1957 Chevy

The 1957 Chevy Convertible Motoring Classic

Early in the 1950s design work began on the 1957 Chevy Convertible and when it came out it was not so fast in gaining in popularity. True classic car beauty to the connoisseur can be related to a fine wine or diamonds the love for them grows with each passing year. That is so very true for the 1957 Chevy Convertible!

Just mention “Chevy” to any true car buff and 57 Classic Chevy always turns on the sparkle in the eyes. Without much prodding the 1957 Chevy Convertible just pours into the conversation.

There are two trains of thought with restoration of these great American classic cars. One is the true original restoration and the second which today has sparked a lot more interest among true classic car collectors. And that is the modern day technologies available to update these wonderful classic cars.

Why just the invention of the newer methods of paint systems used today can really capture the attention. But that is only one small update available to restore these classics. A 1957 Chevy Convertible can truly be transformed in to something magnificent. It is possible to make them run and drive better than the new cars on the road. But all that beauty comes at a cost but to any classic car collector money is not the object. It whatever that produces the “WOW” for the classic cars they we all love that really makes the difference.

The goals for the 1957 Chevy model year placed tremendous pressure on the General Motors design guru of the day Harley Earl. The public wanted performance and classy new designs that would surpass the standards of the day.

The competition came from the European market with MG and Mercedes but General Motors refused to compromise on true quality. GM sales were below average prior to 1957. To compete, performance and elegance was what the American car market dreamed of for their new car designs.

As with most American companies the first battle is the indecision but everyone agreed changes were needed to improve sales. All joined in the ring to come up with a game changer. The game changer proved to be Chevrolet’s new 283 cubic inch V8 engine.

The goal to squash the European market was realized with the new 283 cubic inch V8 that was truly cutting edge for the day. In 1957 Chevrolet produced the most well know car on the planet even today. Chevrolet was on top of the world with its new design.

The old advertisements back in 1957 stood proud reminding everyone that they don’t write songs about the European cars. It is almost funny but the statement is still true today and the old songs about Chevrolet are still loved as well.

The 1957 Chevy Convertible Popularity

45 years to the day Chevrolet ran an ad that featured the 1957 Chevy. Don Maclean’s classic music release of “American Pie” is still popular today. Everyone may not recognize who Don was but they all know he drove his “Chevy to the Levee”. And everyone still remembers the classic song by Prince who sang about his “Little Red Corvette” that was a 1957 Chevy Corvette Convertible.

Another popular introduction for the 1957 Chevy that inspired some action was the “fuel Injection”. The beginning of American motorsports history started with the 1957 Chevy Convertible. 1957 is the year that Chevrolet really put a permanent mark on the world map. There must have really been magic in the air for that year.

The 1957 Chevy Convertible Gets More Love Today!

Granted the design was not perfect and the introduction was not accepted by the public with any real great excitement in 1957. But today 50 plus years later the 1957 Chevy Convertible gets more love than any other car still on the road including any of the new models that are coming out.

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1957 Corvette Facts

The 1957 Corvette facts are fascinating indeed! Would you believe Corvette is a word used by the French that was used to identify a flush-decked warship? The name started being use back around the 17th-18th centuries. A Corvette carried a single tier of cannons; its class ranked just below a frigate. In today’s modern navy, any lightly armed blue water warship is small compared to a frigate but still very efficient at any kind of oceanic duty.

One interesting fact is that many Navies the world over use Corvette class war ships. Many will remember the PCC-772 ROKS Cheonan of South Korea that broke in half for what may have been a torpedo attach from North Korea. The Pohang class Corvette of the Republic Korea Navy that received her commission in 1989.

The Chevrolet Corvette made its first appearance in 1953. The Corvette was built by hand in Flint Michigan as a gentlemens' sports car. This first Corvette named after the war ship was a classic beauty.  But to start with the blue flame 6 cylinder Chevy pickup truck motor used to power it just did not have the performance to add the sport to its beauty. Without performance the Corvette was almost abandon by Chevrolet.

Many do not remember today but the birth of the Chevrolet Corvette may have never made its appearance on the highways of the world had it not been for World War II. In 1953 finding enough steel was a big issue and would be for some time to come. So the Chevrolet car designers went out in search for a fresh idea that did not need all the steel. A new product hit the marketplace that could be molded into a durable auto body without much trouble. This new product was the invention of a revolutionary material called fiberglass. It was perfect so Corvettes started coming from Chevrolet hand-built with fiberglass bodies and other standard components.

