What to make of a 1960 Chevrolet Bel Air? There was a lot of swervin’ going on at GM’s entry-level division in the late fifties. From the iconic ’57 to the Cadillacesque ’58 and then to the outrageous batwing ’59, it was enough to keep everyone guessing what would come next. Well, on deck was the ’60, such as this Bel Air four-door sedan. It’s a tamped-down redo of the ’59 – hardly a radical rewrite, more of a refinement. This example, which hails from Renton, Washington, has been treated to an unusual modification – more on that to follow. Curvette gets the nod for this four-door find, and it’s listed here on craigslist for $12,000, OBO.
I would imagine the ’60 Chevrolet cost a lot less to design than what occurred between ’57 and ’58, and ’58 to ’59; a positive for the design department’s budget, I suppose, but it’s the result that matters. My initial assumption was that the ’60 full-size Chevy would have outsold the ’59 for the very reason I suggested – a less ostentatious visual bearing, but nope. The ’59’s volume of 1,481K units outpaced the ’60’s by 77K units. OK, it’s only 5.2%, but I assumed, incorrectly, it would have been a greater divide. As for this 1960 Bel Air sedan, it’s one of 497K four-door sedans assembled by the Bowtie in ’60. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a breakdown among the three trim levels (Impala, Bel Air, and Biscayne).
As for our Bel Air, its Suntan Copper finish is pretty worn, with rust bleed-through most evident across its curved sedan roofline (as opposed to the distinctive flat top that adorned the hardtop body style). All of the Bel Air-specific trim is still where it belongs, and the chrome bits are pretty fair. Body-wise, rust can be observed on the lower passenger-side quarter panels, and there’s a horizontal crease on the lower portion of the driver’s-side quarter panel. All in all, this Bel Air is still in reasonable condition considering it’s old enough to qualify for Medicare. The elephant in the room, however, is the 20″ steelies adorned with Moon-style center caps. No, this old Chevy doesn’t present gangbanger swagger; it’s just odd-looking with such tall, plain hoops. Oh, I almost forgot, the seller will take $2,000 less for this rig if the big rollers are removed and replaced with the original fourteen-inchers.
A further surprise is what’s occupying the engine room. I was expecting at least an entry-level V8, but nope, this baby’s sportin’ a 135 gross HP 235 CI, in-line six-cylinder powerplant. We’re told it “runs, drives, stops.” With 137K miles on its clock, performing the minimum may be the best this old Bel Air will do. And for you purists, the seller states that he has the original air cleaner assembly. There’s no Powerglide or Turboglide automatic gearbox here; a three-speed manual transmission, shifted courtesy of a three-on-the-tree shifter, is what you’ll encounter.
The interior is not well photographed, but I imagine that the driver’s side of the bench seat has a problem owing to what looks like a towel positioned on top of the bottom rest. Also noted is what appears to be a padded dash – an option in ’60. Generally, these Chevies came equipped with an expansive stretch of color-matched steel serving as a dashboard. One advantage to that arrangement was not having to worry about a cracked pad. The disadvantage? Well, all steel construction and no seatbelts…you get the picture.
So let’s recount here: four doors, a six-cylinder engine that is likely quite tired, and incongruous 20″ urban rollers. What would be the market for this Bel Air? Search me, fish; anyone have an idea?
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