Talk about getting kicked to the curb, Chevrolet’s top drawer model, the Bel Air, ruling supreme since 1950, found itself in the backseat when the all-new 1958 redesign was introduced. Having been “kinged” by the all-new Impala, the Bel Air wasn’t that much different than Chevy’s new superstar, it was just overshadowed. Today, we have a ’58 Bel Air two-door hardtop for review, so let’s investigate and see what sets it apart from the Impala. This Chevy is located in Alexandria, Minnesota and is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $15,100, reserve not yet met.
While most know the ’58 Impala as simply an Impala, it was actually a “Bel Air Impala” and was available in either a two-door hardtop or a convertible (it lost the “Bel Air” part of its name in ’59). The Bel Air was offered in four different body styles, two and four-door hardtops, and two and four-door sedans. You could probably throw in a fifth if you include the four-door “Nomad” station wagon.
This example appears to be in a rather original condition and it is being promoted as such. The two-tone paint job, separated by trim, is typical for a fifties car and it still presents reasonably well. Speaking of trim, that and the taillights are all that really separates a Bel Air-Impala from a plebian Bel Air. And one could argue that the Impala’s extensive trim borders on wretched excess – but that was all the Detroit rage in the late ’50s and early ’60s. As for the taillights, the Impala used three per side, a signature styling trend that endured for years, while the Bel Air made do with two per side. Nice to see on this car are the original wheel covers, they’re usually lost to the ages, or a roadside cornfield, by now.
New for ’58 was Chevrolet’s 348 CI V8 known as the W block” The “W” stands for wedge as the compression chamber is a wedge, formed in the cylinder at top dead center, as opposed to being a compartment in the actual head. This version appears to be the standard 250 gross HP variety and it is claimed to, “Runs Great (with) Low Miles“. The mileage is recorded as 70K but there is no backing documentation. The real surprise is the “Turboglide” automatic transmission, the first one that I have encountered. It was an option from ’57 to ’61 but the first two years are often referenced as troublesome and beyond ’59, the wind was knocked out of the TG’s sails in terms of buyer’s interest. As I recall, it was a simpler transmission than the prevailing Powerglide and relied on a five-element torque converter (instead of a traditional three) to provide a sense of gearing.
The interior of this hardtop is about how one would expect a 63-year-old original interior to look. The seller mentions a small tear in the driver’s seat, and it’s there – a seam separation, but beyond that, it shows OK. The driver’s side carpet is worn through, and seeing that, reminds me of a ’58 Chevrolet Brookwood station wagon that we had in my household long, long ago. I guess a Brookwood lines up with the Biscayne trim level as our wagon had a blue rubber mat, no carpeting anywhere in that car. When the driver’s side backseat footwell started to drop out, I found watching the torn mat swinging in the breeze, through the jagged floor opening, to be mesmerizing – the faster you went, the more it flapped.
This car is referenced as a barn find though the circumstances around its barn residency are not disclosed. Regardless of its past, it’s really quite a find, especially with its powertrain configuration. I have to say, I think I prefer the Bel Air’s less glitzy appearance over that of the “Bel Air Impala”, how about you?
Now THIS is a survivor. I’d love to have her and wouldn’t change a thing aside from safety related parts.
IMO these are better proportioned than the Impala which looked like it had a roof from a smaller car grafted on.
Turbo glide, had one in a 61 impala. It was a disguised dyna flow, except that the Buick didn’t have fluid leaks like the Chevy did.
The Turboglide must have been one leak prone monstrosity because almost every Dynaflow I’ve encountered was as porous as a sieve.
There were a lot of naysayers about the Powerglide, because by the mid 60s the competition were all into 3 speed automatics. True, the 3rd gear was missed and they were not known for fuel economy, but they were bulletproof.
The car I learned to drive in. Same colors too.
Trim is not the only difference. The ENTIRE body shell, including roof, quarters and decklid, is different on a 58 Impala versus a 58 Belair. Bewildering why the supposed lower cost Chevy line would incur that extra tooling and production cost to add a new trim level, but it is true. In 59 they came to their senses and a 59 Belair hardtop is the same body as a 59 Impala hardtop.
Doing some additional digging, I have learned that the front clip is the same but the roof and trunk lid are, in fact, different. The roof “vent” on the Impala is obviously missing on the Bel Air, but apparently, the differences extend beyond that. Looking at the two next to each other, you couldn’t prove the differences by me as they look exactly the same, but apparently, the differences are real.
Thx,
JO
Except there WAS NO 59 BA 2 dr ht. (exc. in Canada). Not for US cars until 60. Remember, the Impala shared a lot w/the Bonneville under the skin, so it wasn’t JUST the 58 Impala which had that roofline. The BA shared body structure w/other B body Pontiacs (Chieftain, Super Chief and Star Chief), but the Bonnevilles and Impalas were both completely different from the cowl back from the rest of the cars.
