I know this has been asked before, and not much info was offered. I was sold and suspect to have one, but the cowl tag is MIA. I've heard about the stationary quarter windows, no back seat, and driver's side sun visor only. I was just curious if anybody had and leads on books, websites, or info that you know about these utility sedans. If i missed a post in my search of past posts, please let me know and I'll look harder, but I would just like to know as much info about these as possible. Thanks in advance. Jer
The front windshield and rear glass should only have rubber around them....NO chrome. No chrome strips down the 1/4 panels. No chrome on front fenders except for a "Chevrolet" script. A lot of them had no radio or heater. Most were 6 bangers and 3-speeds. Chevy Talk - Chevrolet Forums for the Enthusiast these guys should be able to tell you more.
I'm a big fan of chevytalk.com, and I've tried to get info out of them, but have only found out the little I know. There are no holes for spears, etc., but there are for the chevrolet scripts. When I got the car it was pretty much half there, and the supposed 150 body was sitting on a 210 frame w/ the 265/ PG. The reason for this...the previous owner didn't like the chopped up old frame and decided to swap it out for an original. So there was no chrome around the windows when I got it, it had a heater box w/ core, but I got a ton of chrome w/ the car including about 2 sets of chrome for around the windows. So I think I'm basically beating a dead horse on trying to prove this, but I would still like to know more about them seeing as my interest has been sparked... Jer
Does your 55 make a Taxi look DeLuxe ? If so...it most likely is a 150. I had a 55 150 2 door post car back " in the days " I hated it. I wanted a fancy 2 door hardtop with all the chrome and shiny stuff my heroes had...... Until I started out running them.......my 55 was considerably lighter than their FANCY cars..... That ole 55 is about the only car I wish I had back now........from the ole days..... .
The cool thing is you can build what you want out of it. In my younger years I had a yardful of those things......had to be a dumbass and let them get away.
That's a new one on me--I've never heard of there being a difference in frames from one MODEL to the other. Other than the convertible X-frame. There are some differences like different brake and fuel line brackets for a dual exhaust car, 9-passenger station wagons have an extra body mount (don't remember if regular wagons also had the extra mount), and the 1-pc frames vs the 2-piece "C-channel" style of frames, but I don't think there's a difference between a 150, 210 and Bel Air frame. -Brad
part of the VIN is stamped on top of the frame, under the driver seat area. maybe that's where you could find the difference?
Find the bokk "The Hot One", it's a book on tri-5s. There are several pics in it. I have a friend that has 2 150s, haven't been touched in years. Like everyone else has said NO chrome except door handles, wiper pivots and bumpers, hood eagles, etc.
I agree with the above, but must add the following info: There is a minor difference between a no post 2-dr hardtop frame (or commonly called Sport Coupes, which were available in Bel-Air and 210 series) and the other closed body styles. The 2-dr hardtop frame has an additional body mount to support the door jamb area. I think it's on the outside of the frame rail located between the two normal body mounts (#3 & #4 counting from the front to rear). Don't think the '56 & '57 4-dr hardtops had this mount.
Take a look at this months HOT ROD Magazine to see what a '55 150 2-dr sedan looks like, starting on page 84. It's the utility sedan, or sometimes called business coupe, with no rear seat and fixed rear quarter windows. You can see the quarter window rubber gaskets in the pics. The same car was available with a rear seat and roll down windows.
Yep, that's right. Some 150's had roll down rear windows and a back seat, I think most had heaters... but not radios. I'd like to find some pictures too of 150's... especially in the rear area... as if it had a package tray and not a seat. Mine originally had no back seat and the package tray... but in 1962, when the car went to a forclosure lot, the dolled it up with a back seat and fresh paint. I'd also like to find, and buy a heater delete plate,,, or at least a defroster/cheap heater control panel... as mine is missing. I bought a radio delete plate a while back... The 150's also sometimes came with only one visor for the driver. If you are trying to identify yours as a true 150... take a look at the beltline area. There should be holes for trim if it was a 210 or Bel Air... and no holes if it was a 150. Also, if you look, and the holes have been welded up, you know it was probably a 210... if you find holes that were welded up all the way around the top of the windows, you know it was a Bel Air. Likewise, the holes should be slots, actually... with rounded corners... so, it the holes for trim look crude, and are not evenly spaced and look hand done... you might have a 150 that someone made into a 210 or Bel Air... Got pics? I can tell on my car that someone put a Bel Air door on the passengers side... I'd like to find a 150 door... Sam.
Thanks for the info, I wasn't really concerned about the frame, I was just trying to point out that this car is kind of a hodgepodge of different stuff from a '55. I've got the radio delete plate, stationary quarter windows, one sun visor stuff going on. No trim holes, that I can tell...Previous owner decided to weld new quarters over old, rotten ones and where he welded it is right on the beltline. It's times like these I wish that cowl tag was there...but here's a picture of what it looked like bondo and all the day I picked it up. Jer
shoot, just put some shackles in back, air up the tires, put in a bigass motor and 4spd, and have fun!
radio delete plate????????? where you gonna hide the kicken tunes, bro? BOOMfzzzt BOOM BOOMfzzzzzt BOOMfzzzzzzzt.
