Some custom builds can be quite stunning, while others probably come under the heading of “that seemed like a good idea at the time.” I believe that this 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Shorty probably falls into the latter category. Cutting-and-shutting a classic Bel Air in the 1970s would not have been a big deal, but any owner who performed such an act today would probably receive vast amounts of negative feedback. Still, what’s done is done, so now is the chance for someone to add the finishing touches to a car that is guaranteed to grab everyone’s attention. Located in Walker, Iowa, you will find the Bel Air listed for sale here on Facebook. With an asking price of $3,000, this looks like it could be an affordable project car.
The Bel Air is nothing if not distinctive. Its history is pretty vague, but the seller says that a previous owner in the 1970s performed the conversion work. It isn’t clear whether the project was ever completed to the point where the car saw the road in its current form, but the buyer will be facing some work to get it back there once again. We can see that the Bel Air has worn Cascade Green paint at some stage, but most of this is now gone. There’s plenty of surface corrosion, but not much visible in the way of penetrating rust. The exterior looks quite sound, and what we can see of the floors shows a similar level of corrosion to the exterior. The general fit of the panels doesn’t look bad for a conversion of this type, but I do have some concerns about the rear quarter panels. Someone has laid on a thick layer of Bondo just behind the doors, and I have to wonder what is hiding beneath this. If I were to buy this car, I would probably make an effort to strip the panels back to bare metal to know exactly what I was dealing with. Cutting a big chunk out of the middle of this classic wasn’t the builder’s only custom touch because this Chevy also features a flip front. Like the rest of the exterior, this feature will need to be finished by the next owner. My other great concern with a conversion like this revolves around the quality of the modifications to the frame. If the work has been completed to a decent standard, this Bel Air should be as structurally sound now as when it first rolled off the production line. However, if the frame has been cut and poorly welded, there is a chance that things could get nasty in any sort of an accident. If I were serious about tackling this one, I’d probably want to perform an in-person inspection before I handed over any cash. The buyer’s shopping list looks like it will likely extend to replacing some glass, and most of the exterior chrome will need to be sourced. Some of this has the potential to be a bit painful because it will need to be modified to suit the Chevy’s truncated dimensions,
In its original guise, this Bel Air would have tipped the scales at around 3,390lbs. The most potent engine on offer in 1957 was the fuel-injected 283ci V8 that produced one horsepower per cubic inch. With that onboard, the Bel Air would have been capable of storming through the ¼ mile in around 15.5 seconds. There is no doubt that the shortening process will have removed a substantial amount of weight from the car, so the potential is there for some mind-blowing performance with the right drivetrain combination bolted in. What we find occupying this engine bay is a 350ci small-block V8. This was backed by a 4-speed manual transmission and a 10-bolt Posi rear end. The owner purchased the vehicle about 1½-years-ago, and he was able to drive it on the trailer then. However, he has since removed the transmission, and it appears that this isn’t included in the sale. Sourcing another transmission should not be hard, and if the shortened tail-shaft is included, getting the Shorty mobile again might not take a lot of work. However, the buyer looks like they might need to do some work on the wiring and plumbing if they want the Chevy to be reliable. With that 350 in good health and those issues addressed, the Bel Air has the potential to be scary-fast if you were to point it at a dragstrip.
The easiest way to sum up what this Bel Air’s interior needs would be to use the word “everything.” This is a half-finished project, and it looks pretty rough. It appears that the builder has tried to continue the wild custom touches inside the car, and he has failed dismally. If I were to buy this car, the first thing that I would do to this interior would be to get the dash looking as stock as possible. That would include finding all of the correct parts like the gauges, trim, and radio. A bench seat and traditional upholstery would look good, although using a tri-tone upholstery combination like those found in the ’58 Impala might add a classy custom touch. The interior will also require carpet and a headliner, so once again, there will be plenty of work to keep the buyer busy with this one.
This 1957 Bel Air Shorty does have some potential, but it is impossible to gauge how viable it is as a project car without seeing it in the metal first. The body modifications aren’t that much of a worry, but the quality of the workmanship on the frame is critical if the car is to be safely driven on the streets. It is a car that will not be to everyone’s taste, and we will undoubtedly have many readers who will be upset that someone has seen fit to destroy an iconic American classic. The buyer might choose to complete a project that was commenced more than four decades ago, but there is another option to consider. However, it is an option that would probably only be financially viable for a buyer with the necessary skills to perform most of the work themselves. The popularity of the ’57 Bel Air means that an industry has developed to supply high-quality reproduction parts. Virtually every part is available, including all of the steel. Someone could potentially buy this car for the asking price, and they could then source all of the pieces to return it to its original appearance and specifications. I’m not going to pretend that the process will be easy or cheap, but with good examples easily fetching $30,000 or more at present, it is an option that might be worth considering for the right potential buyer. What do you think?
