Other than pinning this down as a 1953 Chevrolet, the car is playing coy with us and isn’t revealing much else to go on. Hopefully there’s still a Blue Flame Six under the hood (rated at 115hp when mated to a Powerglide), and if so, this car shares its power plant with the new-for-1953 Chevrolet Corvette (which had a tweaked, 150hp version of the engine). Those wheels, on the other hand…
The wheels make me think the car has a newer drivetrain. A 53 or 54 was the car I came home from the hospital in. It’s also the car I played ‘gas station’ with involving a garden hose. I hope we get to see an uncovered picture eventually.
Yes Chevrolet, we can all see you under that tarp.
The rally wheels and the red paint make me fear that there is a threefiddy under the hood. But I hope the owner has stuck with the old Blue Flame six. There is something about those early 50s six cylinder Chevys that is mighty appealing, though I might prefer a 52.
My mother was of the age where she and several friends drove Chevys of this era. Mom had a green 53 210 sedan with a stick. She still longingly recalls her friend who had a baby blue 53 Bel Air hardtop with a Powerglide.
My Dad won a brand new ’51 in a raffle. He was nine years old!
The rally wheels do suggest a “resto rod”, but maybe it’s a warmed up stovebolt. A 261 with the Corvette tri-carb setup would be just about perfect in one of these. The rallys would have to go in favor of chrome reverse rims with baby moons though.
I attended a “Car Show By The Sea” last weekend with my Dad at Point Fermin Park in San Pedro. It was hosted by Legends a local car club with strong interest in Chevys and low-riders. I’ve never seen so many nice Bel Airs in one place.
The show is in its 15th year but could draw no more than 50 cars until about five years ago. Last weekend there were 600! Lots of guys retiring and realizing their dream of owning a classic car. People came from Oregon and Arizona and as far away as Japan.
I was tempted to do a survey of the cars to see which year(s) were most popular because it seemed like a pretty even split between the 40s, early 50s like the feature car, mid-late 50s and 60s. Even numbers in each group so at a glance the win would have to go to the early 50s and probably the ’53 as single most popular year.
My favorite car at the show was a 1948 unrestored 2-door fastback.
Locally these old Chevys have been always been en vogue to the point where the split manifold exhaust has become part of the sound track of my life.
Yes, this body style is still plentiful in California. There are at least 4 of these in my neighborhood!
Curbside Car Covers
I like the 1949-54 Chevys. I find them more attractive than the 55 and later Chevys. I’ve never been a fan of the wraparound windscreen of the 55-60 models.
In Southern California’s High Desert / Inland areas and also Nevada, you can still occasionally find these cars for sale at incredibly cheap prices. They’re usually someone’s aborted project and are often sans drivetrain.
I’ve been kicking around the idea of picking up one of these, once I sell off a few of my current rides ( but NOT the Oldsmobile ) . I already have a parts donor sitting in storage. My 1972 Pontiac Ventura with its 250 I6 and working Powerglide is getting a V8 / THM350 swap anyway, so no point in letting that perfectly good six-banger and Powerslide tranny go to waste 🙂 .
Chassis Engineering sells a mount kit that allows that later straight sixes to bolt into an earlier chassis, and I read on a couple of internet forums that the stock rear end from a 68-72 Nova is practically a straight bolt-in on the 49-54 Chebbies.
My father had his eye on a new 53/4 Chevy to replace his 37 Master Deluxe however supply problems saw him buy a new 54 Vauxhall Velox instead.
The local Ford dealer wouldn’t deal with my Grandma (who had cash in hand! Grandma didn’t believe in credit purchases)-cause she was a “widow woman” with children at home-when she wanted to trade in her worn-out old Ford in 1954. So, she picked up her purse and had one of her daughters drive her to the next town (Grandma never learned to drive. But she was good at getting everyone else to do what needed doing), to the Chevrolet dealer, where she purchased a pretty ’54 Bel Air 4 door sedan, white over green. With a push button radio, so extravagant for her. For years, her twelve grown children-and then 60 grandchildren-had a bias against Blue Oval products. We wonder how much business the Ford Motor Company lost over that one. And we wish we had bought her car in the household sale.
These are actually pretty good cars if easy to kill by overspeeding the engine…..
My buddy bought a nice ’54 Two door post sedan and enjoyed it for years before his Hot Rodder buddies convinced him that ” only losers ad fags drive 6 bangers ” so now it sports a (yawn) crate 350 SBC .
In 1954 Chevrolet Motor Division made more cars than they had orders for and it took them about TWO YEARS to sell them all , many went to fleets and rental agencies….
Look up the available colors and trim options for 1954 , you can make something like 400 different combinations .
-Nate
(Bowtie guy ’till I die)
54 I saw recently
Sorry, this thing is pear-shaped antique next to the ’55. There’s a reason the Tri-5 is legendary. It was arguably the first post-war modern American car.
My grandparents had a 54 210, black 4 door with a green interior. Neither one could drive or even had ever had a driver’s license. My Gramm’s brother thought they should have a car “for emergencies” even though they had to find a driver. Rode with my Mom and Grandmother a few times. All I remember is that without a radio and with little conversation between the front seat occupants it was a very quiet riding car.
One of the Gas stations my Dad worked at in the mid 1960’s had a 54 Chev as one of their “push” vehicles.
This was accomplished by removing the front bumper,and replacing it with a very large slab of wood.
I believe the car was later sold by the owner of the station for the outrageous price of $25
’53 Chevy 210 two door post. Blue Flame 6 and stick.
White over light blue (like the hardtop above).
My first car.
Drove like a tank.
Just about the only GM product I’ve ever owned.