Vehicle Description
1955 Chevrolet Bel Air - 283ci V8 - 3 Speed Manual Transmission -
5904 Miles Shown - Front Disc Brakes - Gray Over Beige Interior
(Please note: If you happen to be viewing this 1955 Chevrolet Bel
Air on a website other than our Garage Kept Motors site, it's
possible that you've only seen some of our many photographs of the
car due to third-party website limitations. To be sure you access
all the more than 160 photographs, as well as a short start-up and
walk-around video, please go to our main website: GKM.com) Chevy's
1955-1957 passenger cars remain the aspirational American ideal of
a better future now �€" Hemmings Classic Car, July 2021 The idea of
a truly all-new car is tempting fate. Each system, each individual
component requires so much effort to work properly in concert with
a thousand other components, in myriad conditions, that
body/chassis and drivelines often see their launches staggered. A
newly styled car, or one with an all-new chassis, often starts life
with a carryover powertrain; a new engine may show up in an
existing chassis, years into a model's gestation. Doing it all at
once is an expensive gamble. That said, if anyone could launch an
all-new car, it was Chevrolet. Its status as America's best-selling
car brand for the bulk of the postwar era brought success and
swagger. 1955, Chevy needed a new car to keep up with the
competition's advances-and the division's engineers and stylists
delivered; Chevy's V-8-powered 1955 sedan lineup really was as new
as it got in Detroit in the '50s. Comparing the 1954 and '55 Chevy
lines, virtually the only things that remained were the
conventional front-engine/rear-drive layout, names (150, 210, Bel
Air, et al), the chassis' 115-inch wheelbase, and the
wheel-and-tire combo. All-new body, all-new chassis, all-new V-8
engine, and new optional overdrive behind the (admittedly extant)
three-speed manual transmission. You'd scarcely believe a '54 and a
'55 Bel Air were built a model year apart. Offered here is an
exceptional 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air hardtop, beautifully restored,
and tastefully upgraded while maintaining all the classic elements
that make the model an American icon. Although not original from
the factory, the steel-gray metallic paint color suits the car
perfectly, and the refreshed interior avoids any glitzy additions
that might detract from the period-correct statement. The car's
odometer shows 5,904 miles accumulated since the restoration work
was completed, and much of the work on the car is supported in a
sheaf of documents included in the sale. The exterior steel-gray
finish is the result of a professional respray incorporating, in
addition to the exterior body panels: the metal dashboard, steering
wheel, underside of the trunk lid (and body edges inside the
trunk), door edges, jambs and sills, and the underside of the hood
(and body edges in the engine bay). Chrome bumpers and body trim
pieces are in very well-maintained condition with only light
patina. (To best assess the quality of the paint and trim finishes,
please be sure to view the close-up photographs of the car in the
accompanying gallery.) Factory badging includes the Chevrolet-crest
emblem on the hood (as well as the jet-style hood ornament),
BelAir-script rear-fender emblems (with gold Chevrolet crest), and
the full-color Chevrolet-crest emblem on the trunk lid. Lightly
tinted cabin glass (including the wraparound windshield) and all
lighting lenses are clear and free of cracks. Chrome, dish-style
15-inch wheels (with chrome hubcaps) are mounted with Cooper® Cobra
Radial G/T 215/70 raised-white-letter tires. The Bel Air's interior
is a stunning trip back in time. A light-gray fabric headliner is
supported by chrome crossmembers. Door trim combines panels of tan
carpet, gray vinyl, and putty-colored, pleated fabric with chrome
trim in a sweeping design. Seats are upholstered in the same
putty-colored fabric trimmed in gray vinyl; that design is echoed
on the
