In November of 2019, I was surfing eBay, looking at cars. I do that a lot in the late hours of the night — just looking and admiring. But on that night, I ran across a car that really piqued my interest. It was a 1988 Chevy Caprice with the 9C1 police package.

In the ’70s and ’80s, I was a deputy sheriff with the Greene County (MO) Sheriff’s Department. We drove all manner of patrol cars, most of them bought second-hand from the state highway patrol. Out of all the cars we had, the square-body “box” Caprice was my favorite. I felt like it handled the best and was the smoothest coming out of a corner under full power. It was a sad day for me when car No. 9, our last Caprice, was removed from service.

So, seeing this Caprice on eBay brought back a lot of memories. It was advertised as an all-original car with original paint and only 33,000 miles. I’ve heard two different stories about its history, but the undisputed story is that it never saw police service. That accounted for the pristine condition and low mileage. I contacted the seller and we had a nice conversation. He was the former police chief of a small southern town. He spent considerable time and money outfitting the car with period-correct radios, scanner, lighting and siren. He was also very meticulous with his installation. Ultimately, I made him an offer. He declined the offer and suggested I make a bid on eBay, which I did. My bid was the winning bid. During out subsequent conversation, he said the eBay rules required that he remove the police equipment, but because I was a former deputy sheriff, he would leave the equipment in the car. Everything in the car is fully functional. He offered to deliver the car to me for a very reasonable sum, and I agreed. I was glad to be able to meet him. He brought the car to me and turned out to be a very nice fellow.

Once I received the car, I found it needed very little. The tires were in good condition, but were old, so I replaced them. The wheels had some rust spots in places, so I had them sand blasted and powder coated. The seller had the car decaled with the graphics of his department, so I broke out my heat gun and spent an evening removing the vinyl graphics. He used low-tack vinyl, which made removing them easier. Several years later, en route to a car meet in Texas, both the front and rear bumper fillers blew out at 80 mph. Fortunately, reproductions are available. That, and a new battery, are all I have had to do to the car. It has been extremely reliable.

The push bumper and blue lights were on the car when I received it, along with the blue-and-amber lights in the rear deck. I found a blue dash light and period-correct radar gun and I put those in place for car shows. In Missouri, where I live, it is legal to have the blue lights as long as I don’t turn them on while driving on a public road.

1988 was the last year for the carbureted engine in the Caprice; 1989 saw the advent of fuel injection. The only Caprice available with the 350-cid V-8 engine in 1988 was the 9C1. It was not available in the civilian model. For 1988, the 9C1 police package included more than a dozen upgrades over the civilian model. 

The ’80s were dark years for performance in the domestic car industry, and this car is no exception. Zero-to-sixty mph times are in the 10-second range, and the top speed is only 118 mph. It struggles to get there. For all-out pursuit vehicles, most departments turned to Camaros or Mustangs. Where the Caprice shines is in its room, comfort, huge trunk and handling ability. I would rank its handling as at the top of the scale for a domestic four-door sedan of that year. This car is tight and solid and is a joy to drive. I have driven the car to two car shows out of state and it has performed flawlessly.

For a little bit of trivia, the underhood photo shows green radiator and heater hoses. These are the original silicon hoses that were an option on the police package. The Crown Victoria police package also used these hoses.

I love this car and drive it often. Not only is it a lot of fun to drive, but it brings back a lot of memories.

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Greg Pellegrom always had it in the back of his mind. Maybe… possibly … if the right one came along … and the timing seemed just right… sure, he’d like to buy an old pickup truck.

“I guess it was just a matter of opportunity,” says Pellegrom, a retired resident of Stevens Point, Wis.

That opportunity came out of the blue back in 2000. Pellegrom was traveling for business and found himself in Tupelo, Miss. He was a long way from home, but he was enjoying himself, in part, because of the number of nice, old pickup trucks he noticed driving around.

“I was talking to a guy saying, ‘Man, it’s sure been fun being here and looking at all your old pickup trucks,” Pellegrom recalled with a chuckle. “He said, ‘Y’all looking for one?’ I said, ‘Well, all Yankees are, aren’t they?.’ He said, ‘My cousin has one for sale!’”

That 1954 Chevrolet 3100 half-ton had apparently belonged to a chicken farmer in Tupelo. It was in pretty decent shape — good enough that it needed somebody to either get running good enough to enjoy in “as is” condition with a little TLC, or somebody with bigger plans to finish restoring it back to original.

Pellegrom wasn’t sure which direction he was going to go with it, but he simply couldn’t pass up the chance to buy an old Chevy pickup that had lived on a chicken farm in Tupelo.

“He had the thing in primer, and it had been sitting in his garage,” Pellegrom said. “His uncle bought the truck originally…. It ran, yes. The brakes were not good. I drove it up and down the road a few times. But the bed was gone. The tailgate and front of the box were both beat up… The guy kept track of some of his oil changes, and it looks like it went years and years — maybe 10 years at a time, between oil changes. I think it spent a lot of time sitting in a barn.”

An old farm truck that needed some love was just fine with Pellegrom. It was exactly that kind of truck that he remembered from his childhood.

“It was an impulse, but I always kind of had it in my mind that I wanted an old Chevy pickup truck, because in my youth, my dad’s cousin used to go up and down the street in our hometown of Grand Haven, Michigan, and he had produce on the back of his old Chevy pickup,” Pellegrom recalled. “I’ll always remember seeing that truck coming down the street, heading for the market or wherever….”

Pellegrom jokes about having to OK the acquisition with his wife Jackie. That conversation took an interesting twist when he got home. Turns out Jackie had scoped out an old pickup at an antique shop while Greg had been on the road. She gave some serious thought to buying it as a surprise.