What’s not to like?
The million dollar question is, how many clowns can you squeeze into it
Whoever did the fabrication work on this car did a good job pulling this together and making it flow. Here is another example where the execution doesn’t quite make it.
https://barnfinds.com/shoebox-shorty-custom-1956-chevy-210/
It deserves to be completed. I think it’s cool and would be a fun car to show.
The roof’s been done really well, I thought. I also think that the body is now too deep…
I like the idea of repurposing into a vintage drag car. About the size of an Anglia now. Why not?
There is no way any reputable track would let this thing pass tech. It’s an abomination that would scare the crap out of track workers, racers and management. I guarantee nobody with a conscience would ever put their signature on the bottom of a tech card stating they thought this car was safe.
Steve R
Fair point. To make it track safe, you would wind up building a car and hanging this body off it. Was just thinking of the wild days of gassers and altereds when something like this may be able to run.
This looks like a toy car for big adult kids!
Lets hope who ever did this is still in jail
The ultimate clown car?
Wait a minute , is the trunk lid welded in ?
No trunk space!
How do you get to the fuel tank ?
I oddly like this thing but …
The best part of this monster is the rear view. Very cool without a bumper, taillights, and trunk welded shut. Almost gives it a sportcar appearance.
Why?
Is that a propane tank on the floor?
That’ll teach you to give the kid a welder for Christmas!
Third category was left out: WHY>
I reckon it was about 1961 I was in the 8th grade when I saw a 57 Chevy cut into a shorty. I thought it was right wierd looking and as I look at this one I find I still feel the same way. It would seem in order to make the lines flow you’d have to start with a model with a frameless side window. Nevertheless there’s a market for everything if you can find the right buyer.
God bless America
A lot of hours went into this and the result appears well done. Many difficult challenges were tackled well here. That said, think how neat this would be stretched into a four-door and and with a trunk openable.
“There’s plenty of surface corrosion”
Corrosion is its friend…
Call me clueless, but what is meant by “flipped front”?
Looks like the front end flips forward to get access to the motor.
You’re clueless. LoL! The whole front doghouse is on unit hinged at the front like a cab over truck cab.
I just always called a ‘reverse-hinged’ hood. Flipped front end to me sounds like the sheetmetal was installed upside-down or sideways, lol!
I wish I had the skill – or knew someone who did – to move the rear axle back about a foot, re-constructing the fender opening the same distance, and this would be quite a nice looking, attention-getting vehicle. That is to say, positive attention and admiration. As it sits, the lines just do not “flow”.
Brain damage is a terrible thing.
A waste of a ’57 Chevy! Crush it before it spawns any more of these nightmares!
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Someones sense of fun got out of control would pitch and severely
I think drugs were involved in the concept stage…
When we did a Clarion car radio commercial in Bishop, California in about 1990, I found a 56 Chev, a 60 Cadand both were shorties.
At the time of their cut up, recreation, maybe $100-$200 dollar car value.
Yes, I was amused and took pictures
“No”.
The chop makes all the other proportions off now, gotta correct the fins, the frmt end, etc. Y not just buy one of the european copies if goin smaller? Oh, forgot some guys in Iowa like to tinker. Great job on the roof tho…
Q on gas is answred by: “that lill filler cap on top of the trunk”
This is one shorty I actually kind of like. The roofline is perfect, and it took a really good eye to come up with it. This deserves to be finished by someone. Not by me, but by someone.
Why do most people think because it’s a 57 Chev, that it’s a BelAir? This is not.
Just the fact that there are enough of these to have a category (Shorty) is bad enough.
This is the ultimate result of allowing cousins to marry.
steve r said no track tech would pass inspection on these shorty cars to let them drag race ??? go to us 60 drag strip in brandenburg, ky any weekend and you will see a black 57 chevy shorty just like this one racing there !! its built very nice and has the front tires 2 feet in the air the first 60 feet down the track and runs very fast doing the 8th mile in the low 6 seconds range !!!!
What’s scrap metal worth by the pound??
Practically nothing in 2021, Jeff! That’s why stuff like this is still around. The heyday of scrapping cars for their metal weight is, I’m afraid, long over. Ten years ago I was going to the metal scales with shells full of rusty bolts, stainless steel, empty gas tanks, etc along with bags full of beer cans and loading up my bank account (for other rusty restoration projects!)