Thanks for this one, Adam.. Being a 1957 myself, (January) I always identified with that year model automobiles, along with the 1958 models, (which came out in 1957).. The year of Sputnik, an exciting era.
I was born in May '57 when actually the re-done '59 5 GM lines (including Chevy) were near completion, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Since the '57 Chevy has always been my favorite all of my life, I'm well aware of the fact it had more print ads done on it than probably any model before or since. GM knew it was not 'all-new' like the real all-new Ford and Plymouth, but gave the '57 the all-new treatment in those ads to the hilt. The only things I hate seeing on '57 Chevys today at car shows are the ridiculous continental kits, fender skirts, ugly front and rear bumper guards and additional mirrors on the fenders. I get that yes, these were/are legitimate options, but unfortunately they look really terrible.
Another 57 model here (June). The 57 Chevy is probably the most iconic car of my lifetime even though I always favored the 57 Ford Fairlane (my Mom's car for many years). They all liked their rust however.
I used to know this guy in Bloomsburg, PA who lived near the fairgrounds that's next to the Toyota factory who had a 57 2 door Nomad Belair with the fuel injected 283. Talk about a rare beauty!
I miss the days when you could order a car exactly how you wanted it, and not have to deal with packaging fluff, or having to switch to a higher priced sub model to get something like a bigger engine.
What can I say about the tri-5 Chevrolets that hasn’t been said already! I do prefer the 55 , but the 57 is a great way to see the USA,built like a rock,great fo baseball,hot dogs Apple pie and building a better way to see the USA! The 57 Chevy is the embodiment of the USA! Great video Adam!
1957 a Gr8 Year for Cars in the U.S., before the madness of the super-sized cars of the late 50's, Adam. All these Models in '57 look Gr8 and are classics today. Cheers from Damo.
I'm also a 1957 model, growing up in the middle 60s where I lived guys would remove the front bumper and primer these cars grey. Drag racing in the street was very common back then and removing the bumper saved weight
In the spring of '65, Dad brought home a used car for my Mother and myself... both on learner's permits; A 57' Bel-Air 2-door hardtop, Arctic White with red and black interior and the station-seeking 'WonderBar' Radio. No joy in the drivetrain, just the 283 with a 2-barrel and automatic. By the time my Mother got her license 18-months later... I had Monroe Indy 500 shocks, six-leaf springs in back, G70 Goodyears on the rear and TigerPaws on the front... mounted to one of the first sets of American Racing mags my friends had seen off the track. Life was GOOD. Sold in '75 with 250,000 miles on it.
It was a facelift against an all new 1957 Ford & 1957 Plymouth. The quality issues of the 1957 Ford & 1957 Plymouth didn't start to surface until later.
One of my fondest memories as a kid growing up in the 1960s was going shopping with my parents and spotting a 1957 Bel Air in the parking lot. Although there were many 50s cars still used as daily drivers, my eyes always went to the beautiful 1957 Bel Air. I would stop for a moment and stare at it as my mom tugged my arm to keep walking. Now, 60+ years later I still stop and admire that iconic car whenever I see one at a classic car show.
Месяц назад+1
As an eager, young gas jockey at an incredibly busy Downtown Vancouver, Chevron full-service station, I adored figuring out where the hidden filler necks were on thousands of classic cars. Great memories.
Of the 2-door Nomad wagons I always preferred the ‘55. I think the ‘55’s smaller grill, the side body trim, and the two-tone paint intersection better complement the overall design. Great video, Adam. 👍👍👍
My father had a car that looked like this. But, it was a Pontiac Star Chief and had a hood ornament with a Native American on it that lit up when you put the headlamps on. Wish I could have kept that car!!
My granddad had a 1957 Bel Air he drove up until about 1977. He liked his cars easy to work on and had a preference for a Chevy sixes with three speeds. He bought the Bel Air four door, which was originally a V-8/ auto and dropped in a 235/three speed. He acquired a parts car for the swap. Somewhere in the mix, he also acquired a 56 two door post, also a 235/three speed which he drove in the interim until the 57 was ready to go and the 56 needed rings. Anyway, he further decided the 57 needed more hauling capacity so he built a two foot box extending off the trunk with straps bolted into the rear quarters. At some point he acquired a 57 two door hardtop, also a 235/three speed. The car was compete but not running. He never got it running, and as the. 57 two doors became enthusiasts cars, he had a lot of potential buyers pestering him. In about 1977, the 57 got retired to the hedgerow after he bought a 67 Impala, a 250/three speed.
I think the 55 is my favorite. 56 is great too. If I had a 57, I would want the 150 or 210 trim. I don't like gold, and I don't really like a lot of trim and moldings. I think the body lines speak for themselves
For college in 1960, my dad had a '57 210 four door. He drove it from Binghamton, New York to Lafayette, Indiana for college at Purdue. It lasted four years, but on the last year he packed it with 8 guys to save money and with all their considerable (BEER: Mother's milk!) weight and his stupid insistence to go 80 mph back when there were few speed limits, he wound up overheating the inline 6 engine. Apparently, it still ran but the rings were destroyed and it burned oil. So much for the "Blue Flame" six being indestructible....
I'm always amazed how much changed in the two years between '57-'59 - put a '57 Chevy next to a '59 Chevy and the differences are remarkable for such a short time frame. Now cars look the same for ten years!
The 57 Chevy (as we called it in the 80s as the youth) is one of the most beautiful car designs in history. It really hits the spot and has very little flaw. There are very few designs that achieve that. I remember a Porsche ad once stating most car designs have "blinks". They can be beautiful here or there, but then the designer "blinks" on another area and Porsche makes it a point not to have that. I never noticed this until they said that, and then I was never able to unsee it. This car has very, very few "blinks".
