1957 Bel Air 210 150 2 Door 4 Door Post Original Restoration Barn Find Driver

  • Price: Ask a price!
  • Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
  • Condition: Used
  • Make: Chevrolet
  • Model: Bel-Air
  • Type: Sedan
  • Doors: 4 Doors
  • Year: 1957
  • Mileage: 48,148
  • VIN: VC57J226082
  • Color: Other Color
  • Engine size: 265 V8
  • Transmission: Manual
  • Drive type: RWD
  • Interior color: Black
  • Vehicle Title: Clear

1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air Description

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“Pink Patina”

1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air

FLORIDA BARN FIND!

Number’s Matching!

265 V8

with the

Original 3 On-the-Tree

Runs & Drives Great!

BELIEVED TO BE 48,148 ORIGINAL MILES!!

JUST IN TIME FOR SUMMER!

*Vin: VC57J226082

VC – Bel-Air / 8 Cylinder / 2400

57 – 1957

J – Janesville, WI Plant

226082 – Sequential Serial Numbers’s

*Trim Tag:

57-1019D – 4 Door Sedan

Body # - J2469

Trim 663 – Black / Silver - *Original Interior

Paint 822D – Dusk Pearl / Imperial Ivory

*Motor:

Casting # 3731548 – 265 (1957) *Period Correct

Stamping # F503C – 265 V8 w/ 3 Speed Manual

*NUMBERS MATCHING*

Manifold # 3782690

Carb – *Correct* Rochester 2 Jet

*Trans

3845122 – 3 Speed Manual *Correct Trans*


CALL TODAY 773-267-2684

We purchased this from what is believed to be only the second owner!

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PPI's WELCOME

OFFERS WELCOME!

Evolve Motors is pleased to present this ICONIC 1957 Chevy Bel-Air!

The year was 1957. Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon were running the country, the TV show “Maverick” aired it’s debut, and the average car cost only $2,749. 1957 saw the continued growth of bigger, taller tail fins on new cars; more lights, and bigger, more powerful engines were all the rage. ‘57 was also the year that GM was about to release the most iconic classic car the world has ever seen; the Bel-Air. Although much has changed in the world over the past 60 years, the Bel-Air name tag is still revered as one of the classiest and most elegant American automobiles ever built. Initially, General Motors executives wanted an entirely new car for 1957, but production delays necessitated the 1955–56 design for one more year. Ed Cole, chief engineer for Chevrolet, dictated a series of changes that significantly increased the cost of the car. These changes included a new dashboard, sealed cowl, and the relocation of air ducts to the headlight pods, which resulted in the distinctive chrome headlight that helped make the '57 Chevrolet a classic. Fourteen-inch wheels replaced the fifteen-inch wheels from previous years to give the car a lower stance, and a wide grill was used to give the car a wider look from the front. The now famous '57 Chevrolet tailfins were designed to duplicate the wide look in the rear. Bel Air models were given gold trim: the grille, front fender chevrons, hood, and trunk script were all rendered in anodized gold. The 1957 Chevrolets did not have an oil pressure gauge or a voltmeter. From a numbers standpoint, the '57 Chevrolet wasn't as popular as General Motors had hoped. Despite its popularity, rival Ford outsold Chevrolet for the 1957 model year for the first time since 1935. However, the 1957 Ford— with the exception of the rare retractable hardtop model— is not nearly as prized by collectors today as the 1957 Chevrolet. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the '57 Chevrolet was a popular used car and highly prized "street machine" or hot rod in 1957 terms. It was the final year of the "shoebox" Chevrolet, as 1958 saw the introduction of a much larger and heavier "X" framed Chevrolet. The ideal size of the '57, combined with its relatively light weight compared to newer full-sized cars, made it a favorite among drag racers. The engine bay was big enough to fit GM's big-block engines, first introduced in 1958 and popularized in the 1960s by the Beach Boys in the song "409". The relatively simple mechanical attributes of the car made it easy to maintain, customize, and upgrade with components such as disc brakes and air conditioning. This “Tri-Five” survivor is an absolute time capsule back to those bygone days of hot rodding V8’s and drag racing down the beach. She’s just waiting for you to put your stamp on her.

