1956 Chevrolet Bel Air four door hardtop....

[keiser31]

I usually go for a walk and see old cars. Now they are parking right across the street from my house. Seems like I can't avoid them, not that I am trying to. Enjoy....

Edited July 6, 2017 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[TerryB]

One of my favorites!  I like the 56 over the 57, it seems to be a more balanced design over the 57.  When I worked at a gas station after school, the first time I had to find its gas filler hiding spot had me running in circles for a while!

 

Terry

[keiser31]

I'm with you on the '56 over the '57. I like the '57s....I just like the '56s more. I like the '57 Nomad a lot. Fins and a long roof go together quite well.

Edited July 6, 2017 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[TerryB]

Yes, Nomad makes a difference.  There the lines of the 57 look great.  Hard to believe the 57 Ford outsold the Chevy but you rarely see a 57 Ford today.

[victorialynn2]

6 hours ago, TerryB said:

Yes, Nomad makes a difference.  There the lines of the 57 look great.  Hard to believe the 57 Ford outsold the Chevy but you rarely see a 57 Ford today.

I have a 57 Ford Retractable. Here is a pic for reference. It's quite a looker, but I agree so is the Chevy. I really like the 55 Chevy. I love the grill. 

[bobg1951chevy]

I owned the exact color combo, the same year,  back in 1960. **sigh**

I purchased the car from a lady who thought the car was too big .......  too hard to steer and too hard to stop.

When I made the purchase, the odometer only had 12,000 miles, after her ownership of 4 years.

A 265 2 bbl. with a P.G., a great car.

[Guest Skyking]

13 hours ago, TerryB said:

Yes, Nomad makes a difference.  There the lines of the 57 look great.  Hard to believe the 57 Ford outsold the Chevy but you rarely see a 57 Ford today.

 

To this day I can still see how the Ford outsold the Chevy that year.  One car I always wanted to own and never did.

[Dosmo]

Love the four door hardtop body style - man, they look great!  Who knows the difference in the dashboards between the 55 & 56?  Of course, the 57 dash was its own unique style.

[lump]

6 minutes ago, Dosmo said:

Love the four door hardtop body style - man, they look great!  Who knows the difference in the dashboards between the 55 & 56?  Of course, the 57 dash was its own unique style.

In the 55, the wide piece of anodized aluminum trim which covered the front of the dash horizontally was stamped with little black bow tie emblems, if I recall correctly. In 56, those little black marks were just rectangles. There are other small differences too. 

Edited July 7, 2017 by lump (see edit history)

[cheezestaak2000]

i'm becoming a big fan of the 4dr hardtop too. think about it, was only made from around 55 thru 74, and an awful lot of them were cannibalized for the much more common 2drs. was kinda impressed with the cadillac escala concept, hope it makes it into production. we need a new car that's not boring.

[46 woodie]

Aftermarket gas pedal, wonder what's under the hood?

[keiser31]

5 minutes ago, 46 woodie said:

Aftermarket gas pedal, wonder what's under the hood?

I don't know, but when the two ladies drove off, it rumbled enough to shake the kinda loose window panes in our 70 year old house.

[EmTee]

I admit it - I'm partial to '56 Chevy Bel Air 4-door hardtops (aka: Sport Sedans).  The one my grandparents gave to me on my 15th birthday is red & white. 

[John348]

35 minutes ago, EmTee said:

I admit it - I'm partial to '56 Chevy Bel Air 4-door hardtops (aka: Sport Sedans).  The one my grandparents gave to me on my 15th birthday is red & white. 

 

I am too, that was my first car a green and white one six cylinder and slipping powerglide... GM sport sedans had great lines 

 

And if they could make that concept Cadillac 2 feet wider and 5 feet longer it would be a true Cadillac!  I have 15 CTS and it is made for skinny 40 somethings not a fat old man

Edited July 9, 2017 by John348 (see edit history)

[Peter J.Heizmann]

1 hour ago, John348 said:

 

. GM sport sedans had great lines 

 

 

Hi, John.  Hope all is well.  Our deceased friend Ron Flory would be proud of you...

 

Peter j.

[John348]

13 hours ago, Peter J.Heizmann said:

Hi, John.  Hope all is well.  Our deceased friend Ron Flory would be proud of you...

 

Peter j.

 

Hey Peter, I am doing well and hope the same for you! I sure do miss Ron a lot, and when I was restoring my 60 I caught myself a few times about to call him up with a question I had on my car on the reassembly. One of Ron's flat-tops was purchased by a guy who lives about 15 miles from me here on Long Island, and he is not really a car guy! Just wanted to a vintage 50's 60's four door car to go on afternoon rides with looking for antiques. I tried to get him to join the AACA and he had no interest

[Peter J.Heizmann]

7 hours ago, John348 said:

 

Hey Peter, I am doing well and hope the same for you! I sure do miss Ron a lot, and when I was restoring my 60 I caught myself a few times about to call him up with a question I had on my car on the reassembly. One of Ron's flat-tops was purchased by a guy who lives about 15 miles from me here on Long Island, and he is not really a car guy! Just wanted to a vintage 50's 60's four door car to go on afternoon rides with looking for antiques. I tried to get him to join the AACA and he had no interest

OK here, John.  Retired this past March.

 

For those who did not know Ron he restored 2 identical 1960 Chevy Sport sedans.  What a head turner when he and Judy would each drive one onto a show field.  They were both white with black trim and red & white seat fabric.

 

His son Jason drove Judy to the funeral in one of the cars noted below.

 

Peter J.