A wonderful upload here thank you very much. I will say I saw a 57 once that had a 265 and the block was painted chartreuse. They said they did that on all the 265 equipped 57. That Rochester Plenum was junk. They replaced them mid year because they were dumping fuel in the cylinders and bending rods according to Jack Podell Used to do a lot of our Rochester restorations. A great great video here. I am very partial to 55 but I do love the 56 and seven also. Travis
Great watch.... A big problem with the air intakes at the headlight locations was a lot of exhaust gas would enter the cabin from the tailpipe of the car in front while in light traffic.1957 was the first year for using a cheap stamped sheet aluminum grill and not a grill made from multiple chromed steel components. Wish I had a dollar for every 55, 56 and 57 I owned --- I would have a lot of dollars.......
Yes, Adam, you forgot one of the most important options to debut in the 1957 Chevrolets.... Positraction !! For the first time in a stock Chevy you cold leave two black stripes 😁 This first Positraction limited slip unit was actually the Dana / Spicer Powr Lok clutch plate style, built by Dana and installed in the Chevrolet gear and axle built rear end (Dana only built the Positraction unit itself, not the whole rear end) By 1964-65, Chevrolet Positraction units were built by Eaton.
Dad had a pink 57 with white top. My Grandpa had aqua and white. My uncle had a black and white. I reckon my all GM all the time family did their part. Dad remained convinced that the car sold well because the front bumper “guards” mimicked the pointy bras popular in films of the era. I would always roll my eyes and ask him how that worked out for him when he was replacing the water pump for the umpteenth time. I remember him changing it once at a Dairy Queen in rural Oklahoma. At least you could work on a car yourself then.
India Ivory over Canyon Coral. My parent’s first brand new car. Theirs was a 210 so the rear fender area was the same color as the roof, so India Ivory.
We had a '56 Bel Air. Tank of a car. My brother's friend bought it from my parents, and put a Hurst shifter in it. Then he blew up the transmission. I knew a guy who had a Nomad of unknown year in his garage in around 2000 - beautiful example.
Excellent presentation Adam! In those days there were many powertrain options to keep the customer happy! If my memory serves me correctly those three fender indents behind the headlamps were referred to as fender chevrons in the GM parts books. Believe it or not I attended classes at the local technical college for auto parts management. We were trained on the weatherly index system along with GM, Ford and some Chrysler parts catalogs and crash estimate books. I worked in the parts business for about 10 years. I learned a lot. I also knew it was time to move on. I ended up working in aerospace OEM for 34 years and some of my previous experience in automotive was to my advantage.
The cowling was lowered 1 inch. This might have been why they put the ventilation through the headlights. The fenders didn’t rust like other cars of the time.
Hi Adam. Spectacular as always. Now, I'm a "car guy" and much older than you...never in my wildest thoughts was the idea of shared roofline, doors and a deck lid for the '57 Chevy! Never. Thank you so much for all your meticulous research and a stellar narrative. 🚘
I was a little kid when they were introduced, and I thought they copied the '56 Studebaker. So much for breathtaking design, the '57 Chevy was pretty much conforming to the times. Looks dowdy next to a '57 Plymouth. The tri-5's lasting popularity stated with the hot rod crowd in the mid '60's.
I know this is off subject, but I thought of you When I came across this: In the last day or two BAT auction Had a 55 Cameo pickup That went through. In the comments section, the seller posted a link to the original designer who has a webpage that is full of original design, sketches and photographs. Absolutely amazing, I think you’ll enjoy it.
My college professor had an almost perfect black ‘57 Convertible with red and silver upholstery. This was in the mid-1980s and I wasn’t really a fan of the ‘50s car look back then but this car was stellar.
You could perhaps speak of some of the quirky options. There was a factory electric razor and an ash tray that would use engine vacuum to empty itself. Also, the Bel Airs had a significant difference in A, B and C pillars as far as the way chrome surrounded the windows. I may be incorrect, but I believe the 150 used a carryover piece of chrome from the '56 on the vertical piece that comes from the back window down to the horizontal strip that runs to the back fin.
I was at a car show today in Wilton Manors, Florida and some guy had a gold '65 Corvair Corsa turbo for sale. I'd call it a "2.5" on a scale where 1 is concours and 5 is parts only, but that scale means that this was in good but not perfect shape. He wanted $18k for it, I think it had a 4 speed manual transmission and it was a convertible.
The '65 Turbo CORSA was/is rather rare, the '66 even more so! All turbos only came stickshift, almost all the optional Muncie 4speed in '65, and the new Saginaw for '66. They're based on the wide ratio rwd boxes, but use a VERY simple 3/4" nub sticking out bottom left of tranny to handle all shifting dutys. A "quick shifter" was popular and simple mod seen on a number of manual trans cars
As much as I'd like a late CORSA turbo convert, lm's are especially susceptible to rocker panel rust. We have a '69 140 4 carb 4speed. One of 521 converts in last year of Corvair production. A rather early car, #1023, still built on assembly line with Chevy IIs, but a few months later, they were hand built in the former "cafeteria" area of Willow Run assembly plant
At 74" wide and 200" long, the '57 Chevys were within several inches of the exterior dimensions of a modern Honda Accord and were nearly the last pre-energy-crisis "full sized" Chevrolets to be significantly narrower than the 80" U.S. limit for passenger cars. They were also about the size of an early 1970s Malibu and just a bit smaller than the "downsized" 1977 Impala/Caprice. This helps explain why the concept of a "mid-sized" car didn't really exist in the 1950s; if you wanted something smaller, you simply bought the "full sized" offerings of one of the lower-end badges. By 1959, all of GM's full-sized cars were close to the full 80" wide, with only the wheelbase and length varying by brand and model.
The all time high for number of engine/transmission combinations was in 1969. I have a dealer sales chart packed away somewhere that shows the almost infinite combinations for that model year.
