1957 Chevrolet Bel Air

Declining values may indicate a market correction on this 1950s classic

BY DAVID CONWILL

For years, the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air was one of the definitive postwar American collector cars — especially in convertible and two-door hardtop form. Chevrolet was the first low-priced car to hit the magical 1-hp-per-cubic-inch number with its fuel-injected 283-hp 283. The ’57 was a big deal when new, possibly even a bigger deal as a used car, and then a bountiful canvas for hot rodding during the muscle car years. Interest from the generation that owned them new was replaced by interest from the Baby Boom generation that bought them on the secondary market in the 1960s and ’70s. Now, it seems even Gen Xers, who grew up with Happy Days and the Stray Cats crooning about the ’57 having been “Built for Speed,” have a soft spot for…

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Hemmings Motor News (Digital) - 1 Issue, May 2021

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