I still pick up pennies, toss 'em in my trunk. Last time I counted them I had $17.00 in there...enuff for a few gallons of gas in case I'm out of cash on the way home from a rod run... R-
No place I ever lived. Tri 5s were a popular body style, the market just didn't support big money for them. I could buy a late model car for 1200 when I was a young man. What drove the price upon all this stuff was mid life crisis. All at once the life that everyone missed by maintaining the status quo became important and they had liquid assets.
A HiPo car today is easily over 50 thousand so a person would have to make $100 thousand a year to to equal the cost of a new HiPo 57 Chevy. Hell, even pickup trucks cost 50-60 thousand now days. By the way, I still pick up pennies, but those new ones feel "cheap" compared to the old copper ones, but I still pick 'em up.
Yep Middle Class. Like I pointed out earlier the new Middle Class is above 100K. I got a friend that works at the Ford plant as an electrician. his base pay is over 100K.
Shameless plug, but... I have a '57 Chevy advertising package for sale in the classifieds. 24 page booklet covers all the models and options, and the double sided poster gives you a re-cap as well... You know, just in case you aren't sure what model you want! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1957-chevrolet-advertising-package.1021672/#post-11586157
Hell Denny You guys had lots of trinkets to buy, in 59' we had nutt'n chrome reversed wheels were just coming into play and that was about it Split Headman headers were the hot ticket that ran 4 pipes out to the rear bumper, and boy did they ever sound bitchen Marty one of the guys had a set put on and that nite with his new 4 pipes , he was racing and the clutch came unglued and of course cut up his pipes with the pressure plate parts He was more upset over cutting up his new pipes than the bottom of his clean 57' post, as that stuff really did a job on the floor boards etc Over the yrs on the HAMB here I have tried to talk a few guys into those split headers for the Correct Period look but nobody had done it yet that I know of Those 4 pipes along with the Duntov cam for the ' ticky - ticky ' valve sound is ' Priceless ' DND
"Fad blew over"? Wow, Rusty...F100s are still 'in', ('IN', at LEAST: My son who has an identical one to mine, right down to the black primer; we cruised into Billet Proof and had a group of guys chasing us 'til we parked) My other son also has a nice '55. (we all have '55s) Later, a 'contingent of F100 Elites' came around and asked us to join... there are more than a few around, right in this small town of Atwater, there are 12, and some more abuilding.
Those headers were still popular in the later '60s. depending on where were located they would have run into 4 scavenger pipes hung just under the rear axle. it would be easy to build a set and keep the proper cylinders connected. I have considered it myself.
I meant buying a NEW pickup when you really want a Bel Air hardtop, to get the OHV V8 cheap. OHV V8s had been around since 1949 but they were in $3500 - $5000 cars like Cadillac, Chrysler New Yorker and Oldsmobile. Even a Studebaker V8 cost 20% more than a Ford. When Ford and Chev came out with OHV V8s that put them in reach of the working man. For the working man with short arms there were the trucks. I think this was the first time trucks were considered suitable for hopping up or customizing. In that sense, it was the beginning of something that is still going on in your garage!