If you check the Brooklands Books volume on the 'hot ones', you'd find that contemporary car magazines at that time weren't as fulsome as later generations would be. Ford had the new 1957 along with the new 'Forward Look' Chrysler products. Also, the switch from 15" to 14" wheels for the Chevy in 1957 wasn't universally popular. I can remember in junior high in 1967 when a comparison with the 1957 Chevy and the 1967 Bel Air showed that dimensions in the older car actually more closely matched the Chevelle in size! I must admit that in 1957 I'd have loved to have a Skyliner.
Another thing anodized gold was the big V on the hood and decklid, to indicate the V8 option. We had the 210, 283 V8, Turboglide. My dad wouldn't trade in until 100,000 miles, don't remember any problems with the trans, but I was in grade school, so... I do remember it shot a pushrod through the valve cover on Vacation, in Hartford, CT. on our way to Maine, from Maryland, before reaching the 100K mark.
I was born in 1953 and the first car I experienced was the 1949 or 1950 Ford Tudor. 1957s especially Fords really stood out for me as extremely attractive. Today I see the 57 Chevy as a jewel more so than I did at the time. We had a 1955 blue and white Chevy Station Wagon for several years in the late 1950s. People siphoned stolen gas out of cars back then. I guess the hidden gas cap was to discourage this. However cars typically had the same treatment to the dash ashtrays that i always viewed as magic and fun.
Such a beautiful car styling wise at all trim levels and many mechanical refinements of the tri-5's. Wish they would have continued that body style one more year but 58 was a watershed year. The 57 just checks a lot of boxes and screams GM and American.
Many years ago "Collectible Automobile" printed an interview with GM stylist par excellence Dave Holls. Dave said, "Oh, how *****good is a '57 Chevy?" He was not a fan. In 1965, my seventh grade English teacher drove a green two-door '57 150, and drove it until 1971!
Thank you Adam. This was interesting. Who knew about the warmed over period and the parts that carried over. I heard some called that transmission sour glide. Thank you for sharing the design proposals. Those are always interesting. What is also interesting is how GM brands used to be so distinct with their own engines, parts and more and GM got away from that.
Iconic car known worldwide. Thing is, not everyone liked the fins, from any manufacturer. My grandfather replaced his very worn out 39 Ford Deluxe with a 55 150 sedan, with the 6 and 3 on the tree. 1 of the things he liked most about that car was the huge glass area, so visibility from inside was great compared to his old Ford. He also said the interior seemed nicer to him than the 55 Ford or Plymouth. When the 57s came out, my dad was all over it as a 13 yr old car nut. Grandpa told me, "I thought your father was nuts." I told him that good examples demand a premium price.. and that was 1991.
One area that wasn't reviewed were the options to the rear axle gear ratios. Highway drivers could specify axles as high as 2.56, up to a 4.11 for those that wanted to drag race from stop light to stop light!
At the 15:50 mark, I was surprised to see such scaled back fender ornaments in a '54 proposal. I like the fact the hood was flatter here, like the '55 and '56 models, and wish it had remained that way on the '57, along with the '55-'56 bird/plane ornament in the center. It would have looked great and cleaner, rather than the the 2 separate ornaments with the 2 'bumps' in the hood extending up to the top of the hood.
I’ve had a 57 Nomad, and a 210 hardtop. The car did not come with a front sway bar , which was an option. This was strange, as the full size Oldsmobile and Pontiac did. The Nomad lift gate leaked from day one due to poor upper sealing. And worst of all, the rear shock absorbers anchored to the body floor instead of the frame. Any rust at the attaching point would send the shock absorber into the trunk.
Great video about one of the most beautiful cars Chevy ever built. I have only seen one of these with a six cylinder engine. It was unrestored and for sale at a car show. I wonder if the surviving 57 Chevys(and other cars) with the high compression rations can find fuel now. I have heard that this is an issue for people still flying the old radial engine powered DC-3 aircraft and such. High octane aviation gas is getting harder and harder to find.
Such an enjoyable video, Adam. One funny thing from Chevy that's always amused me: they loved to use the word "turbo" everywhere in their marketing of features! And it never had *anything* to do with turbochargers in any sense, at least until 1962's Corvair Spyder turbo. Apparently, they just loved the sound of the word, but it's actually a good example of the somewhat deceitful nature of marketing at that time.
@@61rampy65Jet engines ARE turbines and ensures the jet- and space-age. Maybe similar to "Sport", what sticks on almost every (ugly) truck nowadays...
Chrysler takes the trophy for 1957 in looks at least.l am biased for MOPAR lol.🤣 I also think Ford got it right as well, i love that side arch on the Ford.I didn't know the doors of the 1955 thru 57 Chevy shared the same doors, interesting video 👍
#10 I've never even seen a '57 Ford. Where did they all go? #9 I had no idea. Never thought about it. #8 Knew that. #7 I never could tell the models apart before this. #6 Knew nothing about that. #5, 4, 3, & 2 Didn't know. #1 knew. I had always assumed that there was a 4 speed option. Seems like there wasn't.
Brother-in-law and sister switched from being a Ford family to Chevy with a fire-engine red 1957 Bel Air with the four barrel 283 and dual exhaust. I don't remember the transmission but it was likely the manual. I know for certain the 1956 Ford they were replacing had a three-speed manual transmission.
Out of all the TRI 5's ive restored the cable wiper motor system was the biggest pain ! Other than that there are still more on the road today than any Ford or Chrysler combined !
If Webster had placed pictures in his dictionary alongside each word, beside the word automobile he would have placed a pic of a turquoise and white 1957 Chevy Belair 2-door hard top with a gold V.
Always liked the '57 Chevy, yet, despite being longer than the '56, there was something about the overall design that made it higher and shorter, and a bit squat compared to the Plymouth and Ford. The latter has some innovative styling cues, particularly in the way the upsweep over the front wheels becomes a lip over the grille, but the fancy Fairlane ornamentation evokes more a bird in mid wing flap to the Bel Aire's straight arrow flight, The Chevy has one of the friendliest faces ever put on a car, and the taillights wink at you as it goes by. It's auch a happy lookiing car!
