1957 Chevrolet Bel Air

Description

Don't let the modern wheels and tires fool you, this is one beautifully restored and highly correct 1957 Bel Air. It wears its striking original color combination and carries what we believe to be its original 283 cubic inch V8, so if you've been looking for a top-flight '57 that won't rob your kids of their inheritance, this is the one.

Adobe Beige over Sierra Gold is one of the rarer color combinations in 1957, but it looks quite contemporary today, doesn't it? Everyone loves the way '57 Chevys look, that much is obvious from the fact that we can't keep them in stock, but you rarely see a Bel Air restored to this level sporting a price tag comparable to a Hyundai. The paint is excellent and captures the original color pretty well, with a shine that only modern finishes can deliver. All four doors fit well... wait, you didn't notice that it's a four-door? That's probably because of the clever trick they used, blending the quarter panel trim into the rear door to make it look like a 2-door. All the chrome was refinished and you know that all by itself probably cost a significant fraction of the asking price for the whole car. Gold anodized V badges on the hood and trunk are well-earned, because this is a factory V8 car, and details like the hood bullets and intricate trim on the tail fins remain in excellent condition.

If you like the exterior colors, you're going to go nuts when you see the spectacularly restored tri-tone interior. Capturing the same colors and adding black seating surfaces with very cool and slightly funky fabric, it's quite stock inside and beautifully done. Black carpets match the stylish door panels with the same tri-tone colors, and everything remains in excellent condition following the restoration just a few years ago. The dash is painted India Ivory to bring it together nicely, with all the factory instrumentation brightly restored. You'll note that the shifter quadrant shows an overdrive position, complements of the 700R4 4-speed automatic overdrive transmission that's been secretly installed. An AM/FM/cassette radio nestles neatly into the original slot in the dash, making this a fantastic road trip machine. There's a big trunk to help with that and it includes a reproduction rubber mat, full-sized spare, and a jack assembly.

All indications suggest that this is the car's original 283 cubic inch V8, which has been detailed for show and looks spectacular under the hood. Aside from a modern aluminum radiator designed to look like the original, it's quite stock, from the big oil bath air cleaner to the gorgeous Chevrolet script valve covers. It even still runs an original-style generator! It starts easily and purrs with that awesome small block Chevy sound, using twin pipes to get its point across. Thanks to the aforementioned 700R4 transmission, it just loafs along on the highway and with a modern rack-and-pinion setup (another nearly invisible mod that pays big dividends), it's a spectacular road car. The underside is in excellent condition with stock suspension and brakes, so it does feel like 1957 all over again. The wire wheels are admittedly a little flashy, but with 215/70/15 white-letter radials, they do give the Chevy a sporty look and stock wheels are easy to find if that's what you like.

This Chevy is nice all out of proportion to the price. If this was a hardtop it would be more than twice the price, so take advantage of this opportunity and call today!