1957 Chevrolet Bel Air/150/210

Sedan

8 - Cyl.

Automatic

VC57N242900

Gasoline

Pictures don't do it justice. 283 V8 with Power Pack option. 2 speed powerglide transmission. Manual steering and brakes. This car has had a frame-on restoration. The restoration work was done at American Classic Restorations [http://www.american-classic.com]. We have invested over $30K in restoration work. We have all the receipts and you are free to examine them. In 2007 this car appraised for $26,000. This car has spent every night in our garage while in our possession. I have never driven this car in the rain or snow, or on wet roads. Details: Body - taken down to bare metal and all rust repaired and then repainted with original colors. No bondo anywhere. All rubber replaced, new door weather stripping, etc. Interior - The headliner has been replaced because it had a large tear, otherwise the interior was in great shape when we purchased the car and did not need re-doing. All original colors and fabrics. Glass - All glass has been replaced. All windows operate properly. Passenger vent window has a crack. Suspension and brakes - Original drum brakes completely rebuilt, all rubber parts replaced, new brake lines, new shocks, new wide whitewall tires, original wheels and chevy wheel covers. Engine - rebuilt. original 4 bbl carburetor and air cleaner, original generator, etc. Engine painted Chevy orange. Complete new dual exhaust system. Transmission - Original 2 speed powerglide transmission. Fluid leak was fixed, otherwise not touched. Occasionally gets confused about what gear to be in. We had a 6 CD changer installed in the trunk (you can see it in the pictures). This is NOT a fire sale. Serious bidders only. This car will be sold as is, where is. Buyer is responsible for any shipping costs. The winning bidder should provide a non-refundable deposit of $1000 within 3 days of the auction end. Thanks for looking. Happy bidding. On Jul-07-11 at 15:23:24 PDT, seller added the following information: You might wonder how this car came to be so terrific and yet so inexpensive. Well, here's the story: in 2004, we drove our daughter to college in rural Maine. On the way up, we saw a magnificent '57 -- turquoise and off-white -- at a used car dealer by the side of the road. After we dropped our daughter off, we stopped in, "just to take a ride." We fell in love. The interior was obviously original (including a torn headliner). The car seemed to drive pretty well. We bought it on the spot, paying $11k for it. The used car dealer agreed to deliver it to us, for free (keep the "free" part in mind...it will return). When we bought the car, it was obvious to us that the rubber bushings had to be replaced. We knew that there were a few paint bubbles and cracks. The front windshield had a foggy area. So we took it to a restoration shop about an hour south of us in Dudley, MA. The owner of the shop looked at the bushings, and agreed they needed to be replaced. That cost us some $$. Then the brakes were checked, and they needed to be replaced, too. More $$. The radio didn't work, and we had two options: replace it with an AM radio, or put in a CD changer. The funny thing is, that seemed like a big decision, because it cost us about $600. ($600 becomes pennies, later.) Every week, it seemed, the restoration place looked at something and it needed to be replaced. The windows. The door seals. Finally, we talked about the paint. Oh, they said, we think we can do a "scruff and buff," or something like that. Well, no they couldn't. Turns out, there was rust under the paint. Everything had to be taken down to bare metal and repainted. We sometimes refer to it as the "car that went to college," because it cost at least as much as a year at a good school. What is the car worth? When it was appraised in 2007, it was $26,000. We never really added up all the repair/replacement costs but they are north of $30k. But finally, the car is worth what someone will pay for it. It has a new headliner. It has a rebuilt engine. It has the original transmission, which might need a little work. But the bottom line is, we treated this car like we treat our children: we give them what they need, and we don't expect much in return. We know we won't get back our "investment" in this car, but we are hoping that someone will take it and love it for the next 50 years of its life. It is the car that our parents owned, or wanted to own, in the mid-fifties. It is the car that we learned to drive on, and the car that we fell in love with on a road in rural Maine. If you buy this car, be prepared to love it, be prepared to be waved to, honked at, admired. Have fun with it. Enjoy it. Pass it on to your kids. Keep it in the garage. Don't let it see rain or snow or salt. Drive in the sunshine, and love every minute of it. This is a truly gorgeous car. Look at the pictures, they don't do it justice. It really shines as bright as the pictures. The whitewalls are as white, the turquoise as blue as the sea, and the off-white the perfect offset. Your children will get in the car and ask, as ours have, "where are the seatbelts?" They will ask how to put the antenna up (by hand!). They may not know how to read its analog clock. Pictures don't do it justice. 283 V8 with Power Pack option. 2 speed powerglide transmission. Manual steering and brakes. This car has had a frame-on restoration. The restoration work was done at American Classic Restorations [http://www.american-classic.com]. We have invested over $30K in restoration work. We have all the receipts and you are free to examine them. In 2007 this car appraised for $26,000. This car has spent every night in our garage while in our possession. I have never driven this car in the rain or snow, or on wet roads. Details: Body - taken down to bare metal and all rust repaired and then repainted with original colors. No bondo anywhere. All rubber replaced, new door weather stripping, etc. Interior - The headliner has been replaced because it had a large tear, otherwise the interior was in great shape when we purchased the car and did not need re-doing. All original colors and fabrics. Glass - All glass has been replaced. All windows operate properly. Passenger vent window has a crack. Suspension and brakes - Original drum brakes completely rebuilt, all rubber parts replaced, new brake lines, new shocks, new wide whitewall tires, original wheels and chevy wheel covers. Engine - rebuilt. original 4 bbl carburetor and air cleaner, original generator, etc. Engine painted Chevy orange. Complete new dual exhaust system. Transmission - Original 2 speed powerglide transmission. Fluid leak was fixed, otherwise not touched. Occasionally gets confused about what gear to be in. We had a 6 CD changer installed in the trunk (you can see it in the pictures). This is NOT a fire sale. Serious bidders only. This car will be sold as is, where is. Buyer is responsible for any shipping costs. The winning bidder should provide a non-refundable deposit of $1000 within 3 days of the auction end. Thanks for looking. Happy bidding.