This 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air four door hardtop (sport sedan) i purchased in November 1984 and sold in 2007. I rebuilt stuff, collected accessories and enjoyed driving the car from 1984 until i decided to do a complete body off resto in 1990. From October 1990 to May 1992 i did a marathon "proper" restoration of the car because it deserved just that. The car was an American built (Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A.) car that was sold in Texas. It was a typical Texas car with no rust. This car came loaded with many factory and dealer accessories but i added many more. The only option this car did not have was A.C. and i would have added A.C. if wasn't such an nasty site under the hood with the A.C. in it. I enjoyed driving this car over 2,000 miles a year to many shows and cruises and collected many awards during that time. The car was featured in a number of articles in the U.S and Canada. In 1987 my 57 Chev was in the film "Concrete Angel's" which was set in 1964 when the The Beatles played Toronto. I loved and enjoyed this car but by 2007 i decided i should sell it. I sold the car on the net to a gentleman from Victoria B.C. I got what i wanted for the car and i have not heard from the car since. I had the car for 23 years, which is longer than any car i ever owned and of course now i am feeling sick for ever selling it. Another regret but i still have all the memories. I took almost 300 photos of the resto, so i scaled it down to the photos here. Sorry about the quality of the photos but these were taken from negatives from 35 mm film that i transfered to jpeg form. I hope you enjoy the build thread journey. Cheers. George.
Finished the rolling chassis and the body now in two part primer and then poly urethane top coat. Moving along nicely but of course a ton of work at this point. George.
Body painted and dropped on the complete rolling chassis. After i had the shop paint the car, we dropped the body and i then took it away so i could start putting the car together. I saved up three weeks of my vacation so i could get a head start on putting my car together. I Started putting the car together November 1991. George.
Continued assembly right in 1992. I was lucky to be able to put my car together in a heated industrial unit all to my self, that my best buddy owned. Worked by myself alone, except for the obvious bigger and heavier stuff. My kid brother Mike helped with all the items where you need more than two hands. I was feeling really happy about the progress in the short time so far. George.
Got her done. It was a marathon and a labour of love from fall of 1990 to spring of 1992. It was mostly an enjoyable experience and i learned a lot. I vowed in 1990 that i had to do a complete body off before i died. I did it ahead of schedule and was very happy with the results. Thanks for listening. Cheers. George.
And how can you "not" like that car. Beautiful car the extra doors make it extra nice.
Greaser said
Mar 4, 2014
You should be very proud of yourself George,
a awesome job, extremely well done,congratulations.
67BBSD said
Mar 4, 2014
very nice ! a friend of mine has a 57 convertible that he has owned since 1983
love the sport sedan lines
long stroke said
Mar 4, 2014
Thanks for the kind words folks, it is always appreciated. If i ever built another car it would be a 1941 Chevrolet Deluxe coupe, black and loaded with every 1941 accessory. Original of course. Cheers. George.
57poncho said
Mar 4, 2014
Very nice George, I can see why you miss the car it was as nice as new or better!
hawkeye5766 said
Mar 4, 2014
Beautiful Job !! love all the options.
Pontiacanada said
Mar 4, 2014
Boy, a little more extensive than your Pontiac build! Another great build!
cdnpont said
Mar 4, 2014
Awesome.
Fitz said
Mar 4, 2014
Wonderful! So nice job, as the other thread...
Fitz.
427carl said
Mar 4, 2014
long stroke wrote:
I sold the car on the net to a gentleman from Victoria B.C.
I got what i wanted for the car and i have not heard from the car since.
The car must still be cruising around Some B C members probably have seen it
jmont64 said
Mar 5, 2014
Beautiful job on the restoration there George and I am sure there was some wrestling going on whether to sell the car or not. I haven't seen the car around here yet but will keep an eye out for it.
This 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air four door hardtop (sport sedan) i purchased in November 1984 and sold in 2007. I rebuilt stuff, collected accessories and enjoyed driving the car from 1984 until i decided to do a complete body off resto in 1990. From October 1990 to May 1992 i did a marathon "proper" restoration of the car because it deserved just that. The car was an American built (Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A.) car that was sold in Texas. It was a typical Texas car with no rust. This car came loaded with many factory and dealer accessories but i added many more. The only option this car did not have was A.C. and i would have added A.C. if wasn't such an nasty site under the hood with the A.C. in it. I enjoyed driving this car over 2,000 miles a year to many shows and cruises and collected many awards during that time. The car was featured in a number of articles in the U.S and Canada. In 1987 my 57 Chev was in the film "Concrete Angel's" which was set in 1964 when the The Beatles played Toronto. I loved and enjoyed this car but by 2007 i decided i should sell it. I sold the car on the net to a gentleman from Victoria B.C. I got what i wanted for the car and i have not heard from the car since. I had the car for 23 years, which is longer than any car i ever owned and of course now i am feeling sick for ever selling it. Another regret but i still have all the memories. I took almost 300 photos of the resto, so i scaled it down to the photos here. Sorry about the quality of the photos but these were taken from negatives from 35 mm film that i transfered to jpeg form. I hope you enjoy the build thread journey. Cheers. George.
Ready striped the body and let the resto begin. George.
Finished the rolling chassis and the body now in two part primer and then poly urethane top coat. Moving along nicely but of course a ton of work at this point. George.
Body painted and dropped on the complete rolling chassis. After i had the shop paint the car, we dropped the body and i then took it away so i could start putting the car together. I saved up three weeks of my vacation so i could get a head start on putting my car together. I Started putting the car together November 1991. George.
Continued assembly right in 1992. I was lucky to be able to put my car together in a heated industrial unit all to my self, that my best buddy owned. Worked by myself alone, except for the obvious bigger and heavier stuff. My kid brother Mike helped with all the items where you need more than two hands. I was feeling really happy about the progress in the short time so far. George.
Continued assembly, around March 1992. George.
Continued assembly and coming together easy and loving every minute of it. George.
Interior coming together and some final assembly items. Still no problems and everything coming together as planned. George.
Almost there and could not wait to start it up and put her in gear. George.
Got her done. It was a marathon and a labour of love from fall of 1990 to spring of 1992. It was mostly an enjoyable experience and i learned a lot. I vowed in 1990 that i had to do a complete body off before i died. I did it ahead of schedule and was very happy with the results. Thanks for listening. Cheers. George.
Impressive !!
great work.. love the 4dr hardtop roof line !
You should be very proud of yourself George,
a awesome job, extremely well done,congratulations.
very nice ! a friend of mine has a 57 convertible that he has owned since 1983
love the sport sedan lines
Thanks for the kind words folks, it is always appreciated. If i ever built another car it would be a 1941 Chevrolet Deluxe coupe, black and loaded with every 1941 accessory. Original of course. Cheers. George.
Beautiful Job !! love all the options.
Boy, a little more extensive than your Pontiac build! Another great build!
Awesome.
Wonderful! So nice job, as the other thread...
Fitz.
The car must still be cruising around Some B C members probably have seen it