1956 Chevrolet Bel Air

- California Car
- 265ci V8 with Power Pack Heads
- Automatic Transmission
- 65k Miles
- Power Steering and Power Brakes
- Front Disc Brakes
- Yellow and White Exterior Over Yellow and White Interior
- Custom Pinstripes

(Please note: If you happen to be viewing this 1956 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: Garage Kept Motors.)

“… so popular that it captured almost half of the... market in a couple of years.” - MuscleCar.UK, March 2021

“Many car collectors and enthusiasts still talk about Bel Air. The Bel Air series was a landmark in the history of Chevrolet and a symbol of the spirit and culture of that era. John Kraman, the director of consignments for Mecum Auctions in Marengo, Illinois, says: 'There was a youthful spirit in the country. American culture started to shift, and the styling and performance of the cars that were starting to blossom in the mid-1950s reflected that.”

“Rock and Roll, drive-in restaurants, and the Chevy Bel Air reflect the United States in the '50s. With its sleek design, gold trim, long tail-fins, and a brand new V-8, it gave the common man a chance to feel the luxury of a custom car.”

Offered here is a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air hardtop in white-and-yellow over white-and-yellow. Respectfully upgraded and beautifully maintained, this lightly customized Bel Air captures the joyful spirit of the mid-Fifties. Showing just 65,652 miles on the odometer, the car has traveled fewer than 1,200 miles per-year on average since new.

The refreshed yellow-and-white non-metallic exterior paint is in near-perfect condition overall. The finish is uniform, and the gloss is excellent. The two-tone paint style and color is classic Fifties complementing the hardtop body and the growing fins. Rear-fender skirts add streamlining. (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.) The chrome finish on the body overall is excellent including front grille and bumper, headlight trim, mirrors, window surrounds, stylized body-side trim, taillight trim, and rear bumper. Cabin glass—in particular the front and rear “wraparound” glass—is clear and free of flaws; lighting lenses are similarly free of damage. Factory badging is complete and properly mounted with the Chevrolet emblem and “v” for V8 on the hood, jet-design hood ornament, and Bel Air-script and Chevrolet emblem on the rear fenders and trunk lid . Subtle-but-impressive pinstriping on the white rear fenders, doors, and trunk is an appealing custom touch, as are blue-dot taillights. Chrome wheels with spinner-style center caps are mounted with period-correct wide-whitewall tires.

Inside, the yellow-and-white color theme mirrors the exterior paint combination. Vertically pleated door trim, rear-cabin walls, and triangular-and-pleated-design, button-trimmed vinyl seat upholstery is near-perfect. The car's yellow headliner is similarly kept. Black carpeting, protected with black rubber mats with Chevrolet crest, covers the cabin floor. A three-spoke, yellow steering wheel with chrome horn ring and gold Chevrolet crest frames the chrome-trimmed padded dashboard in yellow. The arc-shaped speedometer, dash trim, operating controls, CustomAudio® updated-but-original-style audio unit, clock and Bel Air emblem echoing the speedometer design complete the front-seat look. The shift lever for the automatic transmission is located on the steering column with the gear-indicator in front of the speedometer. A coolant-temperature gauge has been added below the dash. (Please view the close-up photography in the gallery to assess the car's excellent interior condition.)

The car's trunk is flawless, including a matching spare tire and chrome wheel. Some other noteworthy features include a tinted windshield, CB radio, gas filler in the left rear taillight, original padded dash, door handle guards, trunk mat, and all dash gauges, temp light, battery light work as they should.

Under the hood, the 265-cubic-inch Chevrolet V8 occupies a very clean and properly organized engine bay. An open-sided chrome air-cleaner cover, chrome valve covers, chrome alternator, and red-painted engine block add flair. Viewed from below, the chassis and components are clean and undamaged. The full-length, properly routed performance dual exhaust and the very clean lower-engine surfaces are focal points. Most lower-body surfaces have been treated with rust-inhibitors so virtually no rust is evident.

The Bel Air's original body-identification tag remains in place. The original owner's manual and CustomAudio documentation are included in the sale.

While the more than 160 high-definition photographs and the short walk-around-and-startup video available on the GarageKeptMotors website showcase this '56 Bel Air in detail from every angle, including from below, we expect and encourage in-person inspections at our Grand Rapids, Michigan showroom. Please call to arrange an appointment in advance as our showroom is not open to the public. And feel free to get in touch anytime by phone or email if you have questions.

This yellow-and-white '56 Bel Air hardtop celebrates the Fifties in style. It's sure to be the next owner's pride and joy whether on the street, at the drive-in, or drawing lots of attention at cars-and-coffee get-togethers.