Every time I see a car auctioned off after being stored for several decades, I have trouble understanding the owner’s choice. I mean, why would you keep a perfectly good classic off the road for years? I would drive the heck out of it, but I guess I’m not the type that would store a car waiting for its value to go up, especially if it’s a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air like this Imperial Ivory-painted beauty here.
Recently taken out of storage, this fine-looking Bel Air spent a whopping 40 years off the road. That’s more than half of its life. Fortunately, it sat in a heated garage, and it looks almost perfect inside and out. While not perfect, the paint shows only a few chips and marks here and there, with no signs of rust in sight.
There’s no info on whether it’s still finished in the original factory paint, but it could be. However, proper storage conditions can keep a car’s paint in excellent shape, and there’s a chance that whoever drove this car until it the early 1980s took really good care of it. The chrome elements are also in great shape, as are the gold trim parts. And I could say the same about the vintage Cragar wheels, a cool addition to a 1957 Tri-Five.
But while the exterior needs a bit of work, the interior is downright perfect. And gorgeous, if I may add. The red-and-black upholstery that covers both the seats and the door panels is a timeless combination and provides an excellent contrast to the light exterior paint. And everything looks excellent, with no tears or scratches.
And on top of being a perfect time capsule, the interior sports a few aftermarket upgrades, including a Hurst shifter, a cassette player, and speakers behind the rear seats.
There are no photos of the engine, but the seller says this Bel Air packs a 327-cubic-inch (5.4-liter) V8 good for 350 horsepower under the hood. Obviously, it’s not an all-original mill; Chevy’s largest V8 offering for the Bel Air in 1957 was the 283-cubic-inch (4.6-liter) small-block. The three-speed manual gearbox is also an aftermarket addition.
With the range-topping 283 rated at 283 horsepower back in the day, the 327 is definitely a cool upgrade for the extra 67 horses. On the other hand, we don’t know if the owner made other updates to the drivetrain to go with the extra oomph (like bigger brakes).
What we do know for a fact is that the car doesn’t run. Not exactly surprising after 40 years in a garage, but everything should work properly once the fuel lines are clean and the brakes serviced.
Overall, this 1957 Bel Air isn’t only a nice time capsule that needs little maintenance to become road-worthy again, it’s also a hot-rodded classic with extra oomph under the hood. Sure, it’s not as valuable as an all-original Bel Air with a numbers-matching V8, but it’s not that expensive either.
The coupe is being auctioned off at no reserve by eBay seller “neilgreenwell” and bidding is already at $19,200 with four days to go. However, you can bypass the auction with a $23,500 offer. For reference, a 1957 Bel Air in Good condition is valued at around $28,000. Excellent and Concours examples usually go for $36,000 to $51,000, respectively.
