Long Way from 1957 Chevy

[Foofoogal]

My grandfather bought a brand new 1957 Chevy. Oddest green color. I loved that car but most thing I remember about it was it felt like a tank going down the road.
Wonder what he or anyone else on the OB thinks about this?
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/glue-car-together.htm

 

[warbird]

They've been doing it for years with aircraft.

They make entire airframes out of epoxies, and props as well. They are stronger than steel and lighter than aluminum and usually plastic.

The modern car is made far better and will on average last far longer than those old cars. And I love old cars and have owned quite a few of them.

And that old Chevy might have felt tough and like a tank. But in reality the new cars are far far safer. It isn't the weight and steel that makes cars safe, its the safety features, handling abilities and the design of a car to disburse energy in a collision.

 

[David Conwill]

While I agree that technology is greatly advanced since 1957, I guarantee that by 2058 there will be more '57 Chevrolets on the road than '07 Chevys. The simplicity and upgradability of pre-electronic cars are their advantage.

-Dave

 

[Warbaby]

While I agree that technology is greatly advanced since 1957, I guarantee that by 2058 there will be more '57 Chevrolets on the road than '07 Chevys. The simplicity and upgradability of pre-electronic cars are their advantage.

-Dave

You're spot-on with that, Dave.

Another big plus for the simplicity of pre-electronic cars is that you can fix them yourself when they break down. With the exception of my pickup truck (86 Dodge), I've never owned a car newer than 1972 (mostly older) and in 50-odd years of driving, I've never been stranded with a car problem that I couldn't fix on the spot.

 

[Bourbon Guy]

You're all missing the point. The 57 Chevy was the height of the development of the slab-sided car that started with the 55 Chevy. All before that had defined fenders (my design terms may be off but the concept is right). After 57 was the 58, the tentative introduction of the horizontal fins, with the full expression in the 59, with the vestigial fin in the 60, and the beginning of the modern car in the 61, with the culmination of that design thought in the 64. After that it sucked.

 

[JimInSoCalif]

The first new car I ever bought was a black 1955 Chevy with the optional Power-Pak and the optional signal seeking Wonder-Bar radio. Somehow I never thought of it as a tank.

The next new car I bought was a 1971 Camaro and I was surprised that type of radio was no longer available.

Cheers, Jim.

 

[Bourbon Guy]

The 55 was the first in that design genre. An inspiration. The first modern car.

 

[Flivver]

The 1955-56-57 Chevrolets were appreciated as something special as soon as the early 1960s. For Chevrolet, they were a total break with the past...great handling, simple but expressive design, and that great small block V8.

Most folks prefer the '57 model, but for me, the '55 is the purest design of the three years. The '57 wasn't too popular when it was new because it was viewed as an old design. Arch rivals Ford and Plymouth were all new for '57 and they stole much of the limelight. It wasn't until several years later when the low-priced three had blossomed into much larger cars, that the '57, and all the tri-five Chevys were truly appreciated.

My Dad had a Tropical Trurquoise and India Ivory '56 Bel Air Sport Coupe that I sure wish I still had.

 

[Treetopflyer]

What year is that?

This is a little off the "glue" topic. I agree with Dave that in years to come our modern cars will be gone but the classics will still be around. With that said I often look at cars that have been made between 1980 and now and have no idea what year they were made. With classic cars you can look at them and immediately know what year they are by the body design. Now, most cars all seem to look the same unless it is a luxury sports car and even then it is sometimes hard to tell.

 

[Foofoogal]

Does anyone have by any great chance a list of colors for the 57 Chevy line?
I have never ever seen the color my grandad had since. Almost a lunar moth green. Beautiful coloring.
We am going to hang out with vintage car people when we retire if I get my way. Those people that park in parking lots and listen to oldies music and shine their cars every five minutes. lol
I would love to find the same car color my grandfather had but not sure what it was. [huh] .

 

[freebird]

Don't know about you guys, but I'd much rather take a hit in a 57 Chevy than in a modern car. Sure you've got better seatbelts, air bags (and those can kill you themselves if you're a short person who sits too close to them). But if you crashed an 07 into a 57 there wouldn't be much left of the new car.

