Dad would have in 1964/1965."

59...Hollywood

There are several unique things to the truck that Robert hopes to be able to recreate. "There is pinstriping on the tailgate, along with "The Hauler" painted on the driver's side of the cab. On the tailgate, it also says "59...Hollywood". There is a signature/logo of the pinstriper." The black paint has faded, and it is peeling in spots. "There is green paint showing through, so the black was sprayed over the green when the truck was modified. On the driver's door, there are initials, which would show that the pickup was used for a business at one time." Robert will be gently wet sanding down the door to see if he can reveal more of the logo.

Tijuana tuck and roll

The interior in the truck appears to be 1950s style Tijuana tuck and roll. It features white seats with red panels and gold piping.

The restoration

In November of 2020, plans for the pickup included red wheels with 10 1/8 inch Baby Moons or 1952 Chevrolet hubcaps. "The tires will be narrow whitewalls, as Dad really liked that look. I will be repainting it a semi-gloss black. Not suede or flat black. The idea is to make it look like it does in the early picture."

Where did it come from? Do you recognize it?

Robert is currently researching the history of the Hauler. It has Oregon license plates dated 1956, so he assumes that is when it came to Oregon. It was originally green, and the pinstriping on the tailgate is signed "59...Hollywood." Please get in touch with Kustomrama at mail@kustomrama.com if you recognize Robert's survivor truck and can fill us in on its history.