VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1958-1960 Photo identification request

Hi all,

As a classic car enthousiast, we (my father and I) have seen a lot of cars (and ofcourse Chevrolets) over the last ten years or so during rallies, concours' and other events here in Europe. All the photos are sorted by make, model year and production period. I try to make these descriptions as precise as possible, but that can be very hard. Especially because I am visually impaired (a rare form of autosomal dominant optic atrophy inherited from my mother) and as a result detail differences are hard to spot for me.
Therefore all photos are taken by my father and the archive is owned by me. I like to learn about cars and their history.
I am also a perfectionist which can be very frustrating in relation to a visual impairment. And that's why I would like to ask for some help now and then.

I have made scans of the 1958-1960 cars in my archives. I would be pleased if someone could tell me if my description with respect to body style, type and model year is correct.

Otherwise, just enjoy the pictures! Ignore the poor quality of some of the scans!

Here are the cars from 1958 and 1960 (1959 will follow in a next posting) and what I know or what I would like to know:


1:
Model year: 1958?
Type: Bel Air?
Body style: #1767/1867, Impala convertible coupe?
Is the emblem shown below exclusive to the '58?





2:
Model year: 1958?
Type: Bel Air?
Body style: #1739/1839, Sport four-door hardtop sedan?



3:
Model year: 1960?
Type: Station Wagon, based upon the Bel Air?
Body style: #1545/1645, Kingswood four-door wagon?





4:
Model year: 1960?
Type: Station Wagon based upon the Bel Air?
Body style: #1535/1635, Parkwood four-door wagon?



5:
Model year: 1960?
Type: Impala?
Body style: #1737/1837, Sport hardtop coupe?



6:
Model year: 1960?
Type: Impala?
Body style: #1739/1839, is this the Sport hardtop sedan...? OR 1719/1819 sedan 4d???





Any confirmation, correction or addition is more than welcome!

Thanks in advance,

#2. Yes, on 1958 and Bel Air. I don't believe it's a hardtop. I'd call it a "four door sedan." That color combo was new for 1958. "Cay Coral" and "Artic White."

#5. Yes, on 1960 and Impala. Having four doors, it wouldn't be called a "coupe." I'd call it a "Sport Sedan," or simply refer to it as a "four door hardtop."

#6. Yes, on 1960 and Impala. Having Two doors, it wouldn't be called a "sedan." I'd call it a "sport coupe," or simply refer to it as a "two door hardtop."

It appears that you "reversed" the names on # five and # six. Maybe a typo; maybe a brain hiccup!!!

I'll leave the others to others.....

Nice looking cars. Interesting how so many of them have "after market" (not original) wheels and/or wheelcovers. I dont' mean to criticize, just making a comment.

Thnx for sharing the pictures. Love to see the old car pix!!

Thanks Bill. I mixed up the description of the last two cars!

I don't know why so many of these cars have the wrong wheels etc. I think the younger American car lovers here do not care very much about originality, unfortunately!


Here the corrections!


1:
Model year: 1958?
Type: Bel Air
Body style: #1767/1867, Impala convertible coupe
Is the emblem shown below exclusive to the '58?





2:
Model year: 1958?
Type: Bel Air
Body style: #1749/1849, four-door sedan



3:
Model year: 1960?
Type: Station Wagon, based upon the Bel Air?
Body style: #1545/1645, Kingswood four-door wagon?





4:
Model year: 1960?
Type: Station Wagon based upon the Bel Air?
Body style: #1535/1635, Parkwood four-door wagon?



5:
Model year: 1960
Type: Impala
Body style: #1739/1839 Sport hardtop sedan.



6:
Model year: 1960
Type: Impala
Body style: #1737/1837, Sport hardtop coupe





Any confirmation, correction or addition is more than welcome!

Thanks in advance,

In summary, the questions left are:
1: is the emblem (#1) exclusive to the '58 Impala?
2: Is #1 a '58 Bel Air Impala conv?
3: Can somebody confirm it is a '60 Kingswood?
4: a '60 Parkwood? I found somewhere in my notes it was a Kingswood as well, so now I'm confused. Photo was taken in Norway.

Thanks!