 

[Forgotten Man]

I'm only for glue on "MODEL" cars and "MODEL" aircraft lol

I refuse to buy a new car... if I need to buy another car; it will be a Plymouth... pre '46. Just love fat fenders and streamline design! They were built solid, and if one takes care of them, they will last for a long time. As a side note; look at how many Model A's are still on the road... I know I see many here quite often! They're now 80 years old and so many of them are all stock and still runnin'!

The '57 Chevy is a classic but, out of all the cars of the 50s, I'm not so sure I see why it was such a big deal... Chrysler and Plymouth had some amazing styles in the mid to late 50s. Not to mention the HEMI!

MoPar for life!

 

[Foofoogal]

It is only a big deal to me since it was my grandpa's car. lol
My second pick would be a aqua blue convertible with white leather seats. I would wear the scarf that would fly in the wind behind me.

Watched too many Troy Donahue and Suzanne Pleshette movies as a child. Mere child.

 

[Flivver]

The '57 Chevy is a classic but, out of all the cars of the 50s, I'm not so sure I see why it was such a big deal... Chrysler and Plymouth had some amazing styles in the mid to late 50s. Not to mention the HEMI!

MoPar for life!

It was probably because of the small block V8. Cheap and easy to hop up or replace with a newer version. Kinda like the Ford V8 in the 30s and 40s. Not the best car out there but easy to modify and fun to drive.

 

[Flivver]

Does anyone have by any great chance a list of colors for the 57 Chevy line?
I have never ever seen the color my grandad had since. Almost a lunar moth green. Beautiful coloring.
We am going to hang out with vintage car people when we retire if I get my way. Those people that park in parking lots and listen to oldies music and shine their cars every five minutes. lol
I would love to find the same car color my grandfather had but not sure what it was. [huh] .

I'm pretty sure the color of your grandad's '57 was Laurel Green...kind of a yellowish-green.

Check out this link for all the '55-'56-'57 colors:

http://www.classicbowtie.com/1955-1957 American Exterior Colors & Paint Codes.htm

 

[Foofoogal]

Oh my word Flivver. That is it. It even has a vintage sounding name. :eusa_clap
Thank you so much. I will see if I can find a colored photo of him with it.
Laurel Green. Wow.
Has anyone ever seen a Laurel Green one recently? I don't like when I see vintage cars painted colors I know they were never painted originally.

 

[Forgotten Man]

I don't like when I see vintage cars painted colors I know they were never painted originally.

Amen! I repainted my '46 the original "Chevron blue" that it was painted originally. It wasn't hard because it was still that color when I bought the car... lol so, just had to repaint it.

I love to see original colors on the cars... it's so refreshing... and so many were just so pretty... and some not so pretty but, that's what makes them special and tied to a period I think.

 

[Foofoogal]

I understand we have to have modern cars but so limited in the colors unless one special orders one. Tan, white, black, maybe a blue here and there or maroon. I just don't get it.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I saw a '39 Plymouth -- sigh, my dream car -- earlier this summer which looked like it just came out of the factory except for the fact that it was painted an extremely violent shade of metallic beet-juice purple. There's no accounting for taste.

My grandfather owned the classic 1957 Chevy Bel Air.-- it replaced his '36 Chevy, which he drove for nearly twenty years. Both the '57 and the '36 were good, honest, hard-working, sour old New England Calvinist black, like all respectable Maine cars. When the '57 rusted out, he traded it in on what would be called today a "midlife crisis" car -- a '61 Chevy Biscayne. In *maroon.* No one knew what came over him. And then when he traded that in on a turquoise '64 model, they were ready to call the wagon.

Our next-door neighbors owned a seafoam-green-and-white DeSoto, and were considered suspicious radicals.

 

[David Conwill]

The 55 was the first in that design genre. An inspiration. The first modern car.

Much as I like the '55 Chevy, I don't think that it can be considered the first modern (meaning envelope bodied, I presume) car. Probably something more along the lines of the '47 Studebaker, '48 Hudson, '46 Kaiser line, '48 Olds "Futuramic" 98, or the "shoebox" '49 Ford.

What immediately came to mind was the '52 Ford - most people probably think they're looking at a '55 Chevy when they see their first '52 Ford, the '55 Chevy just looks like a variation on that theme 3 years later.

-Dave