A friend has a 57 Bel Air 2 door sedan with a Chartruse colored 265. Supposedly they were leftover from 56. They only came mated to 3 speed manual transmission. He is only the 2nd owner of the car.
True story, a few 265's were left over from 1956, and all were 2bl carburetor with manual transmissions. They were only an option on the 150 or 210, not available in Bel Air models.
@@michaelkehm3663 My friend has a Bel Air 2 door sedan. He verified what he has. He has said to me that the leftover 265 was not available on Bel Air hard tops. I saw where they were installed in some pickups.
My grandpa had a yellow with white top ‘57 BelAir 4 door with the 283 (can’t remember if it was a 2 or 4 barrel) and a Power Glide transmission. I remember thinking what a cool car it was…
Not all the way through the video yet, so I'm not sure if you mention this, but how about those 'California' bumpers?' California-built 1957 Chevrolets had a one-piece front bumper, while all of the others had a three-piece front bumper - a large center/front section with two corner pieces. I've heard of this being true on a later fullsize Chevrolet too.
In all the comments so far I haven't seen a single mention of Dinah Shore. Ms Shore was also a symbol of life in the USA in the 'Fifties. To bad we can't ask Burt Renals about it.
I hear tell, for 57 only, 265 V8s were painted yellow and not the typical Chevy engine orange. I assume it was for quick identification on the production line.
That synchronized 3 speed puzzled me, because my '65 Belair with a 3 speed didn't have a synchronized 1st gear. Supposedly they changed that in '66. I also just assumed there was a 4 speed option, but guess not.
Up until Ford came out with its fully synchronized 3 speed trans in 63.5, it was common to call a trans with non-synchro 1st as a synchromesh transmission. Also, Pontiac bought those Ford 3 speeds for a couple years until GM came up with the Saginaw 3 & 4 speed transmissions in 66.
The 1957 Corvette would offer a 4 speed manual late in the model year ( May of 1957 ) for $188 extra. The regular Chevrolet wouldn't get a factory optional 4 speed until the 1959 model year.
It drives like a big SUV. I had chance to drive 57 2 door 210. I sat higher than cars in a 1990s and it drove and felt like a truck inside. 1957 Studebaker Champion Scotsman looked surprisingly similar to 57 Chevrolet. Except front bumper was oddly shaped. Maybe one or other had a spy checking out what next year’s big sedan is going to look like? 57 Chevrolet had a high option model El Morocco, with more chrome and doodads. That didn’t go in production.
The El Morocco was an aftermarket conversion that DID go into production, for 56 and 57, in two door and four door hardtop and convertible body styles and was sold through selected Chevrolet dealers.
I was at a car show today in Wilton Manors, Florida and there was a guy there with a "789", which is a rebodied 2009 Corvette with design elements from the '57 Chevy, the '58 Chevy, and the '59 Chevy. And yes, it is a gargoyle~ (Sorry Adam!) His car has a "built" engine and a rear-mounted turbocharger system. Here's a video of one of these, not the car I saw today. ruclips.net/video/zEdKR3Q7s18/видео.html
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Thanks for this one, Adam.. Being a 1957 myself, (January) I always identified with that year model automobiles, along with the 1958 models, (which came out in 1957).. The year of Sputnik, an exciting era.
@@MarinCipollina And 1958 was the year of the recession the late 50's were interesting times...
I was born in May '57 when actually the re-done '59 5 GM lines (including Chevy) were near completion, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Since the '57 Chevy has always been my favorite all of my life, I'm well aware of the fact it had more print ads done on it than probably any model before or since. GM knew it was not 'all-new' like the real all-new Ford and Plymouth, but gave the '57 the all-new treatment in those ads to the hilt. The only things I hate seeing on '57 Chevys today at car shows are the ridiculous continental kits, fender skirts, ugly front and rear bumper guards and additional mirrors on the fenders. I get that yes, these were/are legitimate options, but unfortunately they look really terrible.
@ sadly there’s a lot of bad taste out there.
I’m a 1955 model, still running!!
Another 57 model here (June). The 57 Chevy is probably the most iconic car of my lifetime even though I always favored the 57 Ford Fairlane (my Mom's car for many years). They all liked their rust however.
I used to know this guy in Bloomsburg, PA who lived near the fairgrounds that's next to the Toyota factory who had a 57 2 door Nomad Belair with the fuel injected 283. Talk about a rare beauty!
Wow, been 20 years since I went through Bloomsburg regularly, no Toyota factory then!
I very much appreciate that you include ads from the time these cars were made. I often pause the video and zoom in to read them.
"The new V8 in the 57 Chevrolet is as quiet as a contented cat." 😂
One of the greatest American cars of the 50's.
Love all the engine choices…..people back then had it so good.
The men did all the decision making outside of the home.
@@HAL-dm1ehnot necessarily.
@@danielulz1640, ok ………… 98.88954 percent!! 😵💫
I miss the days when you could order a car exactly how you wanted it, and not have to deal with packaging fluff, or having to switch to a higher priced sub model to get something like a bigger engine.
@@danielulz1640 How many accounts do you have???
What can I say about the tri-5 Chevrolets that hasn’t been said already! I do prefer the 55 , but the 57 is a great way to see the USA,built like a rock,great fo baseball,hot dogs Apple pie and building a better way to see the USA! The 57 Chevy is the embodiment of the USA! Great video Adam!
56 had the tail light filler too.
1957 a Gr8 Year for Cars in the U.S., before the madness of the super-sized cars of the late 50's, Adam. All these Models in '57 look Gr8 and are classics today. Cheers from Damo.
I'm also a 1957 model, growing up in the middle 60s where I lived guys would remove the front bumper and primer these cars grey.
Drag racing in the street was very common back then and removing the bumper saved weight
That was a very good video Adam. Great tech information .