Memories . . . I was exiting drag racing (the first time) nearly two years after the hipo '57s hit the scene in SoCal. They were the cars that are often remembered today as "Black Widows." We didn't call them "Black Widows" at the time. The common term by which they were identified, at least in SoCal where several dozen of them dominated A/Stock drag racing in the first part of the model year, was "Duntov Chevys." Once the NHRA created the new Super Stock class to accommodate them and a few other factory-built hot rods from other manufacturers as well, the common term was then "Super-stock Chevy," although the “Black Widow” sobriquet became commonly applied to the cars while they were still viable in drag racing. "Black Widow" was first applied to the 10-plus (the number is in question) SEDCO-prepped '57 150 Chevy’s Vince Piggens ordered for NASCAR competition, and the term didn't filter down to SoCal drag racing until well into the model year. Even then, it wasn't as definitive for drag racers as was the term "SS Chevy." The success of those early SEDCO-built Black Widows earned Chevy a ton of orders for a "mass-produced" version from both NASCAR and drag racers, which the factory met as quickly as possible. I've heard that there were perhaps as many as 1100 built, but it's not certain how many of those were the true kick-ass cars. I ordered mine in April 1957 but didn't receive it until early summer -- about 10 weeks after order. Chevy was more concerned with filling orders from NASCAR racers than they were those from young no-name drag racers, and while I can't fault them for that now, it sure pissed me off at the time! All the '57 BW/SS/Duntov Chevys (after the SEDCO cars) were built in Flint, and included all the modifications incorporated in the SEDCO cars, plus some further refinements, plus tailoring to application. They were COPO (Central Office Purchase Order) cars, although at the time they were simply referred to as “back of the order form” cars. They were all two-door post bodies, although they were not all 150s. I ordered mine, at Pollard-Carrell Chevrolet in San Fernando, California, as a 210, initially requesting a Del Ray two-door hardtop. That was rejected which cost me at least a week when the order had to be resubmitted, but probably more when it was clear to Chevy that I wasn't a serious roundy-round racer. I relented on the body configuration but was firm on trim level, which was clearly no problem for Chevy because many of the SS cars that showed up in SoCal for drag racing were trimmed as 210s. Also, more than a few of those "Black Widows" were delivered in red, with several in the handsome Sierra Gold that Chevy had intro'd in 1956. For my 50-percent premium for the "performance group" over the $1900-plus base price of a 1957 Chevrolet 210 two-door sedan I received that wonderful solid-lifter, select-fit and assembled Duntov 283 SBC with a pair of WCFB carburetors, trick 12:1 heads, 2-1/2-inch rams-horn exhaust manifolds built expressly for the sedan, three-speed close-ratio transmission, HD LS differential, HD radiator, HD suspension, special frame reinforcement, six-lug HD hubs and brakes, quicker steering ratio . . . The final ticket was just under $3000. My dad commented, tongue firmly positioned in cheek, “You could have had a Bel Air convertible for that much money.” I put over 40,000 trouble-free miles on that car. When I sold it in 1959 to go motorcycle racing it had the original clutch, transmission, and differential all intact and working correctly. It consumed ten tires (four fronts and six rears) and two sets of brake shoes. It ate spark plugs like they were free (and they weren't!) until Autolite produced an extended-tip resistor plug that increased normal-driving mileage to about 2000 miles. The spark-plug issue was pretty much confined to the high-compression heads on the '57 engines which had no cooling passage around the spark-plug bores; (Chevy corrected this with a new casting in 1958.) Valve lash was checked regularly, at about 1500-mile intervals but actual adjustment was needed at two or three times that interval. Zora's lads put them together right. One of my all-time favorite rides. Mike
An older guy in our town bought a black 57 270HP BelAir ht new and he said it was $3100. I bought my 57 283/283 Black BelAir Fuely Ht in 76 for $1150. It had 3:70 posi and 3 spd close ratio trans-ran too but barely. Guess it would have been around $3300 new? Sold it last yr-ran very strong too-pics in my album-yes it was a real one and came with the black white and red book from Chevrolet on how to modify these cars for various tracks-still have that. Also came with an orig. sales brochure that we have.Somewhere around here we have the orig contract when our 55 was purchased by the orig owner in Fresno-this post reminds me to go look for it. Here is the ol fuely-left last year.
Pretty darn closer to how I'd want one. 57, Model 150, Utility Sedan, 270 HP 283, 3 speed with overdrive and the 4.11 gearing those came with, and it would be white (first choice) or black (second choice). Black walls and hub caps, dual exhaust, and if I had the extra $$$, the dealer installed option of a Borg Warner 4 speed and add Positraction to the rear end. A 150 Handyman Wagon or Sedan Delivery would also be a nice setup. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Butch - bet you would like the SD! Opposite end of the price scale from the Bel Air was the cheapest one. 150 2 door sedan, 3 passenger. No back seat, rear windows don't roll down, 6 cylinder. $1885 Only around 8000 of these were built.
