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Starts & Runs For $3,500! 1956 Chevrolet 210

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While this 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air 210 is anything but pristine, for the price it doesn’t look bad at all! It’s located in Central Phoenix, Arizona and is listed for sale here on craigslist for only $3,500. Thanks to reader Pat L. for this terrific find!

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I’m guessing this is at some sort of garage based on it’s surroundings. There’s some dents and dings visible on this side, and the peeling clear coat at the top of the fender tells me this sure isn’t the original paint. However, despite the seller’s assertion that it has rust, I don’t see a lot visible in these admittedly poor pictures.

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Perhaps they are talking about the floor pans and the trunk. Oh, and those missing bumpers aren’t really missing; there’s a picture of them over by a wall in the ad. By the way, that missing tail light lens on the left? A pair of them will run you all of $9.90 plus shipping here on eBay. I’m not sure what the original colors were, but I do like the blue and white color scheme, and it looks like the paint is good enough to leave alone for a while.

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Some of my favorite car moments have been in classics like this one; a little rough around the edges but fun nonetheless. This Chevy is equipped with a three speed manual and only needs a good cleaning and a set of inexpensive seat covers to make the interior tolerable.

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The seller asserts that this is the original V8, which would make it a 265 cubic inch version. Nothing really scares me under here, and the seller reports that it starts and runs, but needs brake work and new tires. I was curious what that might cost, so I went to a common parts site and was pleasantly surprised to find new master cylinders for less than $40, wheel cylinders for under $5 each, brake lines for less than $10 per corner and brake shoes for less than $20 per end of the car. In other words, you can pretty much completely renew the brake system (okay, I’d consider hard lines as well if they are rusty) for not a lot of money. So think about it; would you like to be motoring down the road in this classic for less than $5,000? If you are willing to do some welding and a little leg work, it could be yours!

 

Comments

  1. Avatar Wayne

    It’s not a Bel Air. Its a 210. Big difference.

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    • Avatar Jamie Palmer Staff

      Fixed it, Wayne, thanks.

      Like 0
  2. Avatar redwagon

    perhaps being sold for what the shop has into it?

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  3. Avatar Don

    The floor shifter is cool but not original.

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  4. Avatar geomechs Member

    Definitely not a Bel Air. I remember years ago when the thing to do was convert to a floor shift. Every corner auto mart had a ‘conversion kit’ to do away with the column shift. However, you were left with an unsightly shifter yoke that everyone’s eyes seemed to focus onto. I kind of like the three on the tree….

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  5. Avatar Ray Smith

    The add says $3500 “asking price”. I’m sure if you showed up with a hand full of $100 bills you could get it for $3000 or less. Assuming it doesn’t have Fred Flintstone floors or worse this seems like a heck of a deal for some looking for their first classic or a father and son project.

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  6. Avatar Fred W.

    Price not bad at all, considering you could have an OK looking driver without even a repaint. Just a few weekends of mechanical and upholstery work. Those door cards are very easy to reupholster. Back in the 70’s you could walk in any fabric store and get similar fabric and vinyl . Then it was just a matter of cutting and stapling.

    I really like the fact that the air cleaner is still there. Those usually were removed and replaced long ago.

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  7. Avatar Steven C

    This is a really good deal. V8, manual trans, i’d sort it out mechanically and drive it all the time.

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  8. Avatar Flmikey

    …tri-5’s are one of the few cars out there that having 2 too many doors is not a deal breaker….

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  9. Avatar ROTAG999

    Yeah i had a 56 210 2 door hardtop with same Hurst Mystery shifter it’s a pos compared to the Hurst comp plus unit ! 2 many doors on this one…..

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  10. Avatar charlie Member

    Owned a ’56 210. Neither color, the blue, nor the white, are the correct blue, or white. The separation of colors is wrong as well. But, other than minimal brakes, and a single master cylinder, they were great highway cars, 75 all day with the V8 and a high rear axle ratio. Seats 6 big guys comfortably. Big trunk. Lost brakes 3 times in 14 years it was in the family, fortunately I was driving each time and managed between downshifting and the parking brake (which unlike today’s electronic ones you could modulate and actually drive home reasonably safely with it). Probably the least attractive body style Chevy/Pontiac made ’55 – ’57.

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  11. Avatar Chris

    I really like the four door and station wagon cars from the fifties. The era has a style and panache that can never been matched.

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  12. Avatar Ken Nelson Member

    gone –

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  13. Avatar GRAY WOLF

    Don’t let it go to Cuba!!🙀

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  14. Avatar jaymes

    too many doors and posts (

    Like 0

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