Vehicle Description
1956 Chevrolet 150 2-Door Sedan
The 1955-1957 year range represented a lot of effort by GM. They
spent a million dollars in 1956 alone because they wanted to make
the Bel Air look like the more expensive Cadillacs. The result was
extravagant body lines, Cadillac-inspired bumper guards, and tail
fins. Although largely a carry-over model, sales soared in 1956,
especially for Bel Air models. This is thanks to the popular V8
introduced in the prior year. 1956 Chevrolets had hidden gas caps
-they were behind the driver's side taillight! The Chevrolet
advertising slogan for 1956 aptly stated, "The Hot One is even
Hotter!"
For consignment, 1956 Chevrolet 150 2 door sedan with a fresh
Vortec 350ci V8 under the hood, a snappy Silk City-esque black and
white interior, and plenty of Nassau Blue paint to go around.
18-inch American Racing Torque Thrust wheels, and plenty of shiny
chrome to go around, yes you too could show up at cruise nights and
be totally respected.
Exterior
The 1957 version is always the talk of the town, but this writer
feels that the 1956 version offers up a simplified cleaner design
all around. The shiny mirror like grille with its big bumper below
an egg crate silver grille and single headlights framed by fenders
with the beginnings of a trim spear above, it just does not get any
better. Nice use of chrome on the ever-widening spear starts at the
front fender and takes over the rear quarter panel by streaking up
to meet the rear window and down to meet the bumper. This body is
bathed in Nassau Blue which covers all the reasonably straight
steel of the body. Gaps are good and there are some areas of
underlying rust with slight cracking and the back of the wheel well
on the passengers front quarter has invasive rust painted over. A
shout out to the crystal clear windows and their trimmings. The
wraparound glass for the front and rear has tinting on the rear and
side and door windows. The roof is painted India Ivory white.
Rocket-like taillights frame the trunk and still hide the gas fill
cap to boot! 18-inch American Racing polished Torque Thrust wheels
make this throwback to the era of Bill Haley and the Comets era car
just a little hotter looking.
Interior
Swinging the doors open we shake hands with 2 tone white and black
vinyl. These have kept their pristine original cranks, handles and
black painted sills which show some wear due to there being no
armrest/pull in the centers. Nifty 50's benches are in the front
being a split back version and rear full bench. These use the black
and white vinyl theme as well with smooth white on the bolsters,
and some black for the inserts. The front sits in a black tub and
both float on black carpeting. The rear bench follows suit in
design with the front. The black topped dual fan dash has the
speedo in front of the driver, and a Chevrolet badged fan in front
of the passenger, (another feature which will sadly go away in
'57). This fronts the split bench and is very clean and sporting
original gauges and knobs. A couple of aftermarket gauges, (a trio
of water, volts and oil), gauges hang below the dash. An
aftermarket vintage looking AM/FM/Cassette radio is neatly tucked
into the dash and lots of shiny chrome mixes with black metal paint
for this attractive dash. Rising from the dash is the factory
column, and is topped with a thick rimmed 3 spoke steering wheel
with a full circle horn ring. A mini Hurst shifter is in the center
in front of the bench. Above is a nice tight headliner.
Drivetrain
A top-notch restoration under the hood, with all parts gleaming on
this freshly installed Vortec 350ciV8 engine. It is topped with a
single 4-barrel Edelbrock carburetor and backed up by a T10 4-speed
manual transmission. Way back is a 3.36 rear axle. Very clean and
organized under this hood.
Undercarriage
All nicely restored, with like new black painted surfaces all over
this undercarriage. All structurally sound and all clean
underneath. A like new exhaust system with Flowmaster mufflers
makes its way to the back of the car and this starts at the engine
with headers. Disc brakes are on front, and drums have been mounted
to the rear. Independent coil sprung suspension is seen up front
and in the back we note leaf springs to keep the rear tires
planted. Some new wiring snakes its way front front to rear, and
the car has a trunk mounted battery.
Drive-Ability
A quick starter, and overall good runner. It had great acceleration
from the 350 cuber, nice handling and the brakes are a benefit and
worked flawlessly. All controls, save for the wipers, worked
successfully for our test. The consignor states a new wiper motor
will come with the car. A shout out to the benches that make for a
comfy ride.
A very nice restoration and upgrade to the original. A great color
scheme, blinding chrome, and beautiful original looking dash. One
of the top-notch examples of a Tri Five Chevrolet to have here at
Classic Auto Mall. I'lll have a blue Christmas...
A56S082923
A-1500 Series
56-1956
S-St. Louis, MO Assy Plant
082923-Sequential Unit Number
TRIM TAG
STYLE 56 1211-1956 150 2 Door Sedan
BODY S2984-St. Louis Body #
TRIM 590-Gold Vinyl & Cloth
PAINT 691A-Harbor Blue
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our
showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just
1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The
website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888)
227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come
see the vehicle in person.