“She said, ‘Wouldn’t it have been fun if I had bought it for you?’” Pellegrom laughs. “I said, ‘Well, funny you should say that, because I have something to tell you about.”

1954: A Better ‘Advance-Design’

Chevy’s Advance-Design line of trucks were introduced following World War II in 1947, and by 1954, they were due for a fairly substantial refresh.

There was a new and more open grille. The opening was filled with a massive cross-bar arrangement. The main horizontal bar extended the full-width of the body. Below it were rectangular parking lamps. The outer radiator grille bars were done in body color, and the inner bars were Thistle Gray (except trucks painted Commercial Red had Argent Silver inner bars, and trucks painted Pure White had Pure White inner bars). “Chevrolet” was stamped into the grille header bar and lettered in Waldorf White. Bumpers were finished in Anvil Gray.

There was a new instrument panel with defroster openings that extended the full width of the windshield. The instruments, grouped in two clusters, were now recessed into the panel to minimize reflections. There was also a redesigned “dispatch booth” (glove compartment) and a restyled ash tray. A revised steering wheel provided a better view of the instruments and incorporated finger grips on the horizontal spokes. A new load box featured a 2-inch lower loading height, flat side panel tops, deeper sides and a tailgate the same height as the sides. The 1954 taillamps were round. When the optional rear bumper was ordered, the license plate was mounted in the center of the box, under the tailgate.

Some of the numerous technical changes included a more rugged three-speed manual transmission; a new optional Hydra-Matic transmission; and a more durable clutch for automatics. Frame rigidity was increased by a heavier cross-member at the rear of the engine. Chrome fender bars were available as Deluxe equipment on panel trucks only. A switch to a gray-and-maroon interior was made for Suburbans. A Juniper Green body finish with cream medium striping and black wheels was standard finish for all models.

Eleven other colors were optional at no extra cost. They included: Commercial Red with Argent Silver; Jet Black with Argent Silver; Mariner Blue with Cream Medium; Cream Medium with Jet Black; Yukon Yellow with Jet Black; Ocean Green with Jet Black; Transport Blue with Cream Medium; Copper Tone with Shell White; Omaha Orange with Jet Black; Autumn Brown with Shell White; and Pure White with Juniper Green. Standard wheels were black; on Deluxe monotone and two-tone trucks, the wheels were the color of the lower body; on two-tone trucks, Shell White was used exclusively as the upper body color and the belt line was usually striped with the lower body color. Exceptions included trucks with the lower body done in Pure White, Cream Medium or Omaha Orange, in which cases the striping was Jet Black or Onyx Black.

Early in 1954, Chevrolet introduced a new Deluxe Cab option for all 3000 Series trucks. It included two-tone interior trim that harmonized with the exterior color; stainless-steel windshield and side window reveals; chrome-plated Ventipane frames; right-hand sunshade; left-hand armrest; cigar lighter; twin-tone horns; and curved rear corner windows. The two-tone interior colors with Light Green and Juniper Green; Light Blue and Dark Blue; Birch White and Brown; and Pear Beige and Maroon. The interior included a color-coordinated cloth seat; a color-coordinated rubber floor mat; color-coordinated wind lacing; and special colored plastic armrests.

The 235.5-cid six was improved with output now up to 105 hp, thanks to new insert bearings and high-pressure lubrication. The same engine had been introduced on passenger cars with the two-speed Powerglide in 1953. Torque-tube drive returned, and Hydra-Matic was optional.

The base price of the 1/2-ton 3100 pickup was $1,419 for the 1954 model year. The 3100 Series also included a cab and chassis; chassis and cowl; panel delivery; canopy; and Suburbans with either doors or tailgates in back.

Cruising Through Retirement

Like anybody who picks up an old vehicle to restore — or at least finish — Pellegrom had a fundamental decision to make regarding his 1954 1/2-ton: Try to return it to authentic factory condition, or make a few modifications to make it a reliable driver. The decision for him wasn’t a difficult one; he wanted to drive the truck as much as possible.

“I wanted to paint it and restore whatever I had to,” he says. “I didn’t want to get inside the engine if I didn’t have to. I just wanted a truck to have some fun in, go to a few parades, a few car shows, and talk smart with the fellas.

“If you go by the book, you could pick apart just about everything. It’s not a blue ribbon concours vehicle, and I’m not a blue ribbon concours guy.”

Pellegrom had a friend help him tackle all the bodywork, and paint. They went with stainless divider strips and oak planks for the bed — a combination that looks great, but is a little flashier than what came from the factory.

One of the biggest decisions he faced was what paint color to go with. The truck was in primer when he got it, so it was a blank canvas. Pellegrom said he was leaning toward red, but his wife wanted yellow. “Then I was on another business trip out to Kansas and I saw a guy that had about a ’53 Chevy pickup on a K5 Chevy chassis and it had a real nice mellow green on it.”

That sighting changed his mind. 

“I just really liked the green. It’s easy on the eyes, and just kind of low-key. This shade is actually closer probably to a Ford color. The same buddy painter who went to get the truck with me and help me with the bodywork painted the truck in his garage with a 20-inch box fan for ventilation. We probably broke every OSHA rule there was!”

The new grilles on the ’54s were originally available in chrome, but that was more expensive and not common. On painted grilles, body color was used on the outer bars, while the inner bars were White, Thistle Gray or Argent Silver on red trucks. Pellegrom decided to break with authenticity and go with cream for the grille, which was used on other trucks of the era, but wasn’t a Chevy option in ’54. 

