1956 Chevrolet Bel Air

Description

Throughout most of the 1950's, Bel Airs held court as true aristocrats of the boulevard and, through the addition of some great exterior details, actually became increasingly more stylish as the middle of the decade arrived. This 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air is a great representative of Chevy's upper crust sedan of the era, sporting a magnetic two-tone paint scheme to go along with a lavish assortment of chrome ornamentation that also served to distinguish it from its lesser badged Chevy stablemates.

The two tone, black and silver coloring provides a great look for this classic - while you might happen upon a Chevy sedan from this era every so often, you rarely see it decked out this way. It is stunning! Bel Airs hit their peak right about this time as far as chrome exterior fittings were concerned, featuring prominent hood ornaments with fender emblems to either side, an awesome looking grille hovering over a beautiful California front bumper and lavishly curved stretches of trim on the sides, and the array this '56 sports all sits securely in place and presents well. The curved roofline on top of the generously proportioned cabin cuts quite an appearance, especially with the windows rolled down. Spin around to the back and you'll see that the Continental kit stylishly displaying the spare tire is in great shape and sits nicely in the rear bumper which really completes the whole look. Wow!

The interior has been restored while retaining an era-appropriate look, with bench seating in front and back that features a mix of vinyl and cloth whose charcoal and yellow pattern is matched by the door panels to either side. Not much traffic seems to have passed in and out of the cabin - the surfaces of the seats really don't show much wear as they sit over fresh carpeting lining the floor. The dash area has been left in its original configuration - a welcome sight, as the Bel Air dashes of this era offered impressive styling, with their matching fan shapes of the instrument cluster to the left and Bel Air-branded panel sitting over a sizable analog clock to the right, and an ornate stretch of chrome trim that runs the width of the entire cabin. A trio of aftermarket gauges have been added just below and the black steel surfaces and dash pad above are in top shape, so this is one great looking interior. With the spare relocated to the exterior, the space inside the trunk area borders on cavernous and from this vantage point you can see how well-prepped and painted its visible surfaces are.

The engine compartment looks very clean with matte black inner fenders and black firewall surrounding the 283 cubic inch V8 at the center that wears a chrome air cleaner that sits over its Edelbrock intake manifold and 4-barrel carb. This '56 is a very road ready classic - the engine fires right up, runs very smoothly and teams with a 3-speed automatic TH350 transmission to make up a very solid drivetrain very much up to the challenge of handling real world driving. In contrast to so many classics from this era that either still carry their original suspension components for a floppy, loud ride or have been modified in such a way that puts style before comfort, the smooth ride quality on this Chevy is a pleasant surprise as it cruises on a set of 15" spoke style wheels wrapped with bias ply whitewalls that complete its proper vintage look.

This 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air is a fine looking, strong running example of one of America's most beloved classics. Call today!