 

 

Edited July 10, 2017 by Peter J.Heizmann (see edit history)

[lump]

On 7/7/2017 at 11:13 PM, cheezestaak2000 said:

i'm becoming a big fan of the 4dr hardtop too. think about it, was only made from around 55 thru 74, and an awful lot of them were cannibalized for the much more common 2drs. was kinda impressed with the cadillac escala concept, hope it makes it into production. we need a new car that's not boring.

Just for the record, as I recall the 4 door sport hardtop was the highest production number of all Chevy passenger cars in 1957, out selling all 2 door body styles and 4 door sedan cars too. I would guess that the same would be true for 1956 model year. Certainly you are correct that many, many 4 door cars (including station wagons) were cannibalized to get parts for 2 door cars, and then scrapped. We collectors in the early years of shoebox Chevy collecting needed parts which were non existent as reproduction, and since 2 doors were worth 5 or 10 times what a 4 door was (given the same condition), this seemed appropriate at the time. Moreover, since 4 door cars were often bought by more mature folks, more of them tended to survive, while 2 doors were hot rodded, wrecked, and raced since they were new. So we collectors considered them to be more common in the decades when they first started being collected. 

 

It's just the way it was. Like the poet said, "Twas ever thus!"
 

[John348]

50 minutes ago, lump said:

Just for the record, as I recall the 4 door sport hardtop was the highest production number of all Chevy passenger cars in 1957, out selling all 2 door body styles and 4 door sedan cars too. I would guess that the same would be true for 1956 model year. Certainly you are correct that many, many 4 door cars (including station wagons) were cannibalized to get parts for 2 door cars, and then scrapped. We collectors in the early years of shoebox Chevy collecting needed parts which were non existent as reproduction, and since 2 doors were worth 5 or 10 times what a 4 door was (given the same condition), this seemed appropriate at the time. Moreover, since 4 door cars were often bought by more mature folks, more of them tended to survive, while 2 doors were hot rodded, wrecked, and raced since they were new. So we collectors considered them to be more common in the decades when they first started being collected. 

 

It's just the way it was. Like the poet said, "Twas ever thus!"
 

 

 You are incorrect with your recollection of the production numbers. I think you might have gotten four door sedans mixed up with four door hard-tops, four door hardtops were far from the highest selling body style

as you said "just for the record"....... so lets at least get the record straight

 

1957 Belair Production

four door sedan   254,331

four door hardtop 137,672

two door hardtop  166,426

 

1957 210 production

four door sedan  260,401

four door hardtop 16,175

two door hardtop  22,631

 

56 Belair Production

four door sedan  269,796

four door hardtop 103,602

two door hardtop 128,382

 

1956 210 Production

four door sedan  283,125

four door hardtop 20,021

two door hardtop 56,382

Edited July 10, 2017 by John348 (see edit history)

[emjay]

Peter J Heizmann the bank across the street was just robbed the other week but he walked out the back door, so it must not have been you.

[cheezestaak2000]

On 7/10/2017 at 1:21 AM, John348 said:

 

 You are incorrect with your recollection of the production numbers. I think you might have gotten four door sedans mixed up with four door hard-tops, four door hardtops were far from the highest selling body style

as you said "just for the record"....... so lets at least get the record straight

 

1957 Belair Production

four door sedan   254,331

four door hardtop 137,672

two door hardtop  166,426

 

1957 210 production

four door sedan  260,401

four door hardtop 16,175

two door hardtop  22,631

 

56 Belair Production

four door sedan  269,796

four door hardtop 103,602

two door hardtop 128,382

 

1956 210 Production

four door sedan  283,125

four door hardtop 20,021

two door hardtop 56,382

wow, my parents bought a 1957 chevy 210 4dr ht. i never saw another one. from your production figures,. i now see why.

 

[KVP]

On 7/10/2017 at 1:21 AM, John348 said:

 

 You are incorrect with your recollection of the production numbers. I think you might have gotten four door sedans mixed up with four door hard-tops, four door hardtops were far from the highest selling body style

as you said "just for the record"....... so lets at least get the record straight

 

1957 Belair Production

four door sedan   254,331

four door hardtop 137,672

two door hardtop  166,426

 

1957 210 production

four door sedan  260,401

four door hardtop 16,175

two door hardtop  22,631

 

56 Belair Production

four door sedan  269,796

four door hardtop 103,602

two door hardtop 128,382

 

1956 210 Production

four door sedan  283,125

four door hardtop 20,021

two door hardtop 56,382

On trips to our summer place in Northern Michigan, I've driven by a 1956 chevy 210 four door hardtop that's been for sale for the past year. I realized it was somewhat rare but didn't understand that fully until I saw your published numbers.

[victorialynn2]

On July 9, 2017 at 10:21 PM, John348 said:

 

 You are incorrect with your recollection of the production numbers. I think you might have gotten four door sedans mixed up with four door hard-tops, four door hardtops were far from the highest selling body style

as you said "just for the record"....... so lets at least get the record straight

 

1957 Belair Production

four door sedan   254,331

four door hardtop 137,672

two door hardtop  166,426

 

1957 210 production

four door sedan  260,401

four door hardtop 16,175

two door hardtop  22,631

 

56 Belair Production

four door sedan  269,796

four door hardtop 103,602

two door hardtop 128,382

 

1956 210 Production

four door sedan  283,125

four door hardtop 20,021

two door hardtop 56,382

Do you have easy access to the 55 production numbers? Specifically a 2 door post. 

Edited July 12, 2017 by victorialynn2 (see edit history)