“The White was so stark, it was really bright. I just didn’t think that it looked good with this color. I liked [the cream] because it doesn’t jump out at you … And the front and rear bumpers are about $10 worth of Rustoleum! Same thing with the running boards. About $10 worth of Rustoleum paint, painted in my friend’s garage.”

The previous owner had already painted the interior of the steel cab a tan color. Pellegrom tackled the vinyl seat upholstery himself in his basement, and added seat belts for himself and passengers.

“I was a safety guy for Sentry Insurance for 37 years!” he jokes. “I gotta do the safety stuff.”

Pellegrom also added outside mirrors, stainless taillamps, a heater-defroster and a few other goodies. A local garage just a couple blocks from his home did some brake work on the pickup and replaced the starter. The electrics on the truck have also been swapped from 6 to 12 volts with a generator now in place.

“I also went to 15-inch wheels and rubber,” he points out. “The narrow whitewalls are not authentic, but I wanted to go with the radials.”

Pellegrom said it took him nearly three years from the time he got it home to get the truck “done.” He was still working full-time back then, and he said he looked forward to coming home from work every night and on the weekends and having the resto project to keep him busy. The truck eventually led to another vehicle, too. He now has a sweet 1931 Ford Model A in his garage.

“The whole project was a lot of fun for me. I always knew I was doing the right thing,” he says. “Just the process was something I really enjoyed, and it was something to look forward to and something different from my day job. The project itself kept me going.”

He says a spin on a country road in the old Chevy takes him back to simpler times and reminds him its OK to sometimes take life at a slower pace. When you are bouncing along in a 70-year-old truck, well, you don’t really have much choice but to slow down.

“Yeah, it doesn’t go very fast. The rear end has farmer’s market gears in it — 45, 50 mph. You know, what’s the rush?” Pellegrom concludes. “It’s all just recreation. It’s all just about having fun.”

Love Chevy trucks? Here are a few more articles for your reading enjoyment.

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My 16th birthday was getting close, just two short months from being able to get my driver’s license. It was May of 1989, and the time had come to start shopping for my first car. A family vacation to California the previous winter had set my sights on finding a Volkswagen Bug. By the late ’80s, the old VWs had just about disappeared from the roads back home in Wisconsin. But in southern California, they seemed to be everywhere. I was drawn to their small size, their simplicity and their very dated but unashamed styling.

The problem came when I told my dad, a devout Chevy man, that I wanted a VW Bug. A very strong “Buy American” man, in addition to his Chevrolet loyalty, he would have none of it. I still remember his simple counter offer to me: “How ’bout a Chevette?” Now, I didn’t know a whole lot about Chevettes at that time. I knew they were small, and I knew that there were lots of them around (this was the late ’80s, after all), but that was about it. Despite my lack of knowledge, I agreed to look for a Chevette as my first car. It seemed like a fair compromise.

A few weeks later, Dad pulled into the driveway with a little brown two-door Chevette. As chance would have it, a co-worker of his was selling a 1984 Chevette and let my dad take it home for the day. That not only allowed us to see if I’d like the car, but more importantly, if I could drive the car. You see, this Chevette had a five-speed manual transmission and I had never driven a stick shift before.

Out to some seldom-used country roads we went. Dad demonstrated to me how the clutch and shifting worked and then it was my turn to give it a try. Well, what transpired was a sort of lurching and bucking that professional bull riders must feel, followed by the stalling of the engine — over and over again. But with never-before-seen patience, my dad just kept telling me: “try it again.” Countless attempts later, I was getting the hang of it and my launches became fairly smooth. Feeling good about myself didn’t last long, though, as my next lesson was starting off on an incline without rolling backwards. More bucking, lurching and stalling ensued, but eventually I gained that skill as well.

That little Chevette took a lot of abuse during my “training.” And as strange as it sounds, I felt as if my dad wasn’t the only one exhibiting patience with me that day. The Chevette seemed eager for me to learn to drive it, firing back up immediately after each stall, taking the punishment and willing to take more. A bond was being formed, a bond between a young car guy and his first car. Obviously, once I learned how to proficiently drive the Chevette, I bought it.

The next month or so was nearly torture for me. I owned a car, but didn’t have my license yet. Hours were spent in, around and underneath my Chevette getting to know everything I could. I read the owner’s manual cover to cover, bought a Hayne’s manual to learn about the inner workings of the car’s systems, and with my dad’s help, I learned to change the oil, spark plugs, filters and other maintenance.

With some research I discovered that despite there being a million Chevettes on the road, my particular car was somewhat a rarity. Only a very small percentage of Chevette’s had the five-speed manual as most were automatics or four-speed manuals. Mine also had the Exterior Sport Décor (Chevy option code Z13). Not very common on Chevettes, this was strictly an appearance option which added Chevette “S” decals and eliminated nearly all the chrome/bright work, replacing it with blacked-out trim with red/orange accents. This was a common styling trick with U.S. carmakers during the ’80s to give vehicles a sportier, perhaps more European look.

The day came when I finally received my license and the newfound freedom that I felt was unlike anything I had experienced before. I had many memorable times with that Chevette; My first date, my high school graduation, heading off to college for the first time with the car packed to the gills and countless road trips with my buddies.