My Dad had this same car but his was light blue and ran with a 283 and three speed manual. I still remember the day he drove it home. The whole family thought it was the most beautiful thing on wheels. Even as a seven year old kid I could feel the power the V8 put out over his old 53 Chevy with the stove bolt six. My Mom learned to drive in this car; no small feat with manual everything. In five years the pretty blue paint was peeling away from the horizontal surfaces and Dad stripped the paint and got a $39.99 Earl Sheib paint job in refrigerator white. Alas, by 1966 the BelAir was a complete rust bucket with front fenders, rear quarters, floors and trunk displaying huge holes. The front fender tops were so bad he had to use bailing wire to secure one of the headlights! I actually stepped through the rear floor on the driver side. The entire interior was in tatters from all of the abuse of a big family of kids. The foam padding on the drivers seat crumbled away and exposed the springs so Dad covered it with a WW2 Army blanket and kept on truckin’. By the time I drove it the clutch was about done and Dad pretty much consigned me to the new 1966 BelAir as it was better able to take the abuse of a teenage driver. In 1968 I followed Dad to the scrap yard where “Old Betsy” as my Mom christened her was laid to rest. I had to chuckle as sand spewed from the various holes in the trunk floor. My Dad had added sand bags as extra weight for better traction in the snow. This is a really nice survivor and If I could own it; I’d leave her just the way she is except for maintenance.
In the early 70’s I traded a ’58 Bel Air (no engine or trans) for a T.V. set. I came across a ’62 Impala wagon from New Mexico for $50.00. I removed the 327 and junked it. (I know… but wagons weren’t cool then) The 327 and an M-20 4-speed went into the ’58. That was a lot of fun, especially for the $ I had into it… I like this car… I’d give the entire car a gentle cleaning, remedy the transmission situation with a 4-speed, clean & detail the engine compartment and enjoy this overlooked beauty!
Slip and slide turbo glide . Had one mated to a 283 4barrel in a nice 60 impala, my first real car. Stick her in low, which was grade retard, GR, it would rev up rpm immediately, pop it into drive and it would squeal the tires and launch. loved that tranny.
Which is one of the reasons Turboglides got a bad rep. GR was NOT a LOW, but only for slowing down on hills. Treating GR like it was a LOW was one of the major causes of failure. Treated like a normal automatic, they worked fine. I had two 61 Impalas which had Turbos. I was hesitant when I bought the first one (in 64 or 65) due to their rep, but driven as intended, I never had a problem with it. The second one was a collector car I bought in the 90s, and it, too, still worked fine.
I’ve owned a couple 58 Chevy’s. A Del Rey with 348 power glide, 4 door sedan. And a Impala 2 door hardtop 348 high performance converted to 3 on the floor with overdrive. Loved both cars. If I had time, money and room I’d go for this one. Sadly I have none of the above.
Well the NOMAD was a TWO door station wagon. Please tell the author about that.
Feel free to tell me yourself. No, wait, I know, it was a four-door in ’58, check the attached Barn Finds link:
https://barnfinds.com/original-348-1958-chevrolet-nomad/
JO
The 58 nomad was a 4 dr- i’ve seen several , one at a car show w/matching trailer made from the front clip of a 58. I had to ask the owner if it was a real nomad and he said that was. I think 58 was the end of the nomad, It did have the nomad script on the quarters, never heard of a 59 nomad
Actually, 1961 was the end of the run for the full-size Nomad nameplate. The distinctive vertical stainless tailgate strips were last used in 1958. The name resurfaced on the bottom of the line Chevelle four-door station wagon in 1968 and remained through 1972. The unique two-door version was only produced in ’55, ’56 & ’57.
JO
NO..not in ’58!..’58 Nomad was 4 door only…do some research.. :)
I’ll probably get a lot of flak here, but I’ve always thought the 58 Chevies were so much better looking than than the 55-57 models. I’m not even a GM guy, but if I had to pick a favorite 50s car this would be in the top three
When I was a teen, a neighbor sold his 55 T-Bird for a 58 Impala Convertible. At the time nobody wanted the 58’s. Today is a different story. I wonder if he kept that car…
Around 1961-62 I was about 20-21 yrs. old and working at a small industrial job north of downtown Mobile Alabama. We had hired a real country guy who on lunch break said – Hey, come take a ride in this Chevy I just bought. He knew I was a car guy. It was exactly like this car. 348 automatic. He pulled out into the road and floored it. WHOOOAH!!!!! Fastest thing I had ever been in up to that point. I was a foreign car fan and didn’t even know that you could buy American cars that quick.
DON
I agree with you. I bought a 58 Impala for 360$ in 1977, always thought they were beautiful cars, but everyone else preferred tri-fives. I have regretted selling that Impala since I saw it leaving my yard…