John sent us this photo of first car, a 1953 Olds “pickup”. It has a '54 engine and three speed manual transmission. He drove it to high school for a couple of years, until the engine rusted, "Apparantly forgetting to cover the carburetor" when it rained. His brother then pulled off one of the heads and used a 2x4 and a ten pound sledge to loosen it up and was able to drive it another year!
When I was in high school a friend's Dad had a late 40s Buick he turned into a pickup. Made for a very stout work vehicle, plenty of power with the straight 8 and heavy frame and suspension. This Olds might be worth restoring to how it was then.