Throughout my ownership, the Chevette was an incredibly reliable machine, never once breaking down or leaving me stranded. It always started, even on those Wisconsin winter mornings when the temperature was 20 degrees below zero. I absolutely loved my faithful Chevette, no matter what others thought about it. Admittedly, being a Chevette owner required having a bit of a thick skin; I took my share of ridicule and there was no shortage of jokes. Nicknames like “Poor Man’s ’Vette” and the “Shove-It” were just the beginning. I remember some friends making a spoof of the song “Little Red Corvette” by Prince that went something like “Little Brown Chevette….Baby you’re just too slow….Yes you are…”

After three plus years and more than 40,000 miles I (regrettably) traded in my Chevette. Now, nearly 30 years have passed since the day my dad pulled in the driveway with that little car, and I still miss it. Since then I’ve owned more than 80 cars and I could probably tell a story about each one of them. Nearly all of them were faster, more valuable and considered “cooler” than my Chevette. But if there’s one car I could have back again, it would no doubt be my very first car, my little brown 1984 Chevette. I keep hoping that by some miracle, it has survived all these years, perhaps stashed away in a barn somewhere. And someday I’ll see it for sale alongside the road or on the internet. I would no doubt buy it and bring my first car back home with me where it belongs. Certainly there are those who’ll wonder “What’s the big deal…it’s just a Chevette?” but it was my Chevette, and I will forever have an attachment to it.

The story of my first car proves that any car can turn someone into a “Car Guy” (or Gal). It doesn’t have to be a GTO, Mustang, Camaro, Bel Air or Challenger. A car that is seen as “cheap”, “dorky” and “ugly” by most car enthusiasts can cause another to fall in love. They say that love is blind and I would agree with that, with one small change: I’d say that “First Love is Blind.”

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Chevrolet – On Saturday, January 25th, the first retail production 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, VIN 001, sold at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction for $3.7 million. 100 percent of the hammer price of this Barrett-Jackson charity auction benefits the American Red Cross. Chevrolet selected the Red Cross to benefit disaster relief efforts in areas impacted by hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as general relief to help people affected by disasters big and small, including wildfires, storms and countless other crises.

This ties the record donation for a charity vehicle at Barrett-Jackson set in 2022 by the first retail 2023 Corvette Z06 70th Anniversary Edition.

“The 1064 hp Corvette ZR1 is the pinnacle of American engineering,” said Scott Bell, vice president, Global Chevrolet. “We at Chevrolet are proud to work with Barrett-Jackson and the Red Cross so that the historic sale of this American icon benefits people whose lives were impacted by hurricanes Helene and Milton, countless disasters across the country.”

Corvette Chief Engineer Josh Holder introduced the quickest, fastest and most powerful Corvette ever before an engaged audience of bidders in the room and around the world, alongside representatives from the Red Cross. Minutes later, the winning bid was placed by Rick Hendrick, founder and CEO of Hendrick Companies.

General Motors and Chevrolet maintain a long-standing relationship with the Red Cross and regularly support the organization’s disaster relief efforts.

“The Red Cross is working around the clock to provide help and hope to people across the country impacted by disasters big and small, including wildfires, floods and other crises,” said Cliff Holtz, president and CEO of the American Red Cross. “We cannot thank Chevrolet enough for their tremendous generosity as we work together to offer critical relief and comfort to families and communities in dire need.”

Thanks to more than 15 years working with Barrett-Jackson and their charity auction program, Chevrolet has generated millions of dollars in donations for many great causes. This auction brings the total amount of money Chevrolet has raised at Barrett-Jackson charity auctions through the sale of eighth generation Corvettes to $12.9 million.

“General Motors has shared some of our biggest and most memorable moments when we have raised money together for charity on the Barrett-Jackson auction block,” said Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson. “Over the years, GM has entrusted Barrett-Jackson to sell some of their most coveted first-production vehicles for charity, and we’re honored to have continued that tradition in Scottsdale with the sale of the first retail production 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. We made history by selling this rare collector vehicle for $3.7 million, while also helping the Red Cross fulfill its mission to feed and provide emotional support to victims of disasters. Between the recent hurricane on the East Coast and fires in California, the money is certainly needed.”

www.chevrolet.com

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Many “Tri-Five” Chevy fans tend to lean toward the bookend model years—1955 and 1957—rather than the 1956 models. However, fans of the ’56 remain adamant in their loyalty. Look at the numbers, they say.

The numbers they’re referring to are the sales numbers. Fewer Chevrolets were sold in 1956 than in 1955, but more were sold than in 1957. Chevrolet sold a lot of cars in those years. For 1955, more than 1.7 million left the factories, 1.63 million in 1956 and 1.56 million in ’57. By their logic, 1956 should be the second-most-popular model year of the Tri-Five years.

While it’s quite possible that there are a few hundred thousand Tri-Fives left in the United States plus more overseas (Tri-Five Chevys were heavily exported to Australia and Europe in those days), very few fit in the same category as Terry Getz’s low-mileage, unrestored ’56 Two-Ten Delray.

The Safety Harbor, Fla., resident is the second owner of a survivor 1956 Chevrolet that registers barely 33,000 miles on its odometer. He bought the car in 1980 from the estate of the original owner and, in addition to acquiring a well-kept car, he also received a wealth of supporting documents. At that time, the mileage was around 16,000 miles.

A ’56 Two-Ten Delray coupe is rare enough (fewer than 3.5 percent of ’56 models produced), let alone one with its original paint and interior in such good condition. And, like any good old-car story, Terry learned about the car in a chance meeting. While at a car show that featured Tri-Five Chevys in May 1980, a stranger approached him to ask if he was interested in buying the ’56.

“I looked at the car and made him an offer,” Terry says. “It took them two weeks to decide to accept my offer.”

