1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible

[THarrison351]

The 1955 Chevy was the first successful Chevrolet with an optional V8 engine. Chevy's new 265 cu in overhead valve V8 was designed to be smaller, lighter, and more powerful than previous V8s in the auto industry, and would come to be known as the "Chevy small block". The 1955 Chevy had smooth straight panels on the sides and hood. This was a major departure from previous years for Chevrolet. Although Ford introduced what would be the first "shoe box" body design in 1949, GM and Chrysler were slow to catch on, only slowly replacing some of their bubble-like hood and side panels with flatter ones each year, without achieving a full shoe box look by 1954. But in 1955, Chevy designed the entire car with the full shoe box look. Along with the flatter straighter panels, the 1955 also had modern cues like wrap-around glass on the windshield, and triangular tail lights that jutted outward. This new look, combined with new power and engineering, made the 1955 an instant hit with the buying public and a critical success.The 1955's top trim offering was the Bel Air, which had more chrome than the 150 or 210. The Bel Air, 210 and 150 model could be bought as a four-door, or could be bought as a two door with a post between the front and rear passenger windows, known as the two-door sedan. The Bel Air or 210 model could also be had as a two door with no post between the side windows. This was known as the sport coupe, or better known by collectors as "the two door hardtop". Since this model had no post between the two side windows, it had a shorter roof and longer rear deck than the two door sedan had. Chevy also offered a convertible, with the same shorter roof and longer rear deck as the sport coupe, and it was offered in Bel Air trim only. The 265 was new for 1955, and it was the first V8 available in a Chevrolet since 1918 Model "D" was offered. That car did not sell well due to its price during an oncoming recession throughout World War-I, so Chevy reverted to OHV inline 4-cylinder engines until 1929 when Chevy switched to an inline 6-cylinder engine. This reliable six cylinder would power Chevy cars until 1963 and was known as the "stove-bolt six". However, the new 265 V-8 in 1955 offered more power than the six, and weighed 100 pounds less. the The 265 was available in three power packages standard, with 162 hp, the uprated 180 hp, also known as the "Power Pack" engine, and 195 hp, late in the model year, known as the "Super Power Pack"engine. The car contained one of three transmission types, all with the shifter on the column: 3-speed Synchromesh manual, 3-speed Synchromesh manual with overdrive, or 2-speed automatic "powerglide." The 1955 Chevrolet also offered many other firsts for Chevrolet, including changing from a 6-volt to a 12-volt electrical system. The 1955 offered new options like air conditioning, power windows, power seats, power steering and power brakes. Other options included automatic light dimmers, door handle protectors, bumper protectors and "wonder-bar" radios, a station seeking design. So many new options were available that some referred to the car as "Chevy's little Cadillac." Never before had so many options been offered for a car in the low-price field. The 1955 offered a wide array of colors. One solid color, which was standard for the 150, could be had for the 210 or Bel Air...or nineteen different two-tone color combinations were also available. (Wikipedia)

The Danbury Mint 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible was released in 2002. Almost ten years after Franklin Mint released their first 1955 Bel Air Convertible. Nine years and my my, how the details have grown. This one comes with an uptop and a boot, removable fender skirts and a hinged continental tire. The hood has realistic scissoring hinges with tiny springs. The doors hinge and pivot correctly and snap shut. The seats and sun visors move. And in typical DM fashion the fuel filler cover opens. The Powerglide transmission even has cooling lines running to it! One of my favorite things and the most fifties aspect is the color combination. Harvest Gold & India Ivory, with a green interior.

My diecast acquisition was a fluke. Randy announced a little while back that he had found a really nice one with box and everything for a price he could live with. A few day later this one popped up on eBay with a buy it now or best offer $25 plus shipping. Car and boot only, no top, skirts or anything else. The pictures weren't great, but it looked OK, so I bought it now. A few days later it arrived, and I felt something shifting in the box. I kind of had a bad feeling. Inside the box of packing peanuts was smaller box. I took that box out and could feel the car shifting around. Opening that one I was greeted with pulverized packing peanuts, a damaged car, and at the bottom of the box a layer of bubble wrap. This would be the third time I repaired a car that was shipped in a box with no other protection but peanuts. All three were damaged. This one lost the mirrors, one side of the windshield frame broke, the windshield was knocked loose, a vent window was out, a whitewall had come off a tire, the boot was stressed, and various scratches and chips occurred all over the body. I contacted the seller and he graciously refunded all the money and let me keep the car! So, I've fixed everything as best as I can, polished and touched up the paint. I'd like to find the top and skirts to complete it

Broken windshield frame and missing vent window

Loose parts and stressed boot

Parts I'd like to get

 

[Gramps46]

Super nice model and you did an excellent job on the restoration and sharing the details.

[randyc]

Man that was close!   At least you can fix it enough to be liveable.   At least the detached parts were still in the box.  And maybe you can pick up the extra parts along the way somewhere.   I've started taking pictures of the box from the moment I start opening, just in case it turns out like yours.   That way you have evidence from the beginning for a USPS claim if needed.  

I have my 55 and the newly acquired 54 on the endtable on my end of the sofa.   They look great together and just show the essence of 50s color combinations.  

That carb linkage is simply unreal.   Wonder how long it took to assemble on the assembly line, once they figured it out and could roll with it?  I mean there were people that assembled these cars all day every day.   I refuse to even attempt carb linkages anymore.  

[THarrison351]

9 hours ago, randyc said:

That carb linkage is simply unreal.   Wonder how long it took to assemble on the assembly line, once they figured it out and could roll with it?  I mean there were people that assembled these cars all day every day.   I refuse to even attempt carb linkages anymore.  

From what I can see, the engine could sit on display by itself. It's remarkable where DM was in creating detail in the early 2000s considering what crudeness existed only a few years before. If the whole Mint diecast market hadn't imploded at the end of that decade who knows what cars and trucks we'd have and with the current production capabilities, what details and functions the vehicles would have.

Edited February 28, 2020 by THarrison351

[randyc]

On 2/28/2020 at 6:46 PM, THarrison351 said:

From what I can see, the engine could sit on display by itself. It's remarkable where DM was in creating detail in the early 2000s considering what crudeness existed only a few years before. If the whole Mint diecast market hadn't imploded at the end of that decade who knows what cars and trucks we'd have and with the current production capabilities, what details and functions the vehicles would have.

Ain't that the truth!   The later cars are simply unreal.  My 56 Lincoln has a little trunk light bulb under the tulip panel that you can only see if you hold the car from a certain angle.   But it's there.  Crazy stuff to think about.