283 Dual-Quad: 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible

There are times when a classic car will appear on our desks here at Barn Finds, and words will not seem to be enough to convey just how stunning that vehicle is. This 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible is a perfect example of this trait because its condition is absolutely stunning. It has just come off the back of a rotisserie restoration, and not only does its appearance take your breath away, but its drivetrain combination was one of the best that buyers could hope for in their shiny new ’57. After performing all of the hard work and undoubtedly spending a fortune, the owner has decided to part with this classic. It is located in Templeton, Massachusetts, and the owner has listed it for sale here on eBay. This bidding has shot to $62,877, but this remains short of the reserve.

This Bel Air is one of those cars where you need to sit and examine the photos carefully to appreciate just how stunning every detail of this car is. The owner has tackled this as a “no expense spared” project, and it shows. The Onyx Black paint looks deep enough to sink into, with not a flaw or chip visible anywhere. This is easy to understand when you consider the car’s history since the work was completed. The odometer was reset to zero at the end of the project build, and it now reads 850 miles. Yep, this classic is barely broken in, and it hasn’t had an opportunity to develop any chips or marks. The panels are stunningly straight, and the tight and consistent gaps suggest that someone has spent a lot of time in search of perfection. The Black soft-top is as immaculate as you might expect in a vehicle of this type, while the trim and glass are spotless. The Bel Air comes equipped with a Continental Kit, and while this won’t be to everyone’s taste, I find this one to be less intrusive and overwhelming than those that were fitted to some classics. You will probably also notice that the Chevy wears fender skirts in some photos, but not in others. The skirts are original, but the owner prefers the car’s appearance without them. The buyer might have a different viewpoint, so they are included if they wish to reinstall them.

It seems that the owner’s aim with this project was to return the Bel Air to the sort of state and specifications that it would have been in when it rolled off the production line. That is why when we climb under the car and scan through the numerous shots that he supplies, we don’t find floors coated in a product like POR-15. Chevrolet finished them in Red Oxide back in 1957, and that’s what we find today. Once again, the presentation is stunning, and the car would not look out of place on the show circuit. One major benefit of the owner’s approach is that it makes rust issues impossible to conceal. As such, the panels show no evidence of problems, while the car’s underside is clean enough to eat off.

Buyers in 1957 had a wide variety of engines to choose from when they walked into their Chevrolet dealership to order their shiny new Bel Air. King of the jungle was the 283ci “fuelie” that offered a nice and neat 283hp. Of course, if the buyer couldn’t justify the additional $550 required to secure one of those, the 283 dual-quad with solid lifters offered the buyer 270hp for a mere $242.10. That might seem relatively insignificant today, but when you consider that the base price for a ’57 Convertible was $2,611, that represented a significant premium. I mean, who was going to argue over the loss of 13hp in a case like this? As circumstances would eventually show, selecting the cheaper dual-quad option would prove to be a smart move for many owners in the near future. There’s no doubt that the fuel-injected 283 was an easier and less highly-strung motor when compared to its carbureted sibling, but it was also significantly more complicated. That is why it is not uncommon to lift the hood on a Bel Air or Corvette that was ordered with the “fuelie,” and find that the motor now sports a carburetor instead. When the fuel injection developed a fault, quite often addressing it was beyond the skills of the average mechanic of the era. Making the change was a quick and affordable alternative that many buyers exercised. Anyway, the 283 in this car would be producing 270hp, which finds its way to the rear end via a 3-speed manual transmission. While it wasn’t Chevrolet’s original intent, this V8 transformed the humble Convertible into something akin to a muscle car. If someone were to point this classic at a ¼ mile, it would gallop across the line in 15.9 seconds. That figure isn’t bad today, but in 1957 it was considered pretty stunning coming from a convertible designed to seat six. Of course, it is no surprise to find that the Convertible’s engine bay presents perfectly. With 850 miles on the clock, that V8 will be barely broken in, although the owner has just performed a fluid change to ensure that everything is up to scratch. I have included a video at the bottom of the article that shows the Bel Air running and driving. The engine sounds sweet, the transmission is one of the smoothest 3-speeds that I’ve seen for a while, and the car offers no squeaks or rattles. The whole thing is as tight as a drum, and it’s ready to be enjoyed by its lucky new owner.

The Convertible’s interior presents faultlessly in its original trim combination of Red and Silver. Everything looks factory fresh, with no flaws or problems with any surface. Slipping behind the wheel of the Convertible would be like stepping back into 1957. There’s no doubt that this car would have attracted plenty of attention when it was new, and it’s easy to imagine how many admiring glances and comments the owner would receive with this car today. The owner says that everything inside the car works as it should, and even the original AM radio sounds nice for its age.

I thought that I’d throw in this shot of the back seat so that you could see just how beautifully detailed the whole restoration is. I don’t know what you think, but if I were sitting in the back seat being driven around, I’d start to feel like some celebrity or a member of a royal family. The whole vehicle exudes that sort of aura.

It’s hard to find the words to do this 1957 Bel Air Convertible justice, so maybe it is worth looking at the bidding history to gain an insight into the impact that it has had. The owner listed the car with the bidding to open at $100. It took less than 15-minutes for it to rocket from that figure to $25,000. It has now rocketed to its current level, and I suspect that it has a way to go yet. I will be stunned if the bidding doesn’t dive into six-figure territory. That’s a lot of money, but with the ongoing desirability of these classics, its condition would seem to justify those sorts of prices. Are you tempted to bid on this Bel Air, or are you going to remain an interested bystander?