In the spring of '65, Dad brought home a used car for my Mother and myself... both on learner's permits; A 57' Bel-Air 2-door hardtop, Arctic White with red and black interior and the station-seeking 'WonderBar' Radio. No joy in the drivetrain, just the 283 with a 2-barrel and automatic. By the time my Mother got her license 18-months later... I had Monroe Indy 500 shocks, six-leaf springs in back, G70 Goodyears on the rear and TigerPaws on the front... mounted to one of the first sets of American Racing mags my friends had seen off the track. Life was GOOD. Sold in '75 with 250,000 miles on it.
The “V” on the hood and trunk lid indicated a V8 equipped car. No “V” meant equipped with the Blue Flame six.
And a gold V ment a Bel Air. Silver a 210
@@keithshepherd4693 true. The V on Bel Airs were gold anodized, as well as the grill the front fender chevrons and the Chevrolet script.
@@keithshepherd4693I prefer the clean lines of a 210 versus the flashier BelAir. Especially, in monotone paint scheme.
Beautiful classic indeed. '57 chevy will be a nice car forever.
Crazy that the tri-5 was not as popular as it is now, such an iconic automobile!!!~~
It was a facelift against an all new 1957 Ford & 1957 Plymouth. The quality issues of the 1957 Ford & 1957 Plymouth didn't start to surface until later.
I’ve always loved how Chevy always mirrored Cadillac styling cues. Goes back to 1929 great move on GMs part.
One of my fondest memories as a kid growing up in the 1960s was going shopping with my parents and spotting a 1957 Bel Air in the parking lot. Although there were many 50s cars still used as daily drivers, my eyes always went to the beautiful 1957 Bel Air. I would stop for a moment and stare at it as my mom tugged my arm to keep walking. Now, 60+ years later I still stop and admire that iconic car whenever I see one at a classic car show.
As an eager, young gas jockey at an incredibly busy Downtown Vancouver, Chevron full-service station, I adored figuring out where the hidden filler necks were on thousands of classic cars. Great memories.
Of the 2-door Nomad wagons I always preferred the ‘55. I think the ‘55’s smaller grill, the side body trim, and the two-tone paint intersection better complement the overall design. Great video, Adam. 👍👍👍
I like the full rear wheel cutouts on the 55 better than 56 or57.
My father had a car that looked like this. But, it was a Pontiac Star Chief and had a hood ornament with a Native American on it that lit up when you put the headlamps on. Wish I could have kept that car!!
I'm glad you're so politically correct.
Adam, again thank you for sharing your knowledge. America's most iconic 1950's automobile!
Digging’ all the videos this week!
My granddad had a 1957 Bel Air he drove up until about 1977. He liked his cars easy to work on and had a preference for a Chevy sixes with three speeds. He bought the Bel Air four door, which was originally a V-8/ auto and dropped in a 235/three speed. He acquired a parts car for the swap. Somewhere in the mix, he also acquired a 56 two door post, also a 235/three speed which he drove in the interim until the 57 was ready to go and the 56 needed rings. Anyway, he further decided the 57 needed more hauling capacity so he built a two foot box extending off the trunk with straps bolted into the rear quarters. At some point he acquired a 57 two door hardtop, also a 235/three speed. The car was compete but not running. He never got it running, and as the. 57 two doors became enthusiasts cars, he had a lot of potential buyers pestering him. In about 1977, the 57 got retired to the hedgerow after he bought a 67 Impala, a 250/three speed.
Those straight 6s are amazing engines. I assume the 3 speeds are very durable, too, but I don't know for a fact.
I think the 55 is my favorite. 56 is great too. If I had a 57, I would want the 150 or 210 trim. I don't like gold, and I don't really like a lot of trim and moldings. I think the body lines speak for themselves
Yes they do, 55 2 door post 150 all day❤
You’re the Walking talking Automotive Encyclopedia….. Amazing knowledge and research Adam 👍🏻
For college in 1960, my dad had a '57 210 four door. He drove it from Binghamton, New York to Lafayette, Indiana for college at Purdue. It lasted four years, but on the last year he packed it with 8 guys to save money and with all their considerable (BEER: Mother's milk!) weight and his stupid insistence to go 80 mph back when there were few speed limits, he wound up overheating the inline 6 engine. Apparently, it still ran but the rings were destroyed and it burned oil. So much for the "Blue Flame" six being indestructible....
Wow Adam, the rate at which you are producing content is astounding!
I'm always amazed how much changed in the two years between '57-'59 - put a '57 Chevy next to a '59 Chevy and the differences are remarkable for such a short time frame. Now cars look the same for ten years!
I actually kind of like the ‘58 models. I know I’m probably in a minority.
As usual a great vid. Would like seeing more similar to this one
The 57 Chevy (as we called it in the 80s as the youth) is one of the most beautiful car designs in history. It really hits the spot and has very little flaw. There are very few designs that achieve that.
I remember a Porsche ad once stating most car designs have "blinks". They can be beautiful here or there, but then the designer "blinks" on another area and Porsche makes it a point not to have that.
I never noticed this until they said that, and then I was never able to unsee it.
This car has very, very few "blinks".
A wonderful upload here thank you very much. I will say I saw a 57 once that had a 265 and the block was painted chartreuse. They said they did that on all the 265 equipped 57. That Rochester Plenum was junk. They replaced them mid year because they were dumping fuel in the cylinders and bending rods according to Jack Podell Used to do a lot of our Rochester restorations. A great great video here. I am very partial to 55 but I do love the 56 and seven also.
Travis
Great watch.... A big problem with the air intakes at the headlight locations was a lot of exhaust gas would enter the cabin from the tailpipe of the car in front while in light traffic.1957 was the first year for using a cheap stamped sheet aluminum grill and not a grill made from multiple chromed steel components. Wish I had a dollar for every 55, 56 and 57 I owned --- I would have a lot of dollars.......
