VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1955-1957 57 Chevy Information Source

We are current owners of a 38 Master Delux business coupe. It is beautiful but too primitive and so we are thinking we would like to get a 57 Belair. im mostly an original guy but appreciate safety upgrades. Anyway, is there a single source of online information to help me target certain vehicles and get the basics down or is this forum best? Thanks

Fortunately and unfortunately the popularity of the “Tri 5’s” means there are many resources for those vehicles.

My very strong recommendation is for you to join VCCA so you have access to the Technical Advisors for those vehicles. You will also be able to see articles and ads about those cars in the magazine, the Generator and Distributor. I also think that you will be able to locate other VCCA members who are Tri 5 owners in the Northeast. They can help you learn about these cars as well as where you can find one to purchase.

Enjoy the search. From my perspective I enjoy learning about a new vehicle and searching for one as much as the ownership.

Some basic questions please as I am looking at a possible purchase. How do I know what options came with the car? I know what the VIN and Cowl tag tells me is there another source? Build sheet? Also trying to get a feel for market value which is a very tough to ask but is $50K within reason for a fully restored 57 283 belair sport coupe (no window frame) with a 283 4bbl?

$50K is definitely in the ball park for a well restored/maintained '57 Chevy Sport Coupe (2-door hardtop). More or less depends on the quality of the restoration, originality and current condition of major items such as paint, interior, etc.

I agree with Chipper that you should be able to find a very nice driver ”˜57 for that price range. An award winning show car will be quite a bit more.

good to know it sounded a bit high to me. I'm still wondering how documentation works above and beyond VIN/Cowl. Is there any? I saw a guy this past weekend who installed a fuel injection set up and the badges on his car. Could that be disproved somehow? he was honest but if he had the right engine code i wonder if he could have sold it as a original to the car? Thanks

There are some small differences in the original Fuel Injected cars. There are two in the Seattle area that have been known by a couple of VCCA members since new. There are also a ton in the Arbaugh collection in Iowa. Some of them are legit others created.

thanks! i was sighting FI as an example. What about any other options? How do you know what came with the car?

i had a unrestored 57 210 post with its original 283 250 hp FI engine, manifolds, rochester unit, distributor, and on and on. before i began its restoration, i had a nationally l famous 57 pass car FI expert come to our farm and inspect the old unrestored pass car. he was of the opinion it was the real deal. It even had its microswitch for the electrovac mounted on the vac windshield wiper motor and the larger fuel tank sending unit tubing. when finished, it was too nice for me to drive so i sold it to a collector in florida. 100k and that was several years ago. kinda puts a value on a real 57 FI pass car. mike

WOW!! sure does....