Update 8/16/2018 – Paul has decided to lower his asking price for this sweet Bel Air! He needs to find a good home for her, so be sure to contact him via the form below.
It might not be a Tri-Five or a two-door, but this California Black Plate 1953 Bel Air Sedan looks great, is a nice driver and has documented history! It appears to be in very nice condition inside and out. Reader Paul L believes it has seen one respray in its original color, so it may be an older restoration. It’s only seen 35k miles though, so it’s possible that the interior and drivetrain are in all original condition. Even if they aren’t, it could prove to be a wonderful classic to have, so be sure to message him via the form below with any questions or offers!
What Makes It Special? This is a true one owner garage kept rust free California Bel Air. This Chevy was cared for and loved by a humble hero named “Russ”. Russell was a member of 101st Airborne Division during World War II. A loving father of three and husband to Anna. Russ was later known as the “Mayor” of 41st Ave in San Francisco’s Sunset District. Russ purchased the Chevy new from L. M. Schomer on Geary Blvd. Russ’ brother Luke and brother-in-law Bill had a couple service stations in the area, one of which was the West Portal Shell and later the Richfield Station at 9th and Bryant. Russ often took the car there for maintenance.
Body Condition: Body is very straight and solid. No rot whatsoever. I believe it to have one respray in the original colors. The underside is very nice. Rockers, floors, trunk, all rust free.
Mechanical Condition: 108 horsepower 235cid engine starts right up and idles nicely. Does not smoke. 3-speed manual transmission shifts as it should. Steers good and stops well. Windows and doors open and shut with ease. Lights, gauges, and horn work. The heater was disconnected for an unknown reason. I wouldn’t hesitate to jump in and drive it a few hundred miles. Extra tune up parts, wheel cylinders, belts, filters, taillight housings and lenses included. I have original sales receipt registration cards to authenticate. This is the first time this car has been for sale since it was sold new.
- Asking Price: $
12,00010,000 - Location: San Francisco, California
- Mileage: 35,777
- Title Status: Clean
- VIN: C530048752
Our thanks to Paul for listing this lovely Bel Air with us! Hopefully, we can find a great home for it where it can be enjoyed and the history can be preserved. If you have a classic that needs a good home, please consider listing it here on Barn Finds!
A truly remarkable car, a true time capsule. It’s not every day you see a 65 year old car that looks this good. Oh to have money and space, well my financial embarrassment will keep me from being able bid. To the new owner I say this your getting a museum piece, please take car of it.
I love this car. Great story to go along with it. I have the money but not the space. Would enjoy cruising in this piece of history.
Two indicators of the health of this car stand out for me: Very little discoloration on the valve cover vents, and the missing paint on the banjo. No attempt was made to touch up the banjo cover. Proving once again that quality cars still exist. A testament to old school maintenance and care.
I share Michael’s problem. I have the money and not the space. Someone buy this without argument and take care of it. Very rare find and opportunity.
Lucky you…I have the space. Please take care of the paying details, I will inform you of where to deliver the car.
Make that a 54 baby blue 210 without fender skirts and you’d have the car my folks had. My one set of grandparents had a similar 54 BelAir automatic. Both were very good, dependable cars.
This one brings back some very fond memories from my youth.
The near unbelieveable part is the Plating. The bumpers and Grille is near perfect if they have not been replated that indicates its authentic originality. They were carefully wrapped or kept waxed as there are almost no 53 cars with grilles like this because of the Korean War effort Chrome was gone in a year or so during this period and seldom seen is a 53 Chevy that the grille hasn’t been plated orr it is totally tarnished. Like it has been in a time warp. Don’t care if it does have 4 doors this thing is a keeper and as the man said, you can get in it and drive it anywhere with assurance you will likely arrive with no problem. Andfor 12k rather have it at that price than a new Kia. After all we had a lot of guys that paid the price in blood at the time this was made so that in this day and time they can sell us the scrap we threw at them so they can sell it back to us and make big bucks. Thank you Hawkeye, Henry, BJ, Radar, and even Clinger and Frank!!! oh and especially you Hot Lips!!
Wow. What an amazing well-loved car and what great people were owners (Russ received a Purple Heart). Good luck to the seller and all the best to the future caretaker of this fine automobile.
Best,
Dan, another car lover in San Francisco.