I was told that GM wanted the '57 Chevy to be a 'poor mans Cadillac' and dressed the '57 Belair model to resemble an upscale premium car.
They did that for decades!
Outstanding, informed video.
Yes, Adam, you forgot one of the most important options to debut in the 1957 Chevrolets.... Positraction !! For the first time in a stock Chevy you cold leave two black stripes 😁 This first Positraction limited slip unit was actually the Dana / Spicer Powr Lok clutch plate style, built by Dana and installed in the Chevrolet gear and axle built rear end (Dana only built the Positraction unit itself, not the whole rear end) By 1964-65, Chevrolet Positraction units were built by Eaton.
Excellent video. Thank you.
Handsome cars!
Dad had a pink 57 with white top. My Grandpa had aqua and white. My uncle had a black and white. I reckon my all GM all the time family did their part. Dad remained convinced that the car sold well because the front bumper “guards” mimicked the pointy bras popular in films of the era. I would always roll my eyes and ask him how that worked out for him when he was replacing the water pump for the umpteenth time. I remember him changing it once at a Dairy Queen in rural Oklahoma. At least you could work on a car yourself then.
India Ivory over Canyon Coral. My parent’s first brand new car. Theirs was a 210 so the rear fender area was the same color as the roof, so India Ivory.
Sooooo......Dad had a pink car and liked pointy bras huh???🤔😆😘
We had a neighbor who had a 56 Studebaker that had a white roof and the rest of the car was pink. It looked pretty sharp in that color scheme.
Somewhere in the 1950s or early 60s the BelAir went from being top of the line to the mid price and then to the bottom of the line in the late 60s .
@@glennso47 Jaguar just came out with a pink car too. Check it out.....
We had a '56 Bel Air. Tank of a car. My brother's friend bought it from my parents, and put a Hurst shifter in it. Then he blew up the transmission. I knew a guy who had a Nomad of unknown year in his garage in around 2000 - beautiful example.
Excellent presentation Adam! In those days there were many powertrain options to keep the customer happy!
If my memory serves me correctly those three fender indents behind the headlamps were referred to as fender chevrons in the GM parts books. Believe it or not I attended classes at the local technical college for auto parts management. We were trained on the weatherly index system along with GM, Ford and some Chrysler parts catalogs and crash estimate books. I worked in the parts business for about 10 years. I learned a lot. I also knew it was time to move on. I ended up working in aerospace OEM for 34 years and some of my previous experience in automotive was to my advantage.
The cowling was lowered 1 inch. This might have been why they put the ventilation through the headlights. The fenders didn’t rust like other cars of the time.
Hi Adam. Spectacular as always. Now, I'm a "car guy" and much older than you...never in my wildest thoughts was the idea of shared roofline, doors and a deck lid for the '57 Chevy! Never. Thank you so much for all your meticulous research and a stellar narrative. 🚘
LOL, I recognized that when they were brand new!
I was a little kid when they were introduced, and I thought they copied the '56 Studebaker. So much for breathtaking design, the '57 Chevy was pretty much conforming to the times. Looks dowdy next to a '57 Plymouth.
The tri-5's lasting popularity stated with the hot rod crowd in the mid '60's.
I know this is off subject, but I thought of you When I came across this: In the last day or two BAT auction Had a 55 Cameo pickup That went through. In the comments section, the seller posted a link to the original designer who has a webpage that is full of original design, sketches and photographs. Absolutely amazing, I think you’ll enjoy it.
My college professor had an almost perfect black ‘57 Convertible with red and silver upholstery. This was in the mid-1980s and I wasn’t really a fan of the ‘50s car look back then but this car was stellar.
A co-worker had a 150 and I thought it was so odd, because I always was familiar with the Bel Air.
You could perhaps speak of some of the quirky options. There was a factory electric razor and an ash tray that would use engine vacuum to empty itself. Also, the Bel Airs had a significant difference in A, B and C pillars as far as the way chrome surrounded the windows. I may be incorrect, but I believe the 150 used a carryover piece of chrome from the '56 on the vertical piece that comes from the back window down to the horizontal strip that runs to the back fin.
1st 10f winter view!
I was at a car show today in Wilton Manors, Florida and some guy had a gold '65 Corvair Corsa turbo for sale. I'd call it a "2.5" on a scale where 1 is concours and 5 is parts only, but that scale means that this was in good but not perfect shape. He wanted $18k for it, I think it had a 4 speed manual transmission and it was a convertible.
The '65 Turbo CORSA was/is rather rare, the '66 even more so! All turbos only came stickshift, almost all the optional Muncie 4speed in '65, and the new Saginaw for '66. They're based on the wide ratio rwd boxes, but use a VERY simple 3/4" nub sticking out bottom left of tranny to handle all shifting dutys. A "quick shifter" was popular and simple mod seen on a number of manual trans cars
As much as I'd like a late CORSA turbo convert, lm's are especially susceptible to rocker panel rust. We have a '69 140 4 carb 4speed. One of 521 converts in last year of Corvair production. A rather early car, #1023, still built on assembly line with Chevy IIs, but a few months later, they were hand built in the former "cafeteria" area of Willow Run assembly plant
what ?
Prolly worth closer to 10gs. Alot of Corvairs on the market, as long time owners aging out
With those proposals, You indeed managed to tell something new about the '57 Chevrolet.
At 74" wide and 200" long, the '57 Chevys were within several inches of the exterior dimensions of a modern Honda Accord and were nearly the last pre-energy-crisis "full sized" Chevrolets to be significantly narrower than the 80" U.S. limit for passenger cars. They were also about the size of an early 1970s Malibu and just a bit smaller than the "downsized" 1977 Impala/Caprice. This helps explain why the concept of a "mid-sized" car didn't really exist in the 1950s; if you wanted something smaller, you simply bought the "full sized" offerings of one of the lower-end badges. By 1959, all of GM's full-sized cars were close to the full 80" wide, with only the wheelbase and length varying by brand and model.
