Today's truck of the day comes from Firehawk73's collection and is Hot Wheels' 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air.
The 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air was America's most popular car for 1955, which is saying something for a year in which Americans bought cars as never before. But then, the '55 Chevys were something really special.
This car is valuable to me not because its a "Super" Treasue Hunt. Its valuable to me because my wife found it for me. I was totally surprised when I came home that night. Not only is it a STH but its a nice TH. I like the '55 Chevys. They were great looking cars back then and they still look good compared to the new cars that are coming out now.
Start with styling. In a complete change from Chevy's stodgy past, the '55s were thoroughly up-to-date with Sweep Sight wrapped windshields atop "longer-lower-wider" bodies. Even so, wheelbase was unchanged at 115 inches, and the overall design was balanced and tasteful for the day. Vying for glamour with the top-line Bel Air convertible was a nifty new two-door wagon, the Bel Air Nomad, with unique hardtop roofline.
More exciting still was Chevy's first modern V-8, the 265-cubic-inch Turbo Fire that was already writing performance history. Though developed in just 15 weeks, this milestone motor was absolutely right from the start, and its 162-180 horsepower backed up Chevy's boast as 1955's "Hot One." You could still get a reliable 235.5-cid "Stovebolt Six," now with 123 bhp, but the V-8 was what most people wanted. Matching Chevy's newfound performance was an updated chassis with ball-joint front suspension, open "Hotchkiss" drive, and standard tubeless tires.
Chevy built 41,292 ragtop Bel Airs for '55, not nearly enough to go around -- then or now. As popular as they were more than 40 years ago, they enjoy even greater popularity today. And that's really saying something.
No comments:
Post a Comment