Terry completed the deal and took the car home along with the collection of paperwork that detailed the car’s life: original sales forms, title, owner’s manual, as well as the deceased owner’s driver’s license, voter ID, license plates and a photo of the 1948 Chevy that was traded in on the new ’56. The first owner—M.J. Novak—lived in Tampa when he bought the ’56 from Dempsey Chevrolet for $2,261.50. The deal included a trade-in allowance of $855 on the 1948 Chevy two-door sedan. Dempsey Chevrolet passed through a couple of owners before the location was replaced by a Walmart.

Terry says the ’56 has just four options: Two-tone paint ($26), custom interior ($7), white-wall tires ($40) and a deluxe heater and defroster ($55). Included in the paperwork that Terry acquired with the car was the car’s first State Farm Insurance policy—only $27.80 for a year!

With the exception of the Delray upgrade, Terry’s ’56 is a basic example of Chevy’s midline Two-Ten two-door sedan. The bottom-of-the-line 235-cid inline six-cylinder engine produces 140 hp and 210 lb.-ft. of torque. In addition, it has manual drum brakes and manual steering. It wasn’t optioned with a radio, so the only music while cruising the highways is the hum of the six-cylinder and the turning of the tires.

The new, iconic Chevy V-8 was introduced the previous model year, yet the inline six remained popular for many years after. While the six-cylinder engine was only offered in 140-hp form for 1956, the 265-cid V-8 was offered in four versions ranging from 162 hp to 225 hp.

Keeping a survivor car such as Terry’s ’56 in as close to as-born-condition as possible is always a challenge, he says. The interior upholstery and carpet are in surprisingly good condition, but there are signs of the wear and tear that even 33,000 miles can produce.

Terry refrains from correcting the worn areas. The car’s nearly 70-year-old exterior paint of Pinecrest Green and India Ivory is in good condition for its age. Some of the worn spots on the headlight brows could be blamed on the “love bug” phenomenon in Florida. The insects show up a couple of times a year and millions of them commit mass suicide on the fronts of vehicles traveling the state’s highways. Leaving the insects’ decomposing remains on a car too long often causes damage to paint.

As a testament to the quality of the trim pieces on cars of the 1950s, all of the chrome (emblems, hood bird, trim pieces, light housings, etc.) is original and in very good condition. Front and rear bumpers, too. The factory 15-inch steel wheels and hubcaps remain intact. Reproduction Goodyear whitewall tires are on the car now and, while the original spare sits in the trunk, it’s aged out of any potential use.

One area of the car not in original condition is the engine compartment, and there’s a reason why. In the early 1980s, Terry showed the car in Classic Chevy International’s well-known shows, which are judged on a scale of 1,000 points. The rules at the time in the original, unrestored class allowed detailing of the engine compartment, so that area was restored.

“We were allowed to detail the engine compartment,” Terry says, “so at some point we pulled the engine to work on the detailing and we changed intake gaskets, things like that.”

Terry is meticulous about keeping the car’s routine maintenance up to date, even though the car is seldom driven. The oil is changed once a year. The transmission and rear axle fluids are checked.

“The rear differential fluid has never been changed,” Terry notes.

Over the years, the brake shoes have been replaced (Terry kept the original shoes) as have the wheel cylinders. One modern upgrade, though, is used to keep moisture out of the brake lines. The original brake fluid has been replaced with silicon fluid.

Even the radiator is original, although it was removed, cleaned and reinstalled in 1981, shortly after Terry bought the car, but it has never been re-cored.

The trove of paperwork that accompanied the car when Terry bought it included a receipt and lifetime warranty from a Midas Muffler shop that replaced the original muffler in the mid 1970s. Terry says the car needed a new muffler again in the early 2000s, so he took it back to the Midas Muffler shop, obtained an estimate on a replacement and then produced the old lifetime warranty document. The somewhat surprised customer service rep hesitated, reviewed the warranty paperwork, and then agreed that “lifetime means lifetime.” There was no charge for the new muffler.

As any Tri-Five Chevy owner knows, almost everyone who sees one has a connection of some kind. They owned one in high school. Their parents or grandparents had one. They may even own one now. What kind of response does Terry’s unrestored original ’56 provoke?

“People can’t believe the condition for the age of the car,” Terry says. “People thank you for keeping it as a survivor. Even people who don’t like old Chevys comment on the shape it’s in.”

These days, the ’56 is driven to Tampa Bay-area car shows and cruises. Otherwise, it stays safe and dry in Terry’s garage where it continues to gracefully age. 

Love old Chevys? Here are a few more articles for your reading enjoyment. 

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John D. Meyers referred to his ‘Vette as “not so special” but could not be further from the truth. He included an impressive backstory…

“I have read several articles in Old Cars regarding long time owners of cars purchased new. In August of 1972, I ordered my 1973 Corvette convertible from Luck Motor Company in Ashland, Virginia. It was not so special because I was trying to keep the cost down. It was ordered with the standard L-48 engine, four-speed transmission, power steering and the auxiliary hard top. Unfortunately, because of wildcat strikes at some GM plants the hard top was not included when the car was delivered on November 16, 1972. I still have my Mille Miglia Red Corvette to this day and the odometer reads just over 44,000 true miles. It is pretty much still stock except for replacing the front sway bar with a larger diameter one and adding a rear sway bar. It has been garaged ever since 1976 when I built a garage at my former house. The car was only my daily driver for about 2 years when I bought a well used ’67 Camaro to commute with.