Not a fifty five, but this is my 57 I bought in 1971...wichita kansas in the usaf....one owner for 225.00......all original paint and chrome. Six banger with a three on the tree....no radio but it had a dealer installed heater that was worthless. I can't remember about the visor count........ I want it back so bad I can taste it!!! Also in the pic is my brand new honda 750 and my Henry J...bone stocker for two hundred bucks...It served as my daily driver while I built the wagon.
My dad tells me of a '57 150 "Wagon Delivery" (or something like that) he once owned....was for military or other use, pretty much a two-door 150 wagon like yours, but no back seat, and the flat floor of a sedan delivery. I believe there were something like 92 of them produced. And at the autorama here a few years ago, there was a '56 "wagon delivery," the only one I've ever actually seen. I found a slightly modified one on ebay one day, here's the only pic from the auction. There was a '55 Utility Sedan at a swap meet around here a few years ago too. Perfectly restored, very nice car. I remember the complete lack of trim, even around the windsheild and rear window, and the lack of a rear seat. If it ever pops up again, I'll snap some pictures for you!
That's correct..the military car was basically a sedan delivery with side glass....it also had the delivery lift gate, not the station wagon two piece.
A guy in town had one of those 57 wagon deliveries, sold it a couple years ago. I never did take any pics though.
Probably my first childhood memory is sitting on the trans tunnel of my dad's '55 handyman wagon. It had a blown 454 and I watched the boost gauge go into boost from vacuum while we did donuts. Dad was driving and grandpa was in the passenger seat.
Pictures would be awesome! Thanks for the responses guys, for some reason I've never heard about those wagons, neat though... Jer
You say it has NO "cowl tag, the cowl tag tells you paint and such. There should be a VIN tag on the drivers side A-pillar. If that VIN tag starts with an "A", then it's a 150,"B", a 210, "C", a BelAir, "D", a Delivery. A 150 should also have a plane jane steering wheel, only a cap button for the horn, not a ring. And, the dash and door panels are plane jane also. Front and rear glass are rubber sealed, no stainless trim; no beltline trim; if the back side windows are rubber mounted it's definitely a 150; no back seat, a business coupe/utility sedan. Heaters and radios were options, so it could really have anything, or nothing, there. Heres a little known fact, Canadian 1955 150's had side trim that looked like station wagon trim. Utility sedan/business coupe had only a single visor as already stated. So, what do you have? These cars really get worked over, so sometimes it's hard to figure out what it started out as.
swbatt, That looks like a hydro by the right front tire. You going to be using it? You should put it in your Delivery. I had 2 hydros, fully prepped, and tons of spare flywheels, torus assemblies, and shifters. I was going to use them in my 56 Sedan Delivery; was going to build a pseudo Junior Stocker. Went with a BW Super T-10 instead, and GAVE all my hydro stuff away! Another big mistake.
Alot of the wagons only had a drivers side bucket seat. It had odd brackets to mount the seat. An option was another bucket that mounted the same way. Might check your floors to see if these bracket have been hacked off.
As said before all the info you need should be on the vin tag (in the door jam) not the cowl tag. Then check here http://www.vehicleidentificationnumber.com/chevrolet_1955-1957.html
Here Is just one more lil why to tell if it was originally a Utility sedan , the pockets that the bottom of the rear seats sits in on the front of the seat would not have the cups installed they would have had a tape over them ...not a big thing but if they installed a rear seat in the 60's they probably didn't put the cups in and just punched through the tape to a bare hole ...now this isn't the perfect way because they have been known to rot and fall off but if there is the remnant of tape over the hole chance are good it was a utility sedan with no back seat.
New member, first post. My father and I restored a 1955 150 Utility Sedan a few years ago. As the others stated, no chrome except Chevrolet trim on front fenders, and hood bird. Rear quarter windows do not roll down. As far as the back seat area, where the seat bottom was located, there are metal pieces that form supports for a plywood raised "floor", not found on cars with rear seats. These were missing from dad's car as someone was apparently going to try to put a rear seat in and turn it into a Bel Aire (holes drilled in body for chrome), and I had to fabricate them. I looked at a '57 utility sedan, and also located a '55 utility sedan that the owner let me remove the plywood to make copies, and to make patterns for the metal supports. There was a rubber mat that laid on top of the plywood. For the seat back area, another piece of plywood lays right up against the braces, from side to side. I believe this was painted, but dad chose to cover his to match the interior. The inner wheel wells were exposed. I do believe there was a package shelf, but do not know this as fact. We put one in dad's. Dad did not do a correct resoration, as far as equipment that would have been on the car as original. He put a clock in the right side dash, installed a delux heater, and the engine is a 327, mildly built, bolted to a 3-speed overdrive transmission pulled from a '55 4 door parts car. Still shifted on the tree, very cool. Car is painted white, with a gray interior. Sorry if I hi-jacked the thread. Stan Also, the 150 used a rubber mat instead of carpeting, and dad did put the rubber mat in his.
Diggin this one up with a question: What held the rear side windows in place on a 55-56 utility sedan? Being fixed, there are no regulators right? Plus, they still need to seal tightly. How did Chevy do it?
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