1955 Chevrolet Bel Air

- 283ci V8
- 3 Speed Manual Transmission
- 5904 Miles Shown
- Front Disc Brakes
- Gray Over Beige Interior

(Please note: If you happen to be viewing this 1955 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: GKM.com)

“Chevy's 1955-1957 passenger cars remain the aspirational American ideal of a better future now” – Hemmings Classic Car, July 2021

“The idea of a truly all-new car is tempting fate. Each system, each individual component requires so much effort to work properly in concert with a thousand other components, in myriad conditions, that body/chassis and drivelines often see their launches staggered. A newly styled car, or one with an all-new chassis, often starts life with a carryover powertrain; a new engine may show up in an existing chassis, years into a model's gestation. Doing it all at once is an expensive gamble.”

“That said, if anyone could launch an all-new car, it was Chevrolet. Its status as America's best-selling car brand for the bulk of the postwar era brought success and swagger. 1955, Chevy needed a new car to keep up with the competition's advances—and the division's engineers and stylists delivered; Chevy's V-8-powered 1955 sedan lineup really was as new as it got in Detroit in the '50s. Comparing the 1954 and '55 Chevy lines, virtually the only things that remained were the conventional front-engine/rear-drive layout, names (150, 210, Bel Air, et al), the chassis' 115-inch wheelbase, and the wheel-and-tire combo. All-new body, all-new chassis, all-new V-8 engine, and new optional overdrive behind the (admittedly extant) three-speed manual transmission. You'd scarcely believe a '54 and a '55 Bel Air were built a model year apart.”

Offered here is an exceptional 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air hardtop, beautifully restored, and tastefully upgraded while maintaining all the classic elements that make the model an American icon. Although not original from the factory, the steel-gray metallic paint color suits the car perfectly, and the refreshed interior avoids any glitzy additions that might detract from the period-correct statement. The car's odometer shows 5,904 miles accumulated since the restoration work was completed, and much of the work on the car is supported in a sheaf of documents included in the sale.

The exterior steel-gray finish is the result of a professional respray incorporating, in addition to the exterior body panels: the metal dashboard, steering wheel, underside of the trunk lid (and body edges inside the trunk), door edges, jambs and sills, and the underside of the hood (and body edges in the engine bay). Chrome bumpers and body trim pieces are in very well-maintained condition with only light patina. (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.) Factory badging includes the Chevrolet-crest emblem on the hood (as well as the jet-style hood ornament), “BelAir”-script rear-fender emblems (with gold Chevrolet crest), and the full-color Chevrolet-crest emblem on the trunk lid. Lightly tinted cabin glass (including the “wraparound windshield”) and all lighting lenses are clear and free of cracks. Chrome, dish-style 15-inch wheels (with chrome hubcaps) are mounted with Cooper® Cobra Radial G/T 215/70 raised-white-letter tires.

The Bel Air's interior is a stunning trip back in time. A light-gray fabric headliner is supported by chrome crossmembers. Door trim combines panels of tan carpet, gray vinyl, and putty-colored, pleated fabric with chrome trim in a sweeping design. Seats are upholstered in the same putty-colored fabric trimmed in gray vinyl; that design is echoed on the rear-cabin walls. (A removable front console with cupholders is included with the car.) Cabin carpeting is gray. The correct steering wheel with horn ring frames what can only be described as an automotive work-of-art dashboard. Bright-metal trim includes hundreds of small bowtie emblems. The beautifully arched speedometer is echoed in design by the radio speaker with clock on the passenger side. An aftermarket, period-style radio (also with bowtie emblems!) replaces the factory radio. The shift lever for the “three on the tree” manual transmission is (of course) mounted on the steering column. (Please view the close-up photography in the gallery to assess the condition of the Bel Air's various interior surfaces.)

Under the hood, the correct, unadorned stock look is maintained. The 283-cubic-inch Chevrolet V8 is properly painted Chevrolet-orange under a black-painted air cleaner. There are no glitzy modifications or add-ons in the very clean and complete engine bay. Viewed from below, the chassis is original, complete, and undamaged. The clean lower-engine surfaces, front disc brakes, and full-length dual exhaust with chrome tips are visual focal points. (To best evaluate the condition of undercarriage surfaces, please review the gallery photos shot from below.)

The car's original factory-mounted identification tags remain riveted in place. The sale includes the previously mentioned documentation as well as a shop manual, radio, and wiring harness manual

While the more than 160 high-definition photographs and the short walk-around-and-startup video available on the GarageKeptMotors website showcase this '55 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 tri-five Bel Air will stop bowtie aficionados in their tracks. It is that beautiful.