“This was not my first Corvette. In 1967, a year after I graduated from college, I walked into Dominion Chevrolet (Now Hendrick) and purchased a new 1967 Marina Blue Corvette convertible equipped with the L-71 427 cubic inch, 435 horsepower engine with a four-speed tranny. I was unmarried at the time. Two months later my college sweetheart and I got married. Two years later in 1969, we had purchased our first home, our son was born, and I had a wife, baby and groceries to carry in a 2-seater car. I traded my beloved Corvette in on a new 1969 Camaro, 350 two-barrel, automatic transmission Camaro (didn’t want to go from a Corvette to a station wagon) with the understanding that when we could afford to have two cars, I would buy another new Corvette. That time came in 1972. I had gotten a promotion on my job and a year earlier and we had bought a new 1971 Plymouth Valiant Scamp for my wife. However, I was not overly anxious to get another fire-breathing Corvette like the ’67. I didn’t think I needed the 454, and I thought the LT-1 from 1972 would be continued as the high performance small-block. Having experienced a car with a solid-lifter engine on the streets, I opted for the standard engine. Had I known about the L-82 hi-po engine with hydraulic lifters, I probably would have stretched my budget and paid the extra $400 or so to get it. However, my ‘Plain Jane’ Corvette is still much fun on the backroads.”

“I have been a Corvette addict since 1954 when I was ten years old and saw the Corvette advertised on the Dinah Shore TV show. Shortly after that, one was displayed at the Virginia State Fair. I knew I just had to have one. My love of Corvettes did not end with my ’73 convertible. In the 1970’s I bought a used ’69 Corvette and turned it into an autocross/solo 1 car. In 1989, I purchased a ’73 Corvette L-82, 4-speed coupe from a college fraternity brother, who had bought it new. I still have it as well. I also own a 1979 Corvette, a 1987 Corvette convertible and a 2008 Corvette which I bought new. My most recent purchase was a 1957 Corvette replica, built by a friend of mine from a shortened G-body Malibu and reproduction Corvette body panels.”

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Brady Hammrich’s ’59 Chevy has seen the world and made it back home in one piece. I bet this Bel Air has a lot of stories to tell.

“This car was purchased new in Spokane, WA, by my uncle’s parents. Shortly after, his father was stationed in Europe with the Air Force. The whole family went along, including the ‘59. Once back in the states, it was driven by various family members, before being garaged in the late 80’s. It’s a 4 door hardtop Sports Sedan. The car is all original, with original paint, and a 283 V-8 Powerglide. It was ordered with a posi-traction rear end.”

“I first laid eyes on it when my aunt married my uncle in the early 80’s, and always hoped it could be mine one day. After 30 years of trying to talk my uncle out if it, he finally gave in a couple of years ago. It took a bit of work, but she’s back on the road!”

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This one-of-a-kind “proposal car” is an integral part of the Corvette story, with a fascinating history that dates to early 1953—well before the first production models rolled off the assembly line in Flint, Mich.

Prior to series Corvette production, which commenced on June 30, 1953, Chevrolet built approximately 15 hand-laid fiberglass Corvette bodies intended for experimental or Motorama use. These hand-built show cars were not assigned standard VINs, but were instead referred to by internal codes. One such code was EX-52, the first Corvette prototype unveiled to the public at New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel in January 1953. Like other General Motors experimental and factory custom cars, all of these show cars additionally received Shop Order (S.O.) numbers. Among the known S.O. numbers are those for some of the 1954 GM Motorama show cars based on 1954 Corvettes: the Corvair (S.O. 2071), Nomad (S.O. 1954) and hardtop (S.O. 2000). As documented in internal GM memos, many of these show cars were destroyed or reused for other projects and then destroyed. As a result, precious few of these Motorama-era prototypes survive today.

The storied past of S.O. 2151

The history of this unique Corvette originates with S.O. 2000, the pale-yellow Corvette hardtop prototype that debuted at the 1954 GM Motorama. According to accounts, at least two of these show cars were built and it is believed that one was retired in January 1954 so its body could be reassigned to a new project—S.O. 2151 (GM is known to have assigned a new S.O. number to a vehicle when it returned to the GM Styling shop).

This Corvette was returned to GM’s famous Art and Colour department overseen by legendary designer Harley Earl. In its new role, S.O. 2151 served as the department’s prototype 1955 Corvette proposal for GM management to review as it determined the look of next year’s Corvette.

During this process, the Corvette body was restyled to incorporate several notable proposed features: a decorative hood scoop, egg-crate front grille, bumper-exit exhaust tips and a distinctive trunk design much like the trunk seen on S.O. 2071, the fastback Corvair show car. Another prominent element of the new design was the slanted front-fender vents that were painted body color on the passenger side and trimmed with chrome on the driver side, thus giving GM executives two different looks from which to choose.

Similarly, the Corvette script was placed high on one side and low on the other. It also incorporated a large gold “V” to signify that the 1955 Corvette would be available with a V-8 engine. Once these changes were implemented, the body was repainted Bermuda Green, a beautiful jade-like metallic green used on production GM vehicles of the period, as well as another famous show car, the 1955 Corvette Biscayne (XP-037/S.O. 2249).

Photographed in GM’s design studio in March 1954, S.O. 2151 was mounted on a new 1954 Corvette chassis, powered by an experimental engine equipped with a high-performance solid-lifter camshaft. The 1955 proposal car was officially completed on July 30, 1954, as evidenced by the S.O. tag riveted inside the engine bay.

In the end, the 1955 proposal car’s unique features never made it to production. Facing stagnant sales and new competition from the recently announced Ford Thunderbird, GM executives decided to completely re-imagine the Corvette for 1956. Meanwhile, the 1955 Corvette was virtually identical to the 1954 model, albeit with a new, optional V-8 engine. That year, Ford dominated the market, its new Thunderbird outselling the Corvette 30 to 1.

