Car shoppers kept Chevrolet dealers busy in 1955-57 as nearly five million cars were sold those three years. These would become known as the “Tri-Five Chevies” and are still popular with collectors today. This 1955 edition is a 210 2-door sedan (based on the VIN) that saw 250,000 copies made that year alone. Located in Edinburg, Texas, it’s a turn-key automobile that wears a custom paint job with a built-in patina and an upgraded drivetrain. The Chevy is available here on eBay where bidders have raised the ante to $25,477 without triggering the reserve.
Besides being a 210 (the seller never specifies which model this car is), the VIN tells us it left the factory with an inline-6 engine which would have had a displacement of 235 cubic inches. The 265 V8 was new that year, but this car didn’t get one. A Chevy 283 sits under the hood now, modified for a triple-carburetor set-up, and paired with an automatic transmission, which we’re betting is more recent than the 2-speed Powerglide offered in 1955.
We assume the two-tone paint on this car is the original color combination, but the Chevy spent more than 30 hours in the body shop/paint tent to redo the finish so that it looks as though it sat out in the desert until it burned. The interior has also been redone, including the carpeting and headliner. There is no radio in the dashboard, suggesting this was a rather bare-bones car when new. What the 210 didn’t have new was the vintage air conditioning that’s present now to help the car’s occupants cruise in comfort.
The more you look around, the more upgrades you’ll notice. Like a new exhaust with headers. Disc brakes behind the front wheels. New aftermarket rims with recent rubber. We’re told that the car is ready to go and can be driven anywhere. So, if you like the old-school look with some modern conveniences and performance, this Chevrolet should stir up interest at your local car shows.
Wouldn’t “drive it anywhere” with the dumb paint job.
Ya, 30 hours for this? Good lord.
Go ahead and put a V8 radiator behind core support.
What’s the diff between the six and the eight?
Two less cylinders. 8 would be in v formation and 6 would be inline.
Patina is Spanish for crappy paint job .
A “patina” on a mostly restored old car says; the owner is too cheap or lazy (or both) to go to the trouble to have a nice paint job done. So what does having a nice paint job done, then ruining it with a fake patina say about the car’s owner?
Hope he didn’t pay much for the ugly paint job….
I’ll never understand how people walk into the shop and ask for stuff like this. “Yeah, I like the current color…but it’d look nicer if I neglected it in my backyard for last ten years”
I don’t get it.. you got a pristine interior, gorgeous engine compartment, sparkling chrome on the wheels & bumpers.. and then you go and crap all over the paint. WHYYY?!?
Sob
I don’t understand buying jeans with holes in them either. Or the shabby chic screen door my wife bought that I never put up.
If the owner is so thrilled with the paint job, why is it being sold? Too much hype and not enough common sense. (of course, that is coming from a man who made a big common sense error and is now paying the piper)
Patina seems to be really in right now. A friend with a body shop tells me that they are actually clear coating over sprinkled cinnamon to simulate surface rust. I’m old school in that I’ll never understand shaved door handles or other chrome emblems, slammed to the ground classics, or black wheels that people pay huge bucks for. Call me what you want.
They do the same thing in the guitar world. Go figure.
I would call you a person with ‘car taste’!
That’s the worst fake patina paint job I’ve ever seen. I can’t imagine anyone thinking that looks cool, but as someone else said, people do pay more for jeans that are ripped up, so we don’t all think alike. The car looks good otherwise, so I hope the buyer has the car painted properly.
I dunno… some rattle-can Rustoleum ought to “clean up” that car pretty quickly! ;)
Uh oh, someone did something they liked to their car. Better tell them their opinion is wrong.
It takes all kinds. Ugly as ____
Replaced the 210 trim with BelAir stainless on the front fenders and quarter panels to supposedly improve the appearance and then give it a “custom ” paint job. Not big on patina and huge wheels and skinny tires on classic cars but maybe I’m just getting old! Wonder if there is a electric fan behind the radiator that’s still in the 6 cylinder location.
I think everyone has said all that needs to be said. Either real patina on a survivor with just essential upgrades or a proper restoration. This thing just represents money down the drain.
Too many Bel Air trinkets missing…Had more than a few tri 5 chevys.. Anyone remember Clark Marshall in Seattle?.. My 55 was the winner in it’s class…Yes, I’m that old.. Hahahahahahahaha
Too much that “ain’t right” with this car to justify the price! Making a 210 part way into a Bel Air is actually a distraction to a true Chevy enthusiast.
8 banger 6 cyl longer than V8 ,rad mounted forward,can cause over heating problems, with V8 swap
*eye roll* Um, no. Anyone who does this or sprays shiny clear coat over patina is missing the entire point of patina. They clearly don’t get it, so they should just do everyone a favor stay away from anything involving patina. We don’t need nice cars like this one ruined with random patches of brown paint and we don’t need real patina ruined with shiny paint.