I have a question. Isnt there 3 versions of these (bel air's)? a 110 base model with no heater no radio no chrome around windows and 210, with half chrome around the bottom half of the windows and does have i think a heater and some features. And bel air as fully loaded model chrome all the way around the windows heater radio and some other dash featurs
$3300 sounds about right. Was your BA originally a solid-cam motor or had it been switched out later? A new "30-30" cam and lifters was less than fifty bucks across the parts counter at Chevy dealers and the project was an easy one-day DIY job. I'm surprised to hear that your friend was able to buy a new BA HT with a 270-hp engine; Duntov was rather stingy with his carburetted max-performance motors and didn't want to waste them on the heavier HT bodies, which is one of the reasons the cars were built only in Flint -- and why my initial order which spec'd a 210 HT was rejected. All of the dual-4bbl HT cars I've seen were hydraulic-cam 245-hp motors, some with CR three-speeds but most equipped with PGs. Chevy kept a close track of my car in its first year, through the dealership. Several times I was asked to bring it in for inspection, which usually took only a day, during which they provided me with a new Chevy demo. One of those inspections took two days when they pulled the intake manifold and resurfaced the mating surfaces to correct a machining problem they discovered during testing. I enjoyed the information and tuning assistance they provided each time the car was in the shop.
Av8--the car mentioned was a HT there is also one in Fresno that is a 270HP car and all orig. My 57 Fuely was a black 283HP car that belonged to a dealership in 57-59 --just added some pics above. My fuely had the 097 12 and 18 cam-it lives in another state now.
Jeff - This is a 1957 Chevrolet 150 2 door sedan. No stainless around the side windows Side trim unique to this model.
This is my 210 2 door sedan. Note the belt line trim under the side window and short top fin stainless.
Finally, a Bel Air 2 door sedan. Long stainless on top of the fins, Aluminum fin inserts, gold grille, hood & trunk script and "V" if a V8 engine, stainless on the dash. Also, stainless around the side windows. Often equipped with the deluxe heater , radio and clock.
Philo - thanks! Many people don't notice that. Doubt the 150 pictured is a Widow, no hood hold down ad the poverty caps might not have fit the 6 lug truck wheels. It also has a side mirror and roll up rear windows. The black/white two tone sure looks good on it.
Well D.N.D. it seems we've strayed from BelAir, hope you don't mind another. As I said earlier; my second car was a 57 BelAir 2 door hardtop, so I'll always have feelings for them. But.....I have also reeeealy been very fond of the lowly 150 since those early70's. What led me to paint my car yellow and white was a car I had seen off and on here locally. The car was a yellow and white 57 model 150 Handyman 2 door wagon, 283/3 speed. It was owned by a truck mechanic and man was it nice, bone stock and untouched. That car is what started it all and what makes this next story equally painful. I know some heard this story before so you might want to skip this repeat and grab a beer. The car pictured below is one I saw only a couple times a year, driven by an elderly lady, saw it for a few years then it disappeared, then out of the blue it showed up one day, this was about 15 years ago. Of all places parked right in front of my house when I got home from work. I almost hurt myself racing into the house for my camera and then the batteries were dead, grabbed fresh batteries, get one shot, run back into the house for (don't recall why), come back out, yep, gone, never to be seen again, at least by me. Ain't it a peach.
Base model. It called a 150? Then the next is a 210? Then straight of to bel air? And of coarse hard top, post and the most lovly ones around here everyone admires covertable. Alot going on with these cars. Wish i had one 55-57. Even tho 57 is the one with hands down on all cars best lines.
Henry Ford drew the ire of countless employers and was called a "socialist" when he doubled the prevailing wage paid to his workers to $5 a day. This would probably be equivalent to $300 a day or better. In any case so many job applicants showed up it turned into a riot and they were turned away with firehoses. In January.
Its OK Denny as they are all good, I just happened to buy the Gold Bel Air in the pic posted earler They were all great cars going out looking for some street action and a little skirt chasing too Oh do I sure miss those care free days as they were ' Priceless ' DND
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