The all time high for number of engine/transmission combinations was in 1969. I have a dealer sales chart packed away somewhere that shows the almost infinite combinations for that model year.
If you check the Brooklands Books volume on the 'hot ones', you'd find that contemporary car magazines at that time weren't as fulsome as later generations would be. Ford had the new 1957 along with the new 'Forward Look' Chrysler products. Also, the switch from 15" to 14" wheels for the Chevy in 1957 wasn't universally popular. I can remember in junior high in 1967 when a comparison with the 1957 Chevy and the 1967 Bel Air showed that dimensions in the older car actually more closely matched the Chevelle in size! I must admit that in 1957 I'd have loved to have a Skyliner.
Sweet! Been looking forward to this one!!!!!
Love it when you spotlight one model and year. I hope you do me ne for every make and model and year from 1955 to 1985.
Another thing anodized gold was the big V on the hood and decklid, to indicate the V8 option. We had the 210, 283 V8, Turboglide. My dad wouldn't trade in until 100,000 miles, don't remember any problems with the trans, but I was in grade school, so... I do remember it shot a pushrod through the valve cover on Vacation, in Hartford, CT. on our way to Maine, from Maryland, before reaching the 100K mark.
I was born in 1953 and the first car I experienced was the 1949 or 1950 Ford Tudor. 1957s especially Fords really stood out for me as extremely attractive. Today I see the 57 Chevy as a jewel more so than I did at the time. We had a 1955 blue and white Chevy Station Wagon for several years in the late 1950s. People siphoned stolen gas out of cars back then. I guess the hidden gas cap was to discourage this. However cars typically had the same treatment to the dash ashtrays that i always viewed as magic and fun.
When I was little, the neighbors across the street bought a 57 Chevy. I remember everyone walking round and round trying to find the gas cap.
In high school, a friend of mine had his Grandfather's, ten year old, Bel Air sport sedan. It had the Turboglide and was trouble free.
I'm glad you showed a very small part of ford's part in this time ,the Ford was a mutch preetyer car
Such a beautiful car styling wise at all trim levels and many mechanical refinements of the tri-5's. Wish they would have continued that body style one more year but 58 was a watershed year. The 57 just checks a lot of boxes and screams GM and American.
Many years ago "Collectible Automobile" printed an interview with GM stylist par excellence Dave Holls. Dave said, "Oh, how *****good is a '57 Chevy?" He was not a fan. In 1965, my seventh grade English teacher drove a green two-door '57 150, and drove it until 1971!
Thank you Adam. This was interesting. Who knew about the warmed over period and the parts that carried over. I heard some called that transmission sour glide. Thank you for sharing the design proposals. Those are always interesting. What is also interesting is how GM brands used to be so distinct with their own engines, parts and more and GM got away from that.
Great video
I will have to say the 55 my favorite of the Tri-Five cars.
The 1957 Chevys had some great exterior and interior color combinations also.
Iconic car known worldwide. Thing is, not everyone liked the fins, from any manufacturer. My grandfather replaced his very worn out 39 Ford Deluxe with a 55 150 sedan, with the 6 and 3 on the tree. 1 of the things he liked most about that car was the huge glass area, so visibility from inside was great compared to his old Ford. He also said the interior seemed nicer to him than the 55 Ford or Plymouth. When the 57s came out, my dad was all over it as a 13 yr old car nut. Grandpa told me, "I thought your father was nuts." I told him that good examples demand a premium price.. and that was 1991.
As a 6 year-old, I preferred toying with the fuel filler cap on my grandfather's '56 Chevy more than on my uncle's '57!
One area that wasn't reviewed were the options to the rear axle gear ratios. Highway drivers could specify axles as high as 2.56, up to a 4.11 for those that wanted to drag race from stop light to stop light!
At the 15:50 mark, I was surprised to see such scaled back fender ornaments in a '54 proposal. I like the fact the hood was flatter here, like the '55 and '56 models, and wish it had remained that way on the '57, along with the '55-'56 bird/plane ornament in the center. It would have looked great and cleaner, rather than the the 2 separate ornaments with the 2 'bumps' in the hood extending up to the top of the hood.
Love these finned beauties! I also have a Blue Flame, but mines in a 62 Bel Air. Very frugal. lol
My Dad had a black 210 just like the one pictured.
I always love the 5 n6 ,and also the 8 ,all 3 of these were in my mind better looking cars
At 1:20+ we see a fab mid-century modern house in the Chevrolet ad.
I’ve had a 57 Nomad, and a 210 hardtop. The car did not come with a front sway bar , which was an option. This was strange, as the full size Oldsmobile and Pontiac did. The Nomad lift gate leaked from day one due to poor upper sealing. And worst of all, the rear shock absorbers anchored to the body floor instead of the frame. Any rust at the attaching point would send the shock absorber into the trunk.
As for the rear shocks; yep.😬
Great video about one of the most beautiful cars Chevy ever built. I have only seen one of these with a six cylinder engine. It was unrestored and for sale at a car show. I wonder if the surviving 57 Chevys(and other cars) with the high compression rations can find fuel now. I have heard that this is an issue for people still flying the old radial engine powered DC-3 aircraft and such. High octane aviation gas is getting harder and harder to find.
Such an enjoyable video, Adam.
One funny thing from Chevy that's always amused me: they loved to use the word "turbo" everywhere in their marketing of features! And it never had *anything* to do with turbochargers in any sense, at least until 1962's Corvair Spyder turbo.
Apparently, they just loved the sound of the word, but it's actually a good example of the somewhat deceitful nature of marketing at that time.
Back then, Turbo referred more to turbines than superchargers. Remember, this was the jet age, and turbine power was just as exciting.
@61rampy65 Right. Yes, thank you.
@@61rampy65Jet engines ARE turbines and ensures the jet- and space-age.
Maybe similar to "Sport", what sticks on almost every (ugly) truck nowadays...
