Photo: Bring a Trailer
Built from 1955 to 1957, the Chevrolet Tri-Five series was short-lived, but the GM put together many of them. With more than 1.5 million assembled each year, Chevy rolled out almost five million examples in 150, 210, and Bel Air trim. The production also included various body styles, ranging from two-door coupes to four-door station wagons.
Some Tri-Fives get a lot more love than the others. The Bel Air Sport Coupe and the Nomad are arguably the most popular and valuable nowadays. The convertible, for instance, doesn't get as much attention as the coupe, even though it's quite the rare bird with fewer than 133,000 examples built over three years. And that's a shame because the Bel Air is one hot-looking drop-top.
If you think Ferraris look sexy in red, you definitely need to check out this 1957 Bel Air Convertible because this thing is spicier than sriracha. Not only is it a 1957 model with big fins around the back, but it also packs a few cool extras over the standard Bel Air.
But before we proceed, you should know that this drop-top has been repainted in 2008. That's a good decision, given that survivor cars from the 1950s rarely look good. The paint job looks solid, while the hue seems to match Chevy's Matador Red from 1957. The soft-top is white for a nice contrast, but the top boot cover is red to match the body and upholstery.
Look around the back, and you'll find the feature that sets this Bel Air apart from many of its siblings. This drop-top features a Continental kit that adds an exterior spare tire mounted on the rear bumper. I know some classic car enthusiasts don't like these kits, but I think they add class to the Bel Air. Especially since the bumper extension doesn't look as terrible as on other 1950s cars, like the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser.
The Bel Air's interior is as classy as they get, combining red vinyl upholstery with silver inserts on the seats and the door panels. But it also comes with a few aftermarket goodies, including a radio, vinyl floor mats, and an analog clock.
Things become a lot more interesting under the hood, which hides a larger-than-stock V8 engine. The 1957 Bel Air was sold with a pair of small-block V8 engines displacing 4.3 and 4.6 liters. These mills generated between 162 and 283 horsepower. I don't know what engine powered this drop-top from the factory, but one of the car's previous owners decided it wasn't potent enough and replaced it with a bigger V8.
The mill in question is a 5.7-liter V8. The swap was made sometime in the late 1980s, and although there's no info as to where it came from, it appears to be a small-block V8 as well. GM had rolled out no fewer than 12 versions of the 350-cubic-inch small-block by the late 1980s, so it's difficult to identify, but it appears to be a 1970s mill. That should mean that it packs more punch than the Bel Air's original V8.
The engine mates to an automatic transmission, but it's not the original three-speed Turboglide. On top of that, it's been serviced recently and comes with an electric fuel pump, new fuel tank, fuel filter, spark plugs, and valve cover gaskets. Finally, it seems that the frame has been cut, welded, and repaired. It's definitely ready for long-distance cruising.
This mild restomod is for sale on Bring a Trailer, where bidding has reached $30,000 with six days to go. Granted, it won't get as much as a Bel Air with a numbers-matching drivetrain, but at least it wins in the reliability department.
If you think Ferraris look sexy in red, you definitely need to check out this 1957 Bel Air Convertible because this thing is spicier than sriracha. Not only is it a 1957 model with big fins around the back, but it also packs a few cool extras over the standard Bel Air.
But before we proceed, you should know that this drop-top has been repainted in 2008. That's a good decision, given that survivor cars from the 1950s rarely look good. The paint job looks solid, while the hue seems to match Chevy's Matador Red from 1957. The soft-top is white for a nice contrast, but the top boot cover is red to match the body and upholstery.
Look around the back, and you'll find the feature that sets this Bel Air apart from many of its siblings. This drop-top features a Continental kit that adds an exterior spare tire mounted on the rear bumper. I know some classic car enthusiasts don't like these kits, but I think they add class to the Bel Air. Especially since the bumper extension doesn't look as terrible as on other 1950s cars, like the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser.
The Bel Air's interior is as classy as they get, combining red vinyl upholstery with silver inserts on the seats and the door panels. But it also comes with a few aftermarket goodies, including a radio, vinyl floor mats, and an analog clock.
Things become a lot more interesting under the hood, which hides a larger-than-stock V8 engine. The 1957 Bel Air was sold with a pair of small-block V8 engines displacing 4.3 and 4.6 liters. These mills generated between 162 and 283 horsepower. I don't know what engine powered this drop-top from the factory, but one of the car's previous owners decided it wasn't potent enough and replaced it with a bigger V8.
The mill in question is a 5.7-liter V8. The swap was made sometime in the late 1980s, and although there's no info as to where it came from, it appears to be a small-block V8 as well. GM had rolled out no fewer than 12 versions of the 350-cubic-inch small-block by the late 1980s, so it's difficult to identify, but it appears to be a 1970s mill. That should mean that it packs more punch than the Bel Air's original V8.
The engine mates to an automatic transmission, but it's not the original three-speed Turboglide. On top of that, it's been serviced recently and comes with an electric fuel pump, new fuel tank, fuel filter, spark plugs, and valve cover gaskets. Finally, it seems that the frame has been cut, welded, and repaired. It's definitely ready for long-distance cruising.
This mild restomod is for sale on Bring a Trailer, where bidding has reached $30,000 with six days to go. Granted, it won't get as much as a Bel Air with a numbers-matching drivetrain, but at least it wins in the reliability department.
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