Wonderful car in every way. Have three toys now and can’t convince that this one would be an investment only!! I would love to own it. A friend back in the mid sixties had a 54 Belair 2dr. HT totally stock but painted a butterscotch color which I believe was offered just in 53 and 54. Everytime I see a nice 53 or 54 I think of that car.
The Very first thing I noticed was the 101st Airborne screaming eagle on the back window. These men truly were and are the “greatest generation”. They accomplished 1,000 times more, with 1,000,000 times less. I feel like the world is a lesser place as we lose more of them by the day. I’d love to care for this car in Russ’s memory…. Airborne ALL THE WAY!!!!
Very nice for a Chevy! I would definitely drive and enjoy this car!
Next to last year for the solely six banger Chevys. Very nice example before the craze of the tri fives.
I love the car but it’s out of reach for me. I sure hope that the new owner looks after this as well as the original owner did.
One thing I like to do with my collection is to find out the history of my cars and trucks; it makes the project all that much more fascinating. I’ve got (4) vehicles and (1) tractor that I know the complete history of, and I’ve got a couple of others half done. It’s sad that as time goes on, the history of the others will disappear. But I’ll keep trying….
Beautiful. buy them original is my mottto. But……meh on the price ……..of course what someone will pay is what its worth. Two thoughts…..I think California had yellow plates with black letters up until ’60 or so? No? I used to know. So my question is did this car go out of state for a while and come back when they switched to black with yellow plates?
Also is that a seat cover on the front or has the back seat been redone ( my guess)
Very clean and original example of a Bel Air !
Much better than a restored one. Real Detroit steel and quality USA parts. Many parts are not available today with the same degree of quality. Even the Korean era chrome is better than typical modern replating. Price is not out of line for what you are getting.
My Mom drove a 210 sedan when I was a kid. Hers was a shiny black with a light
and dark grey interior. It sure looked sharp with a set of those flipper hubcaps
and wide whitewall tires too. Like this car, Mom’s car was a 235 3-speed car
on which everything worked perfectly–
even the radio! It was a great old car
that rarely left us stranded. Since I
can’t get Mom’s car back again, this
one would do nicely. It would be a
great honor for me to become the
caretaker of this fine vehicle. However,
my wallet’s running on empty so good
luck to the new owner, whoever that
might be.
Beautiful Chevrolet!!! Great price also. If I had the 10 large I would buy this in a heartbeat.
If I had space I would have bought it at 12K. I thought that was fair enough, 10K is giving it away and I still don’t have space….
Beautiful car and wonderful story. Much rather have this with the low miles and originality than a totally restored one. Baby it a drive it occasionally.
I’m a car lover in San Francisco. I live about 1/2 a mile from this car and it’s the real deal. If I had a garage, I would buy this car. I have a shoe box size garage that my Toyota barely fits in. Picture a Model T and that’s the size of the garage. I pay $280.00 a month for it. The avenues in the west part of the city used to be filled with these kinds of “barn finds”. It was a middle class neighborhood with people who bought cars and generally held on to them. The husband would pass and the wife would leave it in the garage until she passed. I knew a guy that drove for Luxor Cab and he would ask all of his fares if they knew of any old cars in the neighborhood. Once and a while he would find one. Those house are built right against each other with fully paved floors and the living areas are above the garage, effectively insulating the garage on three sides. Notice in the first picture you can see the aluminum insulation sticking out by the right front fender. That’s the furnace for the house. They used to have gravity furnaces before the forced air units now and those things were so hot you could get burned if you left your hand on it. They warmed the garage and usually at worst, if you didn’t wax it you would get some surface rust. If you left it outside, depending which micro climate you were in San Francisco you will get varying degrees of rust from light to severe.
Bill A. nailed it. It’s amazing what old cars are tucked away in San Francisco. Makes walking the dog that much more fun. You never know what you’ll see if a garage door is open and there is a dust-covered car tucked way in the back (if one is lucky enough to have a multi-car garage, it often still only has a single car door).
x2 on the rust. I once bought a 1950s Willys truck that was restored in the 1990s, but the next owner let it sit outside near Twin Peaks. By the time I came across it about five years ago, the body was pretty far gone (for a California truck). Cars stored inside are a different story.
Good luck to the seller.