A11

Bill Sherk

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Don Murray of Komoka, Ontario, will never forget his first car because the car he owns today is almost identical to the car he drove nearly 50 years ago:

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Don Murray's current 1953 Chevrolet Two-Ten.

"This story goes back to 1960, when I started working as a carpenter's apprentice making $1.30 an hour. By February 1961, I had saved enough money to buy my first car - a 1953 Chevrolet Two-Ten sedan for $400 plus car insurance for $67.08 per year."

Don sold that '53 Chevy and moved on to newer vehicles in the years that followed. But no matter how much time and how many cars rolled by, he always saved a special corner of his heart for his first car. And then one day . . .

"In July 1987 my wife Shirley and I found another 1953 Chevrolet Two-Ten in nearby Stratford. We agreed on a price of $3000, a long way from the price of my first one. Aren't cars supposed to get cheaper as they get older?

"My first car was blue and this one is black. The owner who sold it to us told us that the car came from Florida and he gave us a box full of papers, which included the original bill of sale.

"The first owner was Mr. Charles Kanrov and he bought the car from Bouse Motors in Willimantic, Connecticut, on December 3, 1953. The base price was $1564 plus transportation ($80), delivery and handling ($165), undercoating ($18), and sales tax ($48.50). He was allowed $239.75 for his trade-in, a '49 Plymouth. The next owner after me will be Conner, our four-and-a-half year old grandson."

Don Murray's 1953 Chevrolet is equipped with many popular accessories of that era, including a radio, outside sun visor, outside rear view mirror, stainless trim by the gas filler door, grille guard, headlight eyebrows, and wide whitewall tires.

The 1953 Chevrolets featured fresh new styling with a one-piece curved windshield and wrap-around rear window (except on the club coupe, station wagon, and convertible). Three new series were offered: the low-priced One-Fifty, the medium-priced Two-Ten, and the top-of-the-line Bel Air.

Under the hood was an improved overhead-valve Blue Flame six cylinder engine with 235 cubic inches and 105 horsepower with standard shift and 115 hp with Powerglide. The Powerglide was available with the Two-Ten and Bel Air only and power steering was an extra-cost option. Ignition-key starting was standard on all models (no more starter button).

Seventeen models across three series were the most ever offered by Chevrolet up to that time, and it was Number One in sales for 1953 with over 1.3 million sold.

* Bill Sherk is an automobile historian who has had a passion for the topic since his days pumping gas as a teenager. We want to say thank you to our readers who send in their stories. We are giving a copy of Bill Sherk's book, 60 Years Behind the Wheel: The Cars We Drove in Canada 1900-1960 to each reader whose story is published in this column. To share your stories or photos e-mail billtsherk@sympatico.ca or write Bill Sherk, 33 Oak St. E., P.O. Box 10012, Leamington, ON N8H 2C3.