Having sampled a 50 year old car from the extreme high end of the American market transplanted to Sweden as a daily driver , it is appropriate to take a look at an even older car from the lower end of the market in the same circumstances: a 1953 Chevrolet 210 four door sedan. This Plain-Jane 1953 Chevy parks regularly only a handful of blocks from the 1963 Eldorado and also continues to do daily driver duty, 60 years after it rolled off the assembly line.
Coming before the era of the Tri-Fives with their style and optional V8 power, a 1953 Chevrolet was a relatively plain and modest car, powered by a standard 235 cubic inch inline six producing 123 or 136 horsepower, depending on whether the transmission was the three speed manual or Powerglide. The 210 was the middle trim level from 1953 to 1957, between the stripper 150 and the top of the line Bel Air.
The front end shows that the car is not a restored garage queen. A dented fender, some minor surface rust on the front bumper and grille surround – “patina” to many – and faded paint give it character. Not that the front end needs more character; the toothy grille, “Dagmar”-like turn signals, and massive bumper give it a dramatic face not unlike that of a 1953 Cadillac.
A view of the 210’s left side shows where it has received a few accessories over the decades. It wears a sunshade over the windshield and a fishtail-like extension over the exhaust pipe. Twin mirrors on the front fenders are in addition to the standard driver’s side mirror, perhaps to assist when towing a trailer, which is a frequently used accessory in Sweden.
The two chrome dots on the B-pillar are present on each side, and they appear to be the heads of bolts that secured an anchor for a retrofitted three point seat belt. The anchors were not present, and neither was any form of seat belt, indicating that the current owner prefers original 1953 safety equipment. (Even safety-conscious Volvo did not install two point belts until 1957 or three point belts until 1959.)
The dashboard remains unaltered, on the other hand, apparently retaining even its original radio. The three on the tree indicates that the car would have originally had the 123 horsepower version of the 235 cubic inch six, with mechanical rather than hydraulic lifters and without a pressurized oiling system, refinements that were limited to the engines of Powerglide equipped cars.
The front seat appears to be in excellent condition aside from the substantial hole worn into the upholstery and padding by the driver’s rear end after 60 years.
In the rear of the passenger compartment, passengers are treated to simple décor but cavernous leg room. The amount of interior space in this reasonably compact standard-sized car shows how space-efficient Americans cars could be before the longer-wider-lower craze of the late 1950’s.
Although the polar opposite of a Cadillac Eldorado in GM divisional hierarchy and market position, and a decade behind the 1963 Eldorado in technology and engineering, this Chevrolet 210 displays many of the same characteristics that have made American cars popular in Sweden. It is large, roomy, and well styled, and it stands out among common modern European and Asian cars. As long as the power of a V8 is not expected, it offers most of the American car driving experience in a less expensive package. This 210 hopefully has many more decades of daily use ahead of it before restoration, conversion into a smallblock-powered street rod, or some other fate changes it.
This just goes to show the “black plastic triangle” isn’t a recent phenomenon!
My first car was a 1952 Chevy Deluxe, but I could never feel any love for the 1953 & 1954 models.
This car is in pretty nice shape, and I have to appreciate any car that old in this condition, so props to the owner!
Good cars these we got Bel Airs mostly and they just keep running usually put off the road by terminal rust.
My parents had a 210 like this when I was very young, only a 2-door sedan, and apparently I used to ride in one of those crude car seats that hung on the front seat back.
I don’t remember the car because it was traded in for one like my avatar, because my mother couldn’t fully depress the clutch pedal in the ’53. And no, the new ’55 didn’t have Powerglide, but she was able to depress the clutch for the 3-on-the-tree.
Just think, if longer-lower-wider hadn’t been such a persistent mantra, maybe SUVs would have remained as a niche for sportsmen (as they would have been called back then)!
In spirit, the ’53 Chevy remains an earlier rendition of the Volvo 140/240, so Sweden is appropriate place for it.
I survived one of those child seats but hung over the front seat of a 54 vauxhall Velox a 3/4 size 53 Chevy no seat belts or other safety features the trick was not to crash into things
It looks a lot like a Vauxhall of the same period.I remember seeing a picture of my Uncle on Dad’s side with a similar looking Vauxhall.
Me, too. Mine had a plastic steering wheel that had a red horn button that squeaked.
I like your sentiment about the Volvo comparison. My folks had a 53 Bel Air which they bought new. I came a little later but I remember the car. My older brother got it and it was still going in the early 60’s. It was thought of fondly by our family.
Remember, this was just a few years after the war. Europe simply didn’t have any large cars. The streets were full of Saabs and Volkswagens and DKW:s and Austins and so on. Volvo didn’t even make any four door cars in -53. Mercedes debuted its pontoon models in 1953, Peugeot in 1955. There were simply few options for the more affluent buyers or those with bigger needs and larger families. This Chevy 210 may be on the “cheap” end of the american market, but make no mistake it was a large and expensive car when new in Sweden. Suitable for a business owner, doctor, or a local band touring the countryside with the trunk full of music equipment.
It may very well be one of the aformentioned CKD-kitted cars, considering the engine options…
This was very much the case too in Austria, Germany and other countries in the fifties. Basic big American cars like this Chevy were very desirable and commonly used as taxis, as well as private cars for those that could afford them. A big American car, even a basic one, afforded a lot of prestige then, as well as offering the kind of comfort, performance and size that was just not attainable elsewhere. We hired a similar big Olds taxi when we needed a large car for family outings and special occasions.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/classic-curbside-classic-1951-oldsmobile-super-88-rocketing-back-in-time/
This looks like the virtual twin to the first car my Mother bought used after graduating from nursing school in the 50s and her hand-me-down 41 Chevy ate its transmission. She drove it until she got married in 1958. She reports that it was still a good car when it was traded on either a a Karmann Ghia or a Ford Anglia (not sure which, they bought both about the same time) in 1959.
I will agree with Zackman, I always thought that the 52 looked a little dumpy compared to the 52, but it was sure better looking than the 53 Plymouth.
I love the look and condition of this. My grandmother drove a Bel Air of the same year from ’54 until she died in ’87, and the memories of riding in it, and the smell of the mohair, are some of my very fond ones from childhood.
I believe the ’53 Chevy Powerglide Blue Flame six with it’s full pressurized oiling system and juice lifters made it’s way across the board for ’54 – stick and/or Powerglide. I like the ’54’s looks better. There were bazillions of these still on the road in the Bay Area well into the ’70s. My 7th grade math teacher (Mr. Lloyd) had a cherry ’54 four door Bel Air; white over sky blue. Powerglide callout on the trunklid. I did like how GM styling incorporated the ash tray into the dash trim.