In its heyday in the 1950s, the Bel Air was Chevrolet’s top-of-the-line automobile. Then came the Impala and then the Caprice, so the Bel Air was repositioned toward the bottom of the rung by 1966. The rather stark Biscayne with its rubber floor coverings would be the entry-level product that appealed to traveling salespeople and taxi drivers. This nice ’66 Bel Air 4-door sedan looks great cosmetically on the outside, but the interior needs work. Located in Allen, Texas, this multi-door people mover is available here on craigslist for $7,800. Hats off to Tony Primo for this Bow-Tie tip!
Chevrolet had a banner sales year in 1965, selling more cars than ever. That was a hard act to follow and the mostly similar full-size Chevies saw a sales drop of about 20% in 1966. Out of more than 2.2 million autos assembled that year, more than 10% would be Bel Airs in a variety of body styles, like this 4-door sedan. It was ordered with a 283 cubic inch V8 and a 2-speed Powerglide automatic transmission and is said to have just 49,000 miles on the odometer.
This vehicle originated in California which could explain its lack of rust and the Mist Blue Metallic paint presents well, although we don’t know if it’s the original finish. That’s interesting because what we see of the interior goes the other way, with the seats needing reupholstering and the panel below the rear glass needs replacing (from exposure to the Sun?).
We’re told this Chevy runs great and has been treated to a new carburetor (bigger?) and intake manifold. It’s a good running car that should drive well and the parts that were replaced are in the trunk. The vehicle may have been sitting as a new gas tank and fuel-sending unit were required along with some brake components. This could be an auto that you could use right away or fix up the interior and save it for Cars & Coffee on the weekends – providing it doesn’t have too many doors.
The perfect bread-and-butter mid 60s sedan. I love it. Throw in a knee-knocker AC and daily drive this beauty.
knee-knocker AC✔️
Only checking engine numbers is the way to ID for sure but,I think those are 327 fender emblems.
A ’66 327-equipped car would have the 327 logo above the flags.
Flags only represent 283 for 1966 and 67.
Wow, really nice original condition, and reasonably priced, too. I hope it finds a good home where its preserved and enjoyed for what it is. I’d cover the seat and enjoy it just the way it is. My first car was a 66 Impala coupe, 283, but it had power steering.
Tony Barrettas beater
A ’66 327-equipped car would have the 327 logo above the flags.
Sorry, this comment was posted twice, and the site apparently does not provide a way to eliminate it.
I like it. It’s always interesting to me that every article about 1966 full-size Chevys mention how much sales went down after the banner year for 1965, but I feel like you can always find far more 66s for sale, especially more driver-quality than 65s. A regular old Cars and Coffee type 65 Chevy is hard to find and I’m even a more doors, the better kind of guy.
Nice car thrown on some rally wheels and dual exhaust and drive it
And a Turbo 350, or even a 700. Would really be a great driver then.
I agree with that too!
Boy, the salesperson didn’t make a heck of a lot on this one. No P/S, that I see, or P/B, the automatic and V8 were about it. This is very similar to my grandfathers ’65 Impala 4 door. We’ve discussed the “V8 with flags” before, and I think 283 did use flags in ’66, but 327s had the call-out as such. I read, a base ’66 Bel Air 4 door cost $2636 new. The V8 only added about $130 over the 6, but the automatic was the biggie at almost $300 BUCKS! When Ma heard that, she said, “forget the power steering and brakes, Gus”, and he was happy with the V8. It’s quite a find, it’s brethren long ago ground up for new Toyotas, but at the time, it did’t get any better than this,,for old Gus and ma, and their 9 grandchildren.
The 283, 2bbl used the flags only. The 4bbl versions included the engine displacement.
This was a 283 2bbl, as evidenced by the not-so-junk in the trunk.
Mine ran like an absolute champ with a rebuilt carb, new fuel pump, and new ignition components (wires, cap, rotor, points, and plugs).
Brakes were nothing short of horrific along which combined with no power steering, made it a car only a teenage boy could hoss around.
Perfect sleeper platform. Nice car!
My first car was nearly identically equipped but with AC. Man, I miss that thing.
Another grandpap car !
No trades BUT for every Chevy made from 1959 to 1966 ! Nice car and should be going to Sweden with that price…..