If you were American and looking during the 1980s for a car that was emblematic of your youth, that car would likely have been a 1955-57 Chevrolet.
These in their time were the USA’s biggest selling cars with 3.27 million Chevrolets built during 1955-56, followed in 1957 by a further 1.5 million.
The world is unlikely ever to run out of mid-1950s Chevrolets but that hasn’t stopped them becoming increasingly more valuable and desirable to collectors.
The North American market offered three versions of the mainstream Chevrolet in 1955 – 150, 210 plus the chrome-laden Bel Air. Base models continued to be powered by ancient six-cylinder engines, but those carrying a ‘VA’ prefix were powered by General Motors’ brand new 4.3-litre, 265 cubic inch V8.
In Australia, even though the rival Ford Customlines were all V8s and the Chrysler offered an optional V8 in its Royal, GM-H stuck with six-cylinder engines and didn’t introduce a V8 Chev until 1960.
That didn’t bother some local lovers of the brand who either reefed out the factory-supplied six and dropped in one of the many V8s which would slot straight into a 55-57 engine bay or bought a complete car from the USA.
With almost five million of these Chevrolets kicking about, it was easy to find one during the 1990s. However, desirable models like the Bel Air with pillarless two-door bodywork, didn’t stay affordable for long.
Two-door ‘post’ 210s with a door pillar, V8 motor and three-speed manual transmission were more common and matched the single-carburettor Bel Air for performance but would likely cost 50 per cent less.
By the 1990s with the Thirty-Year rule (25 years in some States) in effect there was no compulsion to convert a car more than 30 years old to right-hand drive before it could be fully registered. As a result, almost all relatively recent arrivals have remained LHD.
Setting 1957 Chevs apart from other low-end US models were options that over time have further enhanced their desirability. Adding US$484 to the $2290 cost of a 1957 Bel Air two-door would buy a 283 cubic inch V8 with fuel injection and 210kW against the basic engine’s 137kW.
Teaming the injected engine with four-speed manual transmission delivered standing 400m acceleration times in the mid-14 second bracket, but cars fitting this description have become very expensive.
The 1955-57 Chevs selling in Australia can be ambitiously priced, but generally won’t exceed $100K. Aus-delivered cars with original engines usually sell for less than $50,000.