So here’s the scoop. This old Bel-Air sat for years and years in a barn down in southern Florida. When we got her she was covered in 20+ year old dust and dirt. We drug her out of hiding, hauled her up to Chicago, and began cleaning this old girl up. When we started digging into it, we only then began to realize how much of an original example we had on our hands here. The exterior shows well, aside from the obvious surface rust here and there. The body panels are all straight, free from any damage, and the gaps line up perfectly throughout! We do note some green paint showing under the hood on the driver’s side fender, leading us to believe that it had been replaced at one point in time, with a full repaint to follow. As we were decoding the car, we realized that the original color was a two-tone Dusk Pearl under an Imperial Ivory roof. The car’s color today shows a Canyon Coral, which was an original color for 57 Bel-Airs. I think the color is absolutely right for this car, playing off of it’s anodized gold badging and trim pieces. Upon first glance I’m sure most people will notice the rust bits here and there throughout. The good news is that 95% of the rust on this car is strictly light surface rust. There are a few points that we note the rust is through the metal and will need patched / replaced; the bottoms of both back doors, and the two corners along the bottom of the rear windshield. There is also very light pitting on some of the exterior chrome (windshield wipers, tail light bezels, wheel caps). The good news is the trouble areas on these old cars is in the headlight vents that run through the fender to the cab, and they are in great condition with no signs of rust or rot starting. This Bel-Air screams 1950’s AmeriCARna through and through. With today’s old car market somewhere between $100,000 show pieces, and rat rods with rattle can paint jobs and parts off of 13 other cars, this one is your atypical “fork in the road”; leave it as she sits, perfectly draped in pink patina, or spend a little dough and restore this classic back to showroom quality. The choice is yours, but the good news is she’s all there, no matter which way you decide to go with it! The best part is if you can get over some of her exterior flaws, you’ll absolutely fall in love with the original condition of the rest of her!

The interior of this car is by far the star of the show. The original black and silver seats are in fantastic shape, showing just one small wear-through on the driver seat bottom. The carpets appear to be in great shape and in original form. There is some slight discoloration here and there throughout the carpet, as to be expected in a 60 year old barn find. The dash is clean and free of any cracks. The gauges all appear to work correctly, and show the perfect patina, with no rust or corrosion around any of the chrome rings. All of the original gold “Bel-Air” badging is there, and in good order. The original steering wheel was replaced at one point in time, but we do have the larger original wheel in the trunk if someone wanted to replace it back to original. The original headliner is free from any tears, and is not sagging. However, we do note that it appears it took on some water at one time, and shows a good amount of staining up front over the visors, particularly around the driver door. There also appears to be some fade and wear behind the rear seats up in the rear cowl. Other than the few flaws, it’s absolutely mind boggling that this car has such a clean and well preserved interior. Take a look at the pictures below, we can’t make this stuff up!

Mechanically, we have a hard time believing that this car would have any more than the 48,148 as stated by the odometer. The 265 “Turbo Fire” V8 starts up without hesitation and idles as smooth as new, with no rattles or rumbles to note. Peek under the hood and you’ll find a well preserved jewel, hiding under big pink haunches. The 265 V8 produces an impressive 162 hp, and compare that to 1957 terms, and you had yourself a showroom hot rod, ready to rip! This car is an extremely original powerplant, with numbers matching from the carburetor to the 3 on-the-tree transmission and every checkpoint in between. She even still has the original “oil bath” air filter, which we will note is a bit cumbersome, and can be somewhat messy your first time putting it back onto the Rochester “2 Jet” carb (speaking from experience). Climb into the captains seat, turn the key, and slide this dream boat into drive. You’re sure to get looks at every possible turn. I’m talking good looks, not the kind of looks you get when you’re carrying your kid by their shoe laces out of the Walmart. The car runs and drives flawlessly. We do note some slight play in the neutral position on the column shifter, which is pretty common in any manual column shift car. The suspension treated us fairly on our test drive, as we didn’t feel any clunks, and it never bottomed out on any of the speed bumps. We do note some light creaking coming from the rear suspension, as she hasn’t moved in the better part of 20 years. Other than the age related moans and groans, this car is ready to cruise!

We were able to set this big sedan up on our lift, and were pleasantly surprised to find that the rust up top was pretty much quarantined to it’s designated body panels. There appears to be no rot, rust, or damage anywhere on the underside of this southern sleeper, making it an A1 candidate for a frame off restoration, if that’s what your plans are. Either way, if you decide to restore it, or you decide to drive it, you’ve got a fantastic platform to start with. Call Evolve Motors today, and put her in your driveway tomorrow!


We are here to answer any questions that you may have. We would love for you to come see the car in person but understand that many of our buyers are out of state or international. Please do not hesitate to call us and have one of our sales representatives do a 'walk around' with you on the phone. It is our goal to do everything we can to make you comfortable with your purchase and to ensure that no questions are left unanswered and that you are 100% satisfied with your purchase.

Please note that we do charge a processing fee for state compliance of $150.00 on all vehicle sales.

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