When I look at this ’56 Bel Air, the last thing I think of is a sports coupe as the seller describes it. Now don’t get me wrong, these cars have lots of performance potential, but the Bel Air was meant to be a comfortable and powerful cruiser. That’s alright though, because I’d want to just cruise in a Bel Air anyways! This example is rough and was hit on the passenger’s side back in ’68. Someone repaired the damage, but never finished restoring the car. The seller bought it with plans on finishing it, but then plans changed. Now it’s up for grabs here on eBay in Escondido, California without a reserve and bidding just over $1k!

Supposedly, this Bel Air was previously owned by a hoarder that had purchased it back when they were in high school. It was parked with several other classics outside in a field. It rested or rusted (just depends on your point of view) in the field for 46 years. As you can imagine, it has rust issues, but thankfully it is a California car so it’s not completely rusted away.

The seller seems honest about this car and they provide images of the worst of the rust. For the most part, it looks solid, but I see a few spots that worry me. I really appreciate that the seller is offering it without a reserve and that they started bidding low. It tells me they actually want to see that this car ends up in good hands! Given the condition and the missing parts, it looks like the perfect candidate for customization! Maybe with some performance upgrades and a few suspension tweaks, this could be a car worthy of the title sports coupe! So what route would you go with this Chevy? Would you restore it or would you go a more custom route?