Vehicle 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!