#1 Chevrolet used the crossed flags for many applications from 1957 and up. In 1958 all Impalas had the crossed flags as pictured.
#3 is a Kingswood......trim around rear cove area and wider moulding from door thru fin.
# 4 A Parkwood is a 2 seat wagon and a Kingswood is a 3 seat wagon. They both "equal" the BelAir series cars. The exteriors are teh same.

Thanks Gene!



And finally, here are the cars from 1959 and what I know or what I would like to know:


1: In Holland during a large concours-like event.
Model year: 1959?
Type: Impala???
Body style: #1737/1837, Sport hardtop coupe??? Cannot be a two-door sedan as these were not available in the Impala line. I'm confused a bit here. See car below.



2: On the streets in Holland.
Model year: 1959?
Type: Bel Air???
Body style: I'm confused. If this is really a Bel Air, it can only be the two-door sedan (1511/1611) as there was no hardtop coupe in this line as far as I know. But it looks like a coupe...???



3: In Switzerland during a rally.
Model year: 1959?
Type: Impala
Body style: #1767/1867, convertible coupe



4: The same day, the same event organizer in Switzerland, but another car!
Model year: 1959?
Type: Impala
Body style: #1767/1867, convertible coupe



5: Parked along the street in Holland...
Model year: 1959?
Type: Impala?
Body style: #1719/1819, four-door sedan?



6: Just parked along a street in the Netherlands, quite impressive!
Model year: 1959?
Type: Station Wagon based upon the Impala?
Body style: #1735/1835, Nomad four-door wagon



7: Seen just one in ten years. Photo taken in Holland; car parked along the streets!
Model year: 1959?
Type: El Camino
Body style: #1180/1280, Pickup; these modelnumbers suggest it was based upon the Biscayne, but I believed it was based upon the Bel Air...???



Any confirmation, correction or addition is more than welcome!

Note: it is quite strange four out of 7 cars were depicted on the street, so not during an official event. Two of them even at the same day quite close to each other. Here in Holland, cars built before 1965 are very rare "in the wild".

Thanks in advance,

2: The '58 Convertible is an Impala (not Bel-Air Impala). This is the new name for the Top of the Line 2-Door Cars (Impala 2-Dr Hard Top and Impala Convertible).

Bill

Actually in 1958 it was a BelAir Impala. The Impala was a sub-series of the BelAir. In 1959 the Impala became the Impala series.
I know it is seldom refered to in that manner.

Hi Bill,

You mean the '58 Impala? I thought the Impala became a seperate series in '59, so it would be a Bel Air Impala convertible... Or doesn't that make sense?


Funny, Gene had the same thought but was quicker to write it down.

Job,

I tried jumping in after Gene's post, but in the meantime I see that you posted the new pictures of the '59's. I since edited my last post for it to be more clear. Right, I was referring to the '58.

In '57, the Top of the Line Chevy was a Bel-Air. In '58, the Top of the Line became the Impala, but only for the Top of the Line 2-Door and the Convertible cars. The Top of the Line 4-Door '58's were still Bel-Air's ('58's were a little confusing). In '59 (and newer) all of the Top of the Line Passengers cars were Impala's. The Bel-Airs became one style under the Impala's.

Bill

Job,

Not to confuse you more, but what Gene has stated is the Official name, but not as we all know them, as he mentioned.

Gene,

Did the '58 Impala have the word Bel-Air anywhere on the car? I know my '56 Nomad had both the names "Bel-Air" and "Nomad" on it, but I remember my '58 Nomad only having "Nomad" on it.

Bill

No BelAir on the car, just Impala.
The 1958 Finger Tips Facts lists as an example "The BelAir Impala Sport coupe and the BelAir Impala convertible are distinguished from the other BelAir models by the special name plates and and chrome shown".
Chevrolet wasn't exactly sure as to what they were doing with the new model the way it looked in 1958.

I think Cadillac did something similar with their first DeVilles and even Eldorados which were placed inside the 62-series.

The station wagons which became a seperate series did not carry the names of the series they were based on as well, but model numbers suggest they do belong to these series. It is a bit confusing indeed. Maybe I can put the word Bel Air between parentheses like I do for the station wagons.

And what about the '59s? I am especially confused by numbers 1 and 2.

#1 is a '59 Impala 2-Door Hard Top.

#2 is a '59 Bel-Air 2-Door Sedan.