A significant survival

As for S.O. 2151, it escaped the fate of most GM prototypes. Instead of being destroyed or rebuilt into a new show car, this one-off somehow slipped through the cracks and eventually made its way to California.

While little is known of its earliest whereabouts, by 1963, the Corvette had been sold to Auto Center, a car dealership located in downtown San Jose, Calif. In 1974, Richard Oldham, a Corvette collector and owner of Empire Chevrolet in Novato, Calif., acquired the car in “basket case” condition. Although most of the paint had been stripped from its bodywork, and many of its unique prototype features were missing, the Corvette still retained its signature fender vents, drivetrain and riveted S.O. 2151 tag.

The following year, Oldham advertised the Corvette for sale with an asking price of $3,000. This immediately attracted the interest of George F. Campbell, who purchased it based on the advice of his friend, noted Corvette historian Noland Adams. Over the next four decades, Mr. Campbell collected parts and researched the car’s history in anticipation of a future restoration.

Following Mr. Campbell’s passing, the Corvette was acquired by the current owner, an Indiana-based enthusiast with more than 45 years of experience in the restoration business. Although he has restored 15 cars for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum and many significant and one-off muscle cars, the owner reports that this restoration was his greatest challenge, and he regards it as his “magnum opus.”

Throughout the restoration process, which consumed three years and more than 1,800 hours, the owner painstakingly researched the car’s history and studied period photographs to ensure that the restoration was as accurate as possible, including expertly re-creating any of the missing trim pieces. During the disassembly phase, evidence of the car’s S.O. 2000 origins were uncovered with sections of original pale-yellow and Bermuda Green paint found in several locations. The bodywork also possesses the telltale characteristics unique to the earliest Corvette prototypes—crude, hand-laid fiberglass construction; a one-piece body structure; and custom-fabricated brass trunk hinges. The chassis was also found to be remarkably original and intact, complete with its original shock absorbers, brake shoes, and experimental engine block, all numbered with appropriate early-1954 date codes.

Every effort was made to return the car to its authentic 1954 appearance with remnants of the original pale-yellow and Bermuda Green paint intentionally preserved in hidden areas, such as the trunk and behind the seats, to provide clear evidence of the car’s earliest days as a GM factory prototype. The body, including the doors, are original to S.O. 2151, also the brake shoes, shocks, frame and drivetrain sitting on original 1954 tires were all installed by the manufacturer in 1954. The car’s drivetrain remains original and numbers-matching.

Since its restoration was completed, S.O. 2151 has been shown just once, at The Amelia Concours d’Elegance, in March 2023. There, it was selected by Bill Warner to receive the prestigious The Founders Award.

Chevrolet’s earliest advertisements for the Corvette featured the tag line, “The first of the dream cars to come true.” That statement is most certainly appropriate for S.O. 2151, one of the few Motorama-era prototypes that escaped destruction to survive today. A fascinating and utterly unique piece of GM history, this magnificently restored Corvette design study proposal represents an exciting opportunity for any collector who appreciates this golden age of the American automotive industry.

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We love stories about multi-generational love affairs with old cars and how they strengthen family connections. Jeff Moen is keeping those family bonds secured with his dad while enjoying one of the finest looking pieces of iron Chevrolet ever produced. 

“My Dad did a four year frame-off build that he finished in 2009. He showed the car for 9 years winning a garage full of trophies all across the Midwest. In 2018, I retired from the US Navy after 30 years of service and he gave me the car as a retirement gift.”

“He and I drove 1800 miles in 3 days from South Dakota to Virginia mostly on back roads and had an amazing trip. I’ve been showing the car here on the East Coast for 5 years and doing quite well. Last year my dad came out to visit, and we took the car to Pottstown, PA for an event. That’s where these pictures are from. We’re looking forward to more events or even the Power Tour in the future.”

“The plan down the road is to give the car to my son and grandson to keep the car in the family.”

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The previous two issues of Old Cars covered the development of the 1955 Chevrolet chassis and small-block V-8. Part three concludes with the design story of the iconic car.

An all-new body design was in the works concurrently with the Chevrolet’s new engine and chassis. Three years were expended in the 1955 Chevrolet design, and it was a major achievement in automotive history owing to all the features included in what was classed as a low-priced car. The introduction to the 1955 Chevrolet “Fingertip Facts” informational book for dealers said of the new car, “It’s a completely new concept of low-cost motoring — without parallel in automotive history. Starting with a clean slate, Chevrolet first found out, through exhaustive research, exactly what people want in a car of lowest cost; then developed—in one compact design —values that exceeded people’s greatest expectations of a car of Chevrolet’s class… As a result… Chevrolet is by far the most beautiful, most enjoyable, and finest performing Chevrolet ever built.” Those were bold words, and many buyers of cars in the low-price class evidently agreed that Chevrolet was offering them a very good automobile for their money.

In the December 1954 issue of Motor Trend, the new 1955 models were detailed by Walt Woron. His introductory comments regarding the 1955 Chevrolet revealed the stark contrast between the early-1950s models and the new car: “Seldom has there been a car that year in and year out has been described in the same monotonous style:

‘Not a car of high performance

‘Continues to provide good, economical transportation’

‘A car that won’t set the connoisseurs aflame with desire’

‘Who said this about what car? We did—about the Chevrolets of model years 1950 through 1954—and justly so. Now, there could be no one happier to announce that we can junk all these old phrases.”

Woron attributed the change to “mostly a new philosophy in thinking about their product and its relation to the competition. The Engineering Dept., headed up by Ed Cole, has come out with a machine that’s not only going to give fits to the other members of the Low-Priced Three, but is going to keep the other divisions of General Motors hopping to stay out of the Chevy’s way.”

