1957 Chevrolet Bel Air/150/210

Bel Air Sedan

8 - Cyl.

Automatic

VC57B252835

Clear

Gasoline

On the block today is my '57 Bel Air 4 Door Sedan. Let me start by saying this car has NOT been restored. It has only been maintained as needed to keep it's mechanical functions operational. It is not a show car in any respect, just a fun family car that we've enjoyed immensely. The car's nickname is 'Daisy'. I picked this car up in March of 2005 with 38,500 reasonably documented miles and drove it from Eden Prairie Minnesota to our home in Northern California. I am the 4th official owner of this car with a very late VIN number of the Baltimore assembly line for 1957. The exterior is Sierra Gold with Adobe Beige and the interior is Copper / Black cloth and beige vinyl. As mentioned below, the headliner and carpet have been replaced and the seat and door material is original. Since it's been in my possession, the following major mechanical aspects have been worked. In 2006, the original 283 2bbl was replaced with a GM crate 350 in the 220 hp version with HEI distributor. The intake manifold was replaced with a '57 4bbl version topped with a Carter carburetor. The engine now sports a restored Rochester '57 4GC "4 JET" and an original oil bath air canister with paper element inside. The original internal oil bath element was far too chopped and modified by an old rodder to use. The single exhaust was changed over to dual exhaust at this time. The newer engine now has about 39,000 miles on it.With the engine, I replaced the stock dc generator with a Powergen 100 amp original "look-alike" alternator. At the same time as the engine, I had poorly repaired right front accident damage corrected that dated back to the 2nd owner in 1974. New inner and outer R/H fenders were installed, front filler and new grill and chrome up front. The hood and entire right side were resprayed at this time. The Drivers side, roof and trunk area are still original and are a little faded and nicked compared to the newer sprayed areas. This repair also has some 39,000 miles on it as well and has the expected wear and tear. You should be able to see the paint shade difference in the photos. The opportunity to finish the rest of the car never arrived for us.In August of 2007, 50 years to the month of its casting date, the Powerglide transmission failed and was replaced with a professionally rebuilt '93 TH 700 R4 from a Caprice. The transmission has an intentional firm shift into 2nd that was put in place by a past owner of the transmission. The rebuilt unit has about 36,000 miles on it. My mileage with the old Powerglide with the stock 3.36 rear end was 13.5 city, no better than 16 highway. With the current engine and transmission along with the stock rear, I now get 14 city and I have gotten anywhere from 17 to 22 on the highway depending on flatness of the route. Whoever ends up with this car might want to change the rear to a 3.73 or 4.11 for better overall performance and a better balance of city / highway mileage. In 2008 I installed a Vintage Air Gen IV A/C unit with auto controlled condenser fan. It has about 30,000 miles on it and works very well even when it's over 100 here.I have rebuilt the front and rear suspensions and steering with stock parts so the car has the original semi soft feel to the ride.Other things that have been done in the past 2 years are new carpet with hush mat underneath and a new cashmere headliner in stock beige color. Cashmere was never offered, I just liked the understated look and feel. I installed thermal and noise padding above the headliner to control radiated summer heat from the roof. It, and the hush mat really added to the effectiveness of the A/C. The steering is still stock manual worm gear but a vacuum power assist has been added to the drum brakes so there's no more standing on the brake pedal to get the 2 ton car to stop.Everything in the car is operational, even the clock. The instrument lights are intermittent and sometimes take a little adjustment of the headlight switch handle to get them on. The fuel gage sender in the tank has some flatspots on it's resistor and sometimes gives inaccurate readings, I haven't changed it yet. I mostly look at filling the tank every 200 indicated odometer miles. The car came only with the fuse block, deluxe heater, electric wipers and backup lights for factory options. I always thought that this was an interesting collection of choices.I have added the driver side spotlight-rear view mirror, under dash lighting, foot operated windshield washer, 4 person seat belt option, trunk light, push button AM radio with rear fender antenna and a parking brake signal light that I made from a jeweled parking light from a '57 Buick and parts from radio shack. The period correct license plate is registered to me as a personalized license and cannot go with the car so if the car is going to be driven, it needs to be temporarily registered to the new owner upon the date of pickup to avoid a ticket. For those coming from out of California, DMV will expect proof of insurance during the transaction. Again, the body is only maintained, a look under the car will show the original dealer undercoat but the coat has completely come off the frame which is rusted but fully intact. There is minor rot in the bottom rocker on the drivers side rear door and some rot showing in the lower rear section of the same left rear door. My body man tells me this is not significant so I've gone without repairing either until some time later, which of course has never come. Folks, I've enjoyed this car tremendously and labored long over whether I should sell or not. I finally decided that it's time to let her go and take care of some medical bills. The sale of this car is not going to save the world for us, but it will bring a better short term outlook. I have tried to treat this car as an original owner would. I hope she goes to a similar home. Let me know if you have any concerns, I'll be happy to answer them. I am going with short term auction to move this car as quickly as I can before I change my mind again. Thanks, please have payment in full ready within 5 days of the end of the auction, I cannot take any personal check unless you are willing to wait until the check clears before taking delivery. The car is available for inspection anytime, please let me know when to expect you or your mechanic. Since this is the 1st time I've ever sold a car on eBay, I reserve the right to add information to the listing as I discover the need. On Sep-02-11 at 12:52:13 PDT, seller added the following information: I forgot a couple of details and I've added a shot of the engine compartment. I forgot to mention that when I replaced the factory trunk mat with a new item, there was an insignificant amount of rust on the trunk floor, no rot. None the less, I had the body shop clean it and respray the trunk area rather than let it take hold.Also, aside from the nicks and such that are normal wear in the old as well as the new painted areas, there is a small rock ding in the front of the hood that I hadn't had repaired yet. I painted the exposed metal brown with some Krylon to prevent rust and meant to have it fixed later. The ding's about the size of a quarter.