The 1955 model year was a big one for Chevrolet. They would create a three-year run of cars that would later become known as the “Tri-Fives” and sell nearly five million copies. Also, they introduced a new V8 engine, the company’s first since 1918. This two-tone roller has seen better days and could be a cool restoration project – unless you consider four doors to be two too many. Located in Selma, California, this rusty artifact is available here on craigslist for $7,500 OBO. Gracias to T.J. for another tip from yesteryear!
Chevrolet sold nearly 1.8 million automobiles in 1955 as 150s (entry-level), 210s (mid-tier), and Bel Airs (top-of-the-line). The biggest demand by series and body style was for the Bel Air 4-door sedan at more than 366,000 copies. The seller doesn’t say what engine was in this Chevy when new, but a 235 cubic inch inline-6 paired with a “3-on-the-tree” manual transmission wouldn’t be a shock.
The seller refers to this being an original paint car, but the white over yellow on this Bel Air doesn’t decode, at least per this source. Parts of the interior are blue (or green), but the vinyl seat covers are not, suggesting they were redone at some point. The seller doesn’t get into any discussion of rust, but it’s there in the pics. And if you see it in the sheet metal, then there is likely more hiding deeper down.
The title for this Bow-Tie is MIA, so the buyer will have to be content with a bill of sale. Would you restore this Chevy to its original condition, but maybe drop something wild under the hood as a surprise? Make a badass sleeper out of it?
Way overpriced. Why pay $7,500 for a roller with rust and no pink slip? There are far better running driving 4 doors from the 1960’s through the 1980’s that need nothing or project cars for a fraction of the price, why bother with this one?
Steve R
The ad says $7,500 or best offer. Who makes a full price offer? Anyway, the car is straight and the chrome is all there. Replacement glass is readily available too. Used engine/transmissions litter the car parts ads. And anything of this age that hasn’t been restored will need a paint job, tedious but not impossible. The only thing for me is fixing that interior. Maybe I could finally learn that. Get the price down and you could have a car that gets lots of attention, no matter how many doors it has.
The problem with a $7500.00 asking price is that the real value will be seen as a lowball offer. When in fact, $3500.00 is much more realistic for this rolling project. 4 doors in this condition are not rare or desirable and the market does not support them very well.
I never buy or sell cars solely based on “market value” or being above or below water. I buy what I want because I want it.
You can’t save ’em all, but this one deserves a good shot at it. I agree with Dave when it comes to saving this car. And although it’s nothing more than a roller now, it is all there and waiting for some creative soul to
bring it back from the dead. After all, isn’t that what we used to do some 50
or 60 years ago when we used to find
old cars lying around. Back then, you
were lucky if you could find one that ran. And not matter how many doors
it had, the guy who bought it used whatever he could find to make that old hulk run again. At least that’s how
I recall how our hobby got started in the first place. 7K for this car leaves
me wondering if I couldn’t get it any cheaper than what he’s asking. In short, I like what I see but not
enough to pay his price and an extra 10K or more to ship it here to Florida.
Sorry folks, I’ll pass.
If this was the original color combination, this was one classy Bel Air when it was new, the yellow and white offset by the turquoise interior, V8 Powerglide. This was one loaded top of the line Chevy for sure. I do hope it gets a new lease on life.
You could two tone the ’55 Chev in almost any color combination and it would look classy. I’m fairly sure they did offer a yellow and white combo, though it may have not been original on this car. I do remember seeing a two-tone salmon and black ’55 BelAir, truly stunning.
Black and white look good….sold mine a few years back….
I remember a car just like yours in Vincennes Indiana a few years ago.
The 1955 Chevy’s styling is iconic. Truly a classic, styled by Clare MacKichan (not Bill Mitchell or Harley Earl), it has every line and curve in all the right places. You will not find a better-looking mass-produced car than perhaps an early XKE. I might add, the 50s were a golden decade for automotive styling. As to this particular BelAir, its price is too high. No title, no running gear, lots of rust and what’s with the sprung rear door?
Unless this car came out with a six cylinder, and somebody grabbed the V8 scripts put them under the tail lights that car come out with a V8 in it
I noticed that too. There are no under hood pictures even though there is no engine. I do not see a shifter on the steering column. It has 3 pedals which means it was a 3 speed on the column and had a v8 with the emblems on the rear of the car under the tail lamps.
Style-wise, I’ll take the ’56 over the ’55 any day.
The ’55 tail lamps look like after thoughts with the awkward nonsense below them; the grille is set too far back– or the head lamps too far forward, again awkward. Overall, it looks like a committee design, you know, “Hey, that looks good. See how you can fit it in.” It also looks “light,” that is, not very substantial. In short, it looks like an entry-level car.
The ’56, on the other hand, is, as is said, “of a whole,” that is, everything works well with everything else and the result is a reserved yet stylish and sophisticated look well above its “pay grade.”
(Once a designer, always a designer.)
Proper # of doors with that :classic” styling.(NOT the 20′ doors with the crawl-over-your-back rear seats). Would prefer the ’57, but still needs to be “preserved”.
The price is a bit steep for what’s there and the title is MIA. If you can get the price down to something reasonable and figure out how to get a title for it, there are parts out there that a good body man can make it into a high dollar convertible. Not that it’s cheap or I’d be the one to do it, but it’s a thought.
There’s at least some states where a title is not necessary or even wanted. For example, Connecticut doesn’t want a title for a car older than 20 years, and the DMV gets downright po if you bring one. My most recent reg is a 1958 with just a bill of sale and an affidavit stating it’s mine.
Whoa…..thats not the case in most states…anybody can write up a bill of sale- you can get rid of a friends car by doing that….no title=no sale.
I think Pot was involved when the price was determined.
Way too much money if you could talk them into legit go for a decent price you still need to run the vin through the police or DMV to make sure it doesn’t come back stolen 30+ years ago
Troy is exactly right, even if you have what looks like a matching title and VIN number, you still want to know who the previous owners were to make sure that it’s not stolen.
Back in the 1980’s I used to buy Camaro parts from Camaro Jim in Cleveland. That was 40 years ago, before you could open the Year One catalog and buy everything for a Camaro. He had a 55 Chevy that was mostly restored, but all the chrome was at the platers. Somebody broke into his shop while he was on vacation and cleaned everything out, including the 55 Chevy. But that’s just Cleveland . . . . .
The cops didn’t make any progress on finding his stuff, so he put the word out that he wanted to know if anybody was looking for a complete set of chrome trim for a 55 Chevy. Not long after that, somebody came up with a name and address, so Jim called the cops and they went to look at the car.
The car had a title and VIN tag that matched, but when they looked of the other VIN numbers it turned out to be Jim’s car. The guy who had it wasn’t the thief, he bought it from somebody he admitted he knew was shady.
The end result is Jim got the car back but at that point it had been pro-streeted, so he sold it. The guy who had the car and spent the money to do all the work got nothing. The point is . . . . be careful.