Those who wrote Chevrolet’s advertising for the 1955 models made many claims, such as the car was “for the young in spirit” and “Here’s Chevrolet’s new show car styling at its beautiful best… New look! New life! New everything!” Some promotional material featured the slogan “Motoramic Chevrolet” which, along with the phrase “new show car styling,” were references to the dream cars shown at the GM Motorama, the traveling General Motors exhibition. The best-known today of all the catchphrases, though, is “The Hot One.” All of their boasts had merit. The wraparound, or “Sweep-Sight,” windshield, planned from the start of the styling process for the 1955 models, was a styling touch lifted from the GM Le Sabre and Buick XP-300 concept cars, both completed in 1951, and included in the 1953 GM Motorama show circuit. The wraparound windshield went into use for three production models starting with the 1953 model year; all of the cars with the innovative windshield were limited-production models: the Cadillac Eldorado, the Oldsmobile Fiesta and the Corvette. By 1955, all of GM’s new models, including its trucks, had the wraparound windshield.

While the wraparound windshield was planned from the start (though initially as a two-piece affair), other aspects of the car’s innovative styling underwent some changes along the way. Indeed, just one change resulted in a domino effect in regard to the car’s styling. The early design process included having the hood line low between the front fenders, with the fender line continuing into the front door where it would subtly dip at the A-pillar (windshield post). From there, the body line continued straight back. As the engine design progressed, it simply became too high to fit under the low hood, leading, of course, to a higher hood line. That, in turn, caused the fender height to be raised to maintain the recessed hood. This change forced the dip to be much greater than in its previous form, resulting in an ungainly appearance. The changed height of the hood and fenders also altered the proportions of the car, giving it a tall, narrow look. Finally, the recessed hood concept was abandoned and was essentially raised to fender height. (As it was, an air cleaner for the six-cylinder had to be designed to fit underneath the hood, which necessitated a small revision to the carburetor main metering jet to compensate for the slight increase in restriction caused by the side-mounted air cleaner.) The fender line continued almost through the door, then dipped near the C-pillar, just as on other GM passenger cars, except for station wagon models that had a straight line from pillar post to pillar post.

The grille for the 1955 Chevy actually arrived late in the styling process. Earlier proposals for the grille continued with the general look of those for 1953 and 1954, none of which suited the vice president of GM Styling, Harley Earl. During Earl’s annual trip to the European auto shows in the fall of 1953, the egg-crate grille of a Ferrari on display gave him inspiration. He decided an adaptation of the Ferrari grille was exactly the look the new Chevrolet needed. When the new Chevrolets were introduced in October of 1954, though, the grille design appeared to have been a major mistake. Dealers did not like it, just as they hadn’t of Harley Earl’s tailfin on the 1948 Cadillac, and the public also seemed to have some resistance to it. People were used to seeing a full-width grille and, for a time, such a new grille was in the process of being designed for the ’55. However, the public soon warmed up to, or at least learned to live with, the Ferrari-style grille and sales took off. Even so, a full-width grille was included on the 1956s.

The 1955 Chevrolets had styling that made them appear to be lower, longer and wider. In reality, the look was partly an illusion; the car was indeed lower (about 6 inches for wagons and more than 2 inches for other models), but was actually around 1 inch shorter and 1 inch narrower than in 1954. The lower height, in combination with a hood line nearly flush with the top of the front fenders, helped in obtaining the desired effect.

Other styling highlights included flush-fitting rear fenders, a first for Chevrolet. (The bulging rear fenders used through 1954 dated back to the 1949.) A vast number of two-tone paint schemes for the 1955 Bel Air and Two-Ten lines were available. Furthermore, a twin-cowl dash and instrument panel very similar to that of the Corvette (a sports car that went into production during 1953) gave the interior a sporty appearance. A decorative panel on the instrument panel of Bel Air models had 987 “Chevy bowties” cut into it. The idea for this decorative panel was probably inspired by the external panel also with the logo cut into it at the rear exterior of the 1954 Chevrolet Corvair show car displayed during that year’s GM Motorama and other venues.

The two-tone color schemes were not limited to the exterior. The so-called “Coloramic interior” was offered in 30 distinct arrangements of color-coordinated, two-tone patterns consisting of fabric and vinyl. The seats for the Bel Air and Two-Ten models were decorated with chromed moldings along the front seat end panels. Furthermore, these two lines of cars had, as standard equipment, automatic interior lamps that illuminated when any door was opened. The One-Fifty line had its own distinctive upholstery pattern. The Delray offered a more attractive interior than other members of the Two-Ten series.

The Chevrolets that followed for 1956 and 1957 were, of course, built upon the foundation of the 1955 model. Under the fresh, modern styling of all these models were multiple and popular innovative features uncommonly found in a low-priced automobile, albeit a number of the features were optional at extra-cost. Ultimately, the combination of styling and performance offered by the 1955-1957 models led to one of the most successful and important Chevrolet generations in automotive history. Chevrolet sales, which were the best ever, easily exceeded those of archrival Ford, which also offered new styling for 1955 (though it retained its 1952 inner structure). Ford also had its best sales year up to that point. GM had half of the overall car market in 1955, with the Chevrolet Division accounting for about half of those sales. Today, the 1955-1957 Chevrolets are at least as captivating as they were nearly seven decades ago, thus they have remained among the most sought automobiles among collectors. 

Check out Part II of the 1955 Chevrolet Design Story

Check out Part I of the 1955 Chevrolet Design Story

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