Photo: Bob Evans Classics
This superb 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air is motorized proof that they don't make them like they used to. The model sports black paint and impeccable chrome details over a blue and black interior and is waiting for someone to fall in love with it.
The current owner, a Pennsylvania dealership, purchased the nearly seven-decade-old Chevy in West Virginia. It took the previous owner 25 years to close the deal. He purchased a property along with the car in 1988 from a friend who didn't want to sell it. He talked him into it a quarter century later.
A 350 cubic inch (5.7 liter) Small Block V8 engine works under the hood. It is mated to a four-speed manual transmission with a floor-mounted white-knob shifter. The 350 is not the original powerplant, but one built in the 1980s. There is no information on what powered the Bel Air when it rolled off the assembly line in 1957.
The car is far from perfect, but it runs, drives, and looks great no matter how you look at it. It's the imperfections that pump up the model's retro vibes. In the meantime, many of its siblings are rotting away in some barn, waiting to be rescued from the disintegration of time. It ticks all the right boxes for classic icons, one by one. Except for the fact that it has retained its original engine.
There are also cars today that love the open road much more than they did in their heyday, and every time they go out, they get thumbs up on the highway and heads turning everywhere they go.
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There are, indeed, a few chips in the old-school paint on this 1957 Bel Air. And, of course, a few fingerprints, because that’s what black does: collect fingerprints. The selling dealer waxed the body, but it obviously needs more than that. The chrome, however, and this car has plenty of it, is in great shape. The black Bel Air rides on 14-inch multi-spoke wheels with brand-new tires.
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The driver's side window has a crack, so the glass will need to be replaced. The driver's door closes properly, but the passenger door needs some work. Stickers on the rear side windows are evidence that the previous owner was a member of the Pharoahs Car Club.
Based in Pennsylvania, the dealer can ship the 67-year-old anywhere in America, including Alaska and Hawaii. Once it finds a new owner, it will need to know how to get gas. The fuel door is on the back of the driver's side fin. It's a insider's tip.
Photo: Bob Evans Classics
The Bel Air's interior exudes elegance and simplicity. The seats are upholstered in dark blue and black leather, while the dashboard features the same color scheme. The odometer reads 60,282 miles (97,014 kilometers), but that may have been after the engine was replaced.
The Chevy has no power steering or power brakes, indicating that it is a base version of the Bel Air. The horn does not work, but the turn signals and windshield wipers do. The front and rear lights also work.
Anyone looking to take home this car will have to pay $33,500, which is well below the average price of a car of its kind: $73,242, according to classic.com. The most expensive 1957 example ever sold was a custom convertible auctioned by Barrett-Jackson. Someone paid $330,000 to drive it home in January 2022. But that was definitely not a base version of the Bel Air.
