1957 Chevrolet Bel Air 2 Door Sedan
Owned by our consignor for the last 51 years and always being garage kept, this icon of the 50's comes to us with an amazing 12 coats of lacquer paint for the miles deep black finish. Not to be outdone by the body is the nicely built V8 and 4-speed manual transmission under the hood. Also, we are rollin' with polished 5 spoked American Racing wheels just to look even more cool!
Exterior
Folks, this one is all that and a bag of chips as they say with black painted steel slabs with no rust, but does present with a few inclusions, dings, paint bubbles, and scuffs. This finish is at the deep end of the pool with 12, count them again, 12 coats of lacquer paint being well applied by B&S Autobody in Fleetwood, PA. Then there are plenty of chromed bolt ons lighting up the front end, black rubber tipped dagmars, and a large chrome bumper on the bottom. A gold eggcrate grille, an upper chrome "lip" to follow the hood line, and a beautiful near perfect cloisonn© Chevrolet multi-colored badge within the hovering grille bar. Also, on top, dual jet chromed inserts fly forward from the chrome window surround and are near perfect in condition. Dual chromed mirrors hang from the doors and are bordered by a long trim strip that starts just above the front quarters at the headlights and moves rearward and swoops downward and splits to reveal a horizontal ribbed panel to add some contrast to the rear quarter. Just beautiful. Small tasteful fins make up the top of the rear quarter, and are topped with chrome, and melt on top the rear tail lights as crescent moons with an oval rear backup light on the bottom. The gas filler cap is hidden within the trim for the rear taillight on the driver's side for you non 57 aficionados who are in need of a fill up. 15-inch polished American Racing Torque Thrust wheels are all around and are wrapped in black walls which look like new on the tread front.
Interior
A swing of the cool doors and we note gray background velour broadcloth with some snappy chrome dress up spears and black carpeting for the lowers. Add in some chrome for the cranks and actuators and a black padded armrest and we are ready to move inside. The gray velour broadcloth is showing some light soiling but still presents well. Moving to the front bench, which is split, we see more gray velour broadcloth with broad tuck and roll stitched pattern inserts with smooth bolster surrounds complete with a tastefully chrome trimmed tub. These seats show very well, with little to no wear and on the rear bench there is plenty of romper room and it sports the same plush pattern. The dash has become more square in its design but still has deep round silver painted metal bezels for the gauges. Streaking through the middle of the dash is a shiny mesh aluminum trim which breaks up all the silver painted metal. Residing within the mesh is the ignition, an aftermarket AM/FM/Cassette player, the factory clock and a gold Bel Air badge in grandmother's script. A LeCarra rally style steering wheel sits atop the factory column and shares space with a trio of AutoMeter black face gauges that includes a tachometer. Above we see a tight gray velour headliner and down below we see clean black carpeting that is protected by gray carpeted and rubber mats. A long armed Hurst shifter grows from the center hump and is well within reach of the driver's right hand.
Drivetrain
Sitting within the totally restored engine bay is a shiny new looking orange/red GM painted block. It is now a consignor-stated 383 ci V8. It is topped with a Holley 4-barrel carburetor and an Edelbrock Performer RPM cylinder heads are on for some extra giddyup. Allowing you to row some gears is a Muncie M20 4-speed manual transmission and way in the back is a factory rear axle with 3.36 gearing. Gobs of bling have been added to the restored engine bay with polished aluminum for the valve coverings and a dash of chrome for the semi-triangle beehive air cleaner assembly. We note a newer aluminum radiator has been installed to keep things nice and cool.
Undercarriage
Absolutely solid steel for the frame and floor pans which show themselves with a dose of surface rust mixed with patina and factory undercoating. We note some slight invasive rust in the body hangers and side rockers and even the wheel wells are clean. A light dusting of surface rust is noted on the usual suspects, but all remains solid for the suspension. We note front independent coil spring and rear leaf spring suspension with added traction bars. Disc brakes have been added in on the front and drums are in the rear. Headers snake their way down from the engine and join up with Flowmaster muffler equipped dual exhaust that runs to the rear of the car.
Drive-Ability
Another coin flip car for the first to take to the test track and my never failing decoder, copy editor, and good friend won so he ran it through the paces first and reported great handling, and all buttoned up on the mechanical end and sounded just fab. She accelerated wonderfully and came to a halt on a dime and even gave some change at that. He did note a few frowns crept up in the form of the speedometer and odometer not ticking away the miles, the heater blower not blowing and no hoses are going to the heater core and the wipers were not wiping.
All that and the cat's meow car is looking good for a restoration that is showing some very slight age but that still has its wings. It's ready to go out on the town, or just up Main Street and turn a bunch of heads. With the upgrades and add ons, it retains its original exterior look and has a nifty custom interior. Not to mention the eye candy engine bay all dressed up and goes like hell. 1957 never looked so promising. Let's just say the past is so bright you'll need shades!
