Video: Would You Accept A Free 1955 Chevy Two-Door Bel Air?

When it comes to rebuilding a car, how far gone, is too far gone? This 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air is pretty rough, and it’s been sitting in a field for decades. But, the owner gave it up for free, so it was worth grabbing, right? Maybe not. Take a look at the video and the condition of the car.

Is there enough remaining of this car to save? Anything salvageable for parts?

It’s missing glass, and what’s there is broken. All of the body panels are rusted and dented, and there appears to be no engine or transmission. One might be tempted to jump all in with the low price of free, but if you ever planned on doing anything with the car, will you really be saving any money? If you take something like this where every panel, every piece of glass, and every piece of trim, etc., etc., you might as well have just found a car in better shape and paid a little bit more for it. By the time you got this done and on the road, you’d be in it for what, $80,000 or more?

Bel Air

Just look at the bottom of that door, there’s hardly anything left!

We present this question to you, the reader: is it better to find a good project car to start with and pay a little more, or go for the cheapest thing you can find no matter what condition it’s in? This is especially meaningful if you are going to do the work yourself. A certain amount of value has to be placed on your sweat equity. Sure you could put in all the hours to do it, anything is fixable, but is it worth all that time?

Can you believe that at some point, back in 1955, somebody bought this new and was proud to call it their car? Time was not kind to old steel.

It really tickles our interest to think of something like this for free, regardless of condition. It would surely be good for something. But, could the excitement of the low price blind you into missing the high price of fixing it down the road? What do you think?

Bel Air

About the author

Kyler Lacey

A 2015 Graduate from Whitworth University, Kyler has always loved cars. He grew up with his dad's '67 Camaro in the garage and started turning wrenches at a young age. At seventeen, he bought his first classic, a '57 Chevy Bel Air four-door, and has since added a '66 Plymouth Valiant and '97 Cadillac Deville to his collection. When he isn't writing for Power Automedia, he's out shooting pictures at car shows, hiking in the forests of the beautiful Pacific Northwest, or working on something in the garage.
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