The Hard Top has No Post and the Sedan does have a Post.
(No Post is when you roll down both front and back windows, there is nothing in-between).

Bill

Thanks Bill. All-in-all, this seems to be a reasonably complete overview of the '59 models; only missing are the hardtop sedan and two-door wagons.

Only questions left open now:
1: Is #5 correctly described?
2: was the El Camino in fact based upon the Biscayne?

Thanks again!

#5 is correct. It is a '59 Impala 4-Door Sedan.

The El Camino is equal to a Bel-Air. It has Bel-Air Trim.

Bill

Thanks Bill.

OK, just wondering why the model numbering 1180/1280 for the El Camino lies within the Biscayne range...


With respect to the station wagon-series, this rule seems to work well...

Job,

I can't answer why the El Camino has Biscayne like numbering. Maybe because it's a "truck" and wasn't intended to be a "fancy" car; altho it does have Bel Air trim.

You may find this interesting....

As noted, 1959 and 1960 El Caminos were based on the full sized car.

There wasn't a '61 (or 62 or 63) El Camino.

The El Camino reappeared in 1964; redesigned as a (mid-sized) Chevelle for the 1964 model year.

Bill.

Hi Bill,

Yes, I read about the El Caminos. I like this body style; it is sporty and still a pickup. There are a few around here in Holland, but the earliest we saw after this '59 is from '70. Maybe in the future we will find a model from the intermediate years.

Interesting to think about reasons why Chevy stopped making the El Camino for '61...? If it was because of the better selling pickup trucks, why did they reintroduce the El Camino in '64...

Yes, Job. Interesting point. Who knows what was going on in the "genius" [ ] brains of the Chevy big shots in those days???

Possibly they just wanted to show Ford they could do the same as they did with the Ranchero...

Yes, possibly Job. But the Ranchero came out for 1957. And the El Camino didn't start till 1959. So Ford clearly had a head start.

Also of possible interest is the 57-59 Ranchero was based on the full sized car. And the 59 and 60 El Camino was similarily based on the full sized car.

But in 1960, Ford changed the Ranchero to the much smaller compact Falcon size. While the El Camino was still big in 1960. Maybe Ford's change to compact size in 1960 "confused" Chevy so much they just dropped the El Camino for 1961. Then when Chevy brought back the El Camino in 64, maybe they just took the middle ground, and based it on the Chevelle size, as previously noted.

My thought remains the same; who knows what any of those Detroit auto geniuses were thinking?????

It is an interesting line of thinking Bill, though I don't know what they thought in those days either .

What I know well is that I am very glad Chevy built the El Camino in '59 and '60 . The later El Caminos may have been based on the midsize platform, but for European standards, they are massive!


Still thinking about the low numbering of the El Camino. Do you Gene have a clue why the E.C. was numbered within the Biscayne range, but trimmed as the Bel Air?

I know wikipedia is not really a reliable source, but it states a few interesting facts:


This would clarify the numbering 1180/1280 being inside the range of the Biscayne, on which the Brookwood was based in turn.


A nice detail!

They state a few interesting, quite plausible reasons for the El Camino being discontinued for '61 (for example the low sales in '60).


To prevent violating the copyright rules:
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_El_Camino"

There were two ElCaminos in 1959. One was equal to a Biscayne and one equal to a Bel Air.

And both were numbered 1180/1280, or was the Bel Air numbered in the 1580/1680-range? I found these 1180/1280 numbers at the 59chevy-site.

Is the one in my pic equal to the Bel Air then?

Keep in mind - there were no compact Fords or Chevys prior to 1960. You had full size, T-bird/Vette, and trucks - that's it.

The 1959 and 1960 full size Chevys had a very similar body style featuring horizontal fins (wings) and similar interiors.
In 1959, the grill featured bullets across the width and "eyebrows" across the leading edge of the hood. The 1959 pick-ups had similar eyebrow treatment.The rear end had fins that curved in toward the center following the lines of the "bugeye" tail lamps
In 1960 the grille was greatly simplified with no bullets or eyebrows. The rear end featured straightened lines and simple round bulleted tail lamps. The Impala had triple taillamps and lower line models (Biscayne) had dual taillamps. The door featured an airplane like molding that followed with the deep inset sculpting that emphasized the "wing" fins.
In 1961 the full size chevy styling became much more conservative.