Chevrolet dealers started trying to spice up the Corvette by adding Paxton supercharger to the standard blue flam 6 cylinder pickup truck engine. Later in 1954 Chevrolet started adding some interesting upgrades to the Corvette. One rather spicy upgrade was an intake manifold that took a three two barrel carburetors not only did it look flashy it made the Corvette more sporty.

Most sports car buffs agree that had in not been for the introduction of the Chevrolet small block 265 cubic inch V8 in 1955 we very likely would not see Corvettes on the roads today. The early small block V8 put Corvette on the map so to speak. And performance was the start of modern motorsports history. The 1957 Corvette

The most coveted was the 1957 Corvette because it was the first to be produced with a V8 with one horse power per cubic inch. The real performance V8 was joined to a Borg-Warner four speed manual transmission or the famous 4 on the floor. The combination of 4-on-the-floor and a V-8 with fuel injection was the perfect combination for racing.

You might be interested to know that out of 6,336 1957 Corvettes built 713 got the 283 cubic inch V8 that put out a scorching 283 hp. Only 664 of these beauties were joined to the 4 speed transmission.

There were 1,336 built with power convertible tops for 1957 Corvette. The popular color was the Aztec Copper on 452 to roll into showrooms across the country. The RPO 684 racing suspension at a cost of $780.10 made it into 51 of the 57 Corvettes.

Owning The 1957 Corvette

A source of great pleasure to be the owner of the 1957 Corvette and the most coveted it the 283 V8 Fuelie model with the checker flag emblem on the sides of the front of the car. A big attraction today and appeal is they get great gas mileage. People today though that the classic high powered 1957 Corvette was not a gas guzzler.

 

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1957 Chevy Pickup – New V8 and Open Mouth

The 1957 Chevy pickup can trace its roots back all the way back to the early 1900s. In the beginning all a Chevy Truck customer would get was a chassis and a cowl. So they would have to build a cab and body on their own or have someone build it for them. This was light years away from the modern 1957 Chevy Pickup which became the true “Honey” of the truck industry.

The earliest Chevy Pickup went on sale as far back as 1918. Louis Chevrolet working with William Durant first envisioned and created first Chevy Truck. The designers began selling Chevrolet's in 1911. William Durant started out at GM and was considered to be not competent to lead such an organization and was fired.

Everyone wonders if William Durant had a master plan in mind because by leaving behind GM and working at Chevrolet they became so successful in 1916 through 1918 they bought a large chunk of General Motors. Then the two companies Chevrolet and GM merged and William Durant was back at the helm once again.

1957 Chevy Pickup Punch and Style

The sales force pushed the 1957 Pickup with punch and style. The new pickup scored points for style not ever seen in Chevy Trucks to date. The major goal of performance and not wanting their working trucks to look like they were too pretty to do the hard jobs.

All that “Punch and Style” came from one of the most acclaimed car designers of American history, the famous designer Harley J. Earl. His creation made it to market as the 1957 Chevy Pickup. The new truck arrived as the 1957 Chevy Pickup which turned out being a symbol of the industry. The 1957 is the most coveted of collectors of most of the world.

1957 Chevy Trucks - “Champs of the Alcan Run”

One of the better advertisements of the day was the proof that the 1957 Chevy truck could do the job. The Alaska Canada run was the true test for a truck carrying a load. Chevy Trucks prove to be “Champs of the Alcan Run” all classic pickup truck collectors all love the this video of the Alcan Run with the 1957 Chevy Trucks.

57 Chevy Trucks Champs of the Alcan Run

One click to play one click to stop, while in play double click for full screen.

The Chevy "Bowtie" is Still Famous to This Day

There are a few stories circulating on the inspiration behind the Chevy Bowtie design. William Durant had seen the design on wallpaper in a French hotel and it was said the he liked it very much. Another story circulating that the famous Chevy Bowtie was based on a Swiss cross and another was the logo for Coalettes. So where ever the Chevy Bowtie came from for sure today it is still famous even on the modern Chevrolet’s.

The Most Popular Chevy Truck Still is The 1957 Chevy Pickup

The most popular year for Chevy Trucks by General Motors was and still is 1957. Many love the open-mouth design that the egg-carte grill gave the new truck in 1957. The open trapezoid that was held by 8 bars really created the look. Performance came from Chevrolet with the new 283 cubic inch V-8 engine. The 270 foot pounds of torque came from 160 hp out of the new 283 cube motor.

