The Car
This beauty is a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air two-door hardtop Sports Coupe, an original V8 car. It’s meant to be driven. The entire car was given a professional frame-off restoration some 20 years ago. It has less than 3,000 miles on it since re-build. The re-build started with the stock ‘57 frame with reinforcements. The exterior is factory-correct Harbor Blue paint color with silver/chrome trim; the interior is also blue paint with blue and black, fabric and leather. The cabin was re-built with vintage-style air conditioning, using R-134 refrigerant. It has a working AM/FM radio and tape cassette player. It has an aluminum radiator with overflow, power brakes, power steering and utilizes stock Chevrolet manifolds. The trunk is carpeted and upholstered. This car is every inch a street machine. It’s comfortable and runs and drives great.
Title is clean, original owner sale. Currently licensed and registered in Washington State. Re-build documents not available; 2024 certified used vehicle appraisal is available, along with many pictures. Willing to split transportation costs with buyer.
Current Condition
The car design is in the original factory style. The dash and all of the components are factory correct and in excellent condition. The only non-factory components in the interior are the rear deck mounted speakers and a below-dash mounted tachometer. There's no bodywork or filler anywhere on the car. Aesthetically and performance-wise, this car is rated into the upper tier of number two-rated cars or as a base level number one-rated car as assessed by a certified appraiser. It has always been garaged and never driven in rain.
All of the windows are functional and in good condition. The door panels are in excellent condition, as are the door interiors, locks and handles. The active drip rails are functional and present. Rubber seals are in excellent condition.
The trim is all original and is due for re-plating. Specifically, the bumpers and the outer door handles. While the car now needs a small amount of work on the trim pieces; the rest of the car is almost brand new.
Engine and Transmission
This car has an aluminum radiator with overflow, power brakes, power steering and utilizes stock Chevrolet manifolds. The battery is a couple years old. The battery housing has been re-located to the trunk.
The stock engine has been upgraded to a limited edition crate motor “ZZ430”, one of only 430 units of the 430 horsepower engine built. Chevrolet marketed the ZZ430 as the most powerful small block engine Chevrolet ever offered.
This engine is 350 cubic inches with a 4-bolt main and unique aluminum heads. As a small block, this engine produces superior power per inch than most of the big blocks available. It is also lighter and produces horsepower at higher RPM ranges if re-fitted with a four-barrel carburetor.
This car is equipped with a 3-speed overdrive automatic 700 R4 transmission, based on the build date, engine type and rear differential for the restoration. The exact model is difficult to determine due to build location. The 700 R4 is more compatible with a high output 350, although the TH400 is also suitable, but much larger dimensionally. The rear differential is a 9-inch Ford rear end custom built by Currie.
Suspension, Brakes, Wheels and Tires
The front suspension is upgraded from stock specs with a 1-1/8 inch anti-sway bar, coil springs, and dampers. It is equipped with 11 inch front disc brakes with drum brakes in the rear, dual exhaust, and additional oil coolers underneath the car for the transmission.
The wheels are 15-inch American Racing Torq Thrust, which is a common and popular wheel for this car. The all-season Goodyear Eagle tires are about ten years old, sized 215/70R15, with no leaking.
Other Information
The trim (cowl) tag is not present due to the frame-off re-build.
The hood springs are weak and need to be replaced. This is not due to adjustment issues.
The car re-build was completed in Arizona. Since then the car has always been kept garaged in a mild climate.
The fuel used has always been premium gasoline and the car is maintained by starting and running at least twice a month.
Battery is about 2 years old.
Estimated services next needed for this car:
Bumpers and trim re-plated $3,000
Professional detail $750
Shop service for engine clean-up, to tape wires with cloth, adding Insulated junction and blocks $500- $1000
Possibly replace tires, sized 215/70R15.
Certified Appraisal value July 2024: $93,750
Asking price: $ 80,000 OBO