The 57 Chevy was just a coolest car to get it's my dream car the 57 Chevy Bel Air two-door hardtop
This used to be “The” car to own. Now people want something easier to drive and faster
Chrysler takes the trophy for 1957 in looks at least.l am biased for MOPAR lol.🤣 I also think Ford got it right as well, i love that side arch on the Ford.I didn't know the doors of the 1955 thru 57 Chevy shared the same doors, interesting video 👍
Great insight, U forgot 2 mention the 4 speed transmission along with the other transmission’s, thx
#10 I've never even seen a '57 Ford. Where did they all go?
#9 I had no idea. Never thought about it.
#8 Knew that.
#7 I never could tell the models apart before this.
#6 Knew nothing about that.
#5, 4, 3, & 2 Didn't know.
#1 knew.
I had always assumed that there was a 4 speed option. Seems like there wasn't.
Brother-in-law and sister switched from being a Ford family to Chevy with a fire-engine red 1957 Bel Air with the four barrel 283 and dual exhaust. I don't remember the transmission but it was likely the manual. I know for certain the 1956 Ford they were replacing had a three-speed manual transmission.
Another interesting fact, if you had a 57 with right hand drive, it used the dash from the 55 Chevy.
Out of all the TRI 5's ive restored the cable wiper motor system was the biggest pain ! Other than that there are still more on the road today than any Ford or Chrysler combined !
The exterior style of the 1957 Chevy's had a classic hot rod look while the Plymouths had a more muscle car/track car look.
I really like the Tri Five pickups too and the 57 is to me about the best looking truck ever made ( step side )
If Webster had placed pictures in his dictionary alongside each word, beside the word automobile he would have placed a pic of a turquoise and white 1957 Chevy Belair 2-door hard top with a gold V.
Always liked the '57 Chevy, yet, despite being longer than the '56, there was something about the overall design that made it higher and shorter, and a bit squat compared to the Plymouth and Ford. The latter has some innovative styling cues, particularly in the way the upsweep over the front wheels becomes a lip over the grille, but the fancy Fairlane ornamentation evokes more a bird in mid wing flap to the Bel Aire's straight arrow flight, The Chevy has one of the friendliest faces ever put on a car, and the taillights wink at you as it goes by. It's auch a happy lookiing car!
A friend has a 57 Bel Air 2 door sedan with a Chartruse colored 265. Supposedly they were leftover from 56. They only came mated to 3 speed manual transmission. He is only the 2nd owner of the car.
True story, a few 265's were left over from 1956, and all were 2bl carburetor with manual transmissions. They were only an option on the 150 or 210, not available in Bel Air models.
@@michaelkehm3663 My friend has a Bel Air 2 door sedan. He verified what he has. He has said to me that the leftover 265 was not available on Bel Air hard tops. I saw where they were installed in some pickups.
My grandpa had a yellow with white top ‘57 BelAir 4 door with the 283 (can’t remember if it was a 2 or 4 barrel) and a Power Glide transmission. I remember thinking what a cool car it was…
When talking about the 57 trim you forgot to mention the fin spears being different lengths between the 150 210 and Belair models
Isn't that the car King Kai had in Dragon Ball Z?
If I had a '57 Chevy, I would be looking to haul milk jugs too...
The early 57 265's were painted Chartreuse (Yellow) instead of red.
Not all the way through the video yet, so I'm not sure if you mention this, but how about those 'California' bumpers?'
California-built 1957 Chevrolets had a one-piece front bumper, while all of the others had a three-piece front bumper - a large center/front section with two corner pieces. I've heard of this being true on a later fullsize Chevrolet too.
Out of the TRI sisters, my favorite is the '56.
Inner structural body panels were the same '55-'57 as well.
the first car w tubless tires scared some sales away
In all the comments so far I haven't seen a single mention of Dinah Shore. Ms Shore was also a symbol of life in the USA in the 'Fifties. To bad we can't ask Burt Renals about it.
I hear tell, for 57 only, 265 V8s were painted yellow and not the typical Chevy engine orange. I assume it was for quick identification on the production line.
Sounds right. 🤫
Manual Transmission choices? I saw a 'three on the tree' in the brochure as fully synchromatic. What about a four speed manual?
That synchronized 3 speed puzzled me, because my '65 Belair with a 3 speed didn't have a synchronized 1st gear. Supposedly they changed that in '66. I also just assumed there was a 4 speed option, but guess not.
Up until Ford came out with its fully synchronized 3 speed trans in 63.5, it was common to call a trans with non-synchro 1st as a synchromesh transmission. Also, Pontiac bought those Ford 3 speeds for a couple years until GM came up with the Saginaw 3 & 4 speed transmissions in 66.
The 1957 Corvette would offer a 4 speed manual late in the model year ( May of 1957 ) for $188 extra.
The regular Chevrolet wouldn't get a factory optional 4 speed until the 1959 model year.
It drives like a big SUV. I had chance to drive 57 2 door 210. I sat higher than cars in a 1990s and it drove and felt like a truck inside.
1957 Studebaker Champion Scotsman looked surprisingly similar to 57 Chevrolet. Except front bumper was oddly shaped. Maybe one or other had a spy checking out what next year’s big sedan is going to look like?
57 Chevrolet had a high option model El Morocco, with more chrome and doodads. That didn’t go in production.
The El Morocco was an aftermarket conversion that DID go into production, for 56 and 57, in two door and four door hardtop and convertible body styles and was sold through selected Chevrolet dealers.
I was at a car show today in Wilton Manors, Florida and there was a guy there with a "789", which is a rebodied 2009 Corvette with design elements from the '57 Chevy, the '58 Chevy, and the '59 Chevy. And yes, it is a gargoyle~
(Sorry Adam!)
His car has a "built" engine and a rear-mounted turbocharger system. Here's a video of one of these, not the car I saw today.
ruclips.net/video/zEdKR3Q7s18/видео.html