With a rigid mounted axle in the rear and threaded spring shackles was a big improvement of the center draw bolt used in the older Chevy Trucks. New safety door locks and strikers and a dished steering wheel for the 1957 pickups. You could add power brakes and steering and the look of the side mounted spare was top of the line.

You were not locked into just one option for a transmission you could choose from three options. You could get a three speed synchromesh transmission and overdrive or one without. The third option included a 4 speed synchromesh transmission that added some flexibility for your 1957 Chevy Pickup.

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1957 Bel Air a Beauty Among Classics

No car in the world is appreciated on the spot like the 1957 Bel Air made by Chevrolet. Chevy was striving for something special for that year and something that would be totally new. So as the story goes the engineers run into complications with manufacturing and the tri fives prevailed for 1957 once again. Of course this did not happen without some very impressive modifications to bring about the 1957 Bel Air.

1957 Bel Air by Chevy is an American Icon

You would be hard pressed to find someone that would not agree that the 57 Chevy Bel Air in not The American Icon. Some even referred to the Bel Air as The Baby Cadillac of the year and as the sales team put it “Sweet, Smooth and Sassy”. It is common knowledge the 57 Bel Air out sold Fords by leaps and bounds the year of its birth.

In 1957 Chevrolet is credited with creating a true American Dream that has made it to one of the only original global dreams and still has the fan fair to prove it.

1957 Bel Air Fins

There were only 47,566 Bel Air’s that made it out the GM factories the famous year. Still prized collectibles to this very day, was it because it was the car of choice for young high school drivers from around the globe. Some think it was the deep seated love for the new Chevy Bel Air Fins.

The prized name Bel Air started out in the early 50s as a nickname. The nickname was so well liked by the public and Chevrolet that 1957 Bel Air line was produced with the name and it stuck like glue.

There were not many differences but the small changes like being just 2 ½” longer and the new tail fins made it the most attractive car of the decade. The 1957 had 14” wheels and the bumper and grille was a big new design. It changed the appearance just enough to make the beauty look wider. And the dual exhaust was said to make the wonderful sound of a purring cat. Even the sales teams jumped on the new sound with “Chevy puts the purr back in performance” with ads in popular magazines of the day.

All the classic car buffs and want-a-be car buffs will marvel at the fact that the 1957 Bel Air starting price was a whopping $1,095. Today it will cost that much for a year’s subscription to many of the less than popular classic car magazines. A post war icon the 1957 Bel Air is still one of the most popular collectibles history has ever seen.

It would have been very easy for American history to have taken a different route but we’re sure that classic car buffs from around the world are really pleased to this day that it didn’t. We could have ended up with baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and Ford and it all would have been long forgotten. But many thanks to the Chevrolet 1957 Bel Air with hooded headlights and classic tail fins the baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and Chevrolet will live forever.

In 1957 the Chevy was made in three different trim packages and some collectors prefer one over the other. But the 1957 Bel Air if preferred by 2 to 1 over the other trim packages because it was indeed the most luxurious of the three. But for sure no matter which trim package all are distinctive classics and loved by all.

One Bel Air option that caught attention was the gold trim added all around added and air of luxury and class that was second to none for that year. The 1957 Bel Air made its appearance in the showrooms with carpeting as standard and ten different cloth and vinyl fabric two tone colors for the interior.

For the middle of the line package there was the 210 package and the product base was the 150 package. Chevrolet even put out three slightly different body designs 2 of which were Sport Coupes and Sedans. Sedans had pillars between the front and rear windows. The Sport Coupes were sometimes called the Hardtop but both styles were available in 2 door and 4 door models.   A third package that Chevrolet created just for the salesman of the day was called the Utility Coupe. They were built with a bench in place of the rear seat. This would be perfect for salesman to carry their samples for their sales calls.

The family’s desire for more room was met with station wagons of the day and there were two model types the favorite was the Nomad and the second choice was the Townsman. Station wagons made their appearance on the market as Sport Coupes in 2 door and 4 door sedans.

The luxury package introduction that still takes everyone’s breath away today is the 1957 Bel Air Convertible. Auto collectors crave this model more than any other and not just in the United States either.

It does make a very interesting story for a true American classic car because early 57 Chevy customers just were no impressed. Sales were just not as good as they should have been. You would think things would have been different. In almost any place in the world if you just mention 1957 Bel Air almost everyone knows what you are talking about. Just mention 1957 Ford and often people will ask did Ford even make a car in 1957.

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