Let’s say you’re a casual old car lover, and the primary reason you’d want a ‘50s cruiser is to take leisurely Sunday drives. Not for you the car-show circuit and the judges looking at the stampings on the battery cables.
Well, here’s a car for you. It’s a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air “chop top,” a convertible not via the factory but via a guy with a Sawzall. It’s on Facebook Marketplace in Hemet, California with a $35,500 asking price.
The owner says practically nothing useful about this Chevy. The car is “ready to be finished up” but “needs a little TLC.” It’s said to run and shift “great.” There’s no picture of the engine, but it’s said to have 10,000 miles—maybe the second time around.
The car looks quite presentable if you don’t mind that the roof was cut off. Was the undercarriage reinforced, as was done for the factory convertibles? Unlikely. Could that be part of a top frame I’m seeing? Not sure, but definitely not protected from the elements now.
There’s an automatic transmission and nice two-tone upholstery. The paint and chrome look very good, but maybe if corners were cut in one area they were also cut in others. The ad is quite inadequate in convincing any Bel Air lover to want to buy this car. What work needs to be done? Are there plans for a convertible top?
My guess is that this car would be worth far more with its roof intact. A real ’57 Bel Air convertible, fully restored, is creeping toward the $100,000 mark. It’s an iconic car. But Bel Air hardtops do really well, too. This is something in between. You can’t put toothpaste back in the tube, and it’s unlikely you’ll ever get the roof back on this Bel Air.
So if a weekend fair-weather cruiser is all you want, maybe this is the car for you. The price is low—but only when compared to original convertibles and hardtops. And this ain’t one of those. Approach with caution. A shame, because it appears to be a nice car in many respects.
Having seen some of the rust-ridden metal lacking hulks being sold for premium $$$ and their resurrection from the tin worm grave, I’ve no doubt that within our ranks of gearheads there are talented metalworking folks that could replace the top (or reconfigure one as necessary) to bring this potential beauty back to its fullest life, as it should be IMO.
Good luck to the new owner in accepting this challenge!
A challenge for sure. Hopefully the new owner will be up to accepting the challenge. If not, expect to see this listed again within a year.
Just because the ad disappeared doesn’t mean someone bought it, especially at that price point and the modifications that had been performed.
Steve R
Another low talent hack that has ruined a good car. For your next victim pick up a Honda or Toyota and stick a trashcan muffler on it as that is the extent of your skills.
Too much money , a bunch of labor needed to replace the roof.
A Carson style lift off is what it needs.
What a novel idea, cut the roof off, don’t finish, then raise the price above what of a nice 2 door hardtop would sell for.
Steve R
Steve R that’s exactly right!
😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢
Looks like a top frame of some kind. Clunky from what can be seen.
Let’s hope that Mr Fabweld has strengthened the frame after his little fresh air frolic otherwise that baby is gonna fold quicker than a cheap suit.
What a dunce. Stupid. Not worth the aggravation.
Rather high price for a collection of parts.
Well the ad is gone. I hate to see something like this car hacked up, and for what? It’s no longer a hardtop nor a convertible and never will IMO.
My brother and a friend cut the roof of a Ford Falcon. then removed the doors and put two pipes in place of them so they wouldn’t fall out … you could see the car flexing as they drove it down the back roads of Louisiana – they had gotten a ticket for “unsafe vehicle” when they drove it on a main highway … may not have been safe but they sure had a fine redneck time with that car …
Weld the doors shut, to strengthen the body, like the Dukes did, and if it has a top, get in and out through the windows, if not, you don’t need doors anyway. Not factory red, at least in my memory. Assuming it has a V8 it would pull fine and the tri-5 Chevies handled well for the day. If I were offered it for free, say on loan so I could not sell it and cash out, I still would not take it, or the Bentley either.
The only thing missing is the Toyota drive-train swap. For those of you without short term memory loss, I’m thinking about the 1960 Corvette that was presented here about a month ago.
Yes, that Vette was atrocious….And I like Toyotas but that was sacrilegious. Without the x frame, this is scary …
What a shame
Maybe, just maybe he still has the top of the car.
I can’t imagine the feeling in the pit of my stomach when that metal grinder made the first sparks bouncing off the fender. Kind of like jumping out of an airplane with a parachute that you bought off Craigslist. You never know how it will turn out, but odds are it won’t be good.
And the windshield is wrong as well as the color. But, if life gives you lemons – our trusty Dodge Caravan was karate chopped by a neighbor’s tree, but the windshield and everything below the belt line were fine. My then 16 year old son and his mechanically inclined buddy (both now engineers) wanted to sawz all the top off and weld the doors together making it a real unibody, three rows of seats, no top, good weather only, friend had barn space for it. But insurance company wanted it in return for the totaling price (of about $2000) and off it went. Maybe something similar happened here, greenhouse destroyed but the rest of the car OK. Saved me worrying about 8 (or more) teenagers rocketing around town with only lap belts and no roll bars – It was the big V6 and it actually moved pretty well for the time.
They should be hung!!
Why all the negativity? The man owned this car, he has every right to do what he wants with it. If I owned the Mona Lisa, I would use it for a dart board, despite what others may say. In America, the almighty dollar (T)rumps all. When you can afford something, you are allowed to treat it as you wish. (except the public roads, those are not owned by us, are they Steve?)
I must agree. Where I come from, what a man owns is his. Might be a stupid move, but in this country, freedom means something, or at least it used to.
Having lived and travelled in the Caribbean islands for many years this doesn’t surprise me at all. Yes the factory did reinforce them but even without that hey are pretty stout. Looks like a fun beach cruiser.
With no pictures of the underside, why the assumption the frame wasn’t improved? Effort was made to have a convertible top, “chunky” though it appears to be. Looks like a fun, attractive car to me, the purists be damned.
Wonder if the doors open and close? I’d be embarrassed to drive it because people might think it was my stupid idea!
Looks like something that was done in Cuba they have all kinds of strange cars down there
About 25 years ago I was approached by a man with a ’57 Pontiac Catalina 2-door hardtop. He wanted to know how much to make it into a convertible, using a new “Kit” that included windshield header pieces and a folding [non-power] convertible top assembly. It was clear the folding top was not from an original GM car, but either a modified top assembly from a “X” car, or aftermarket designed & manufactured. No mention of any additional frame pieces or window gasket trim. I mention this because the Pontiac and Chevy shared the same convertible body.
I’m thinking this might be one of those convertible “Kits”.
I wisely declined the job.