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canadian chevy

1.9K views 15 replies 15 participants last post by  sleecraft  
#1 ·
is a 1955 belair convertible built in canada valued the same as a us built car thankx j
 
#6 ·
:hello: hi ya and welcome. good to have you here. wouldn't matter to me where it was built. wouldn't pay extra because of that either. currency rate will make a difference.................:stupido2: when i hit lotto i will be able to get one i think.
 
#8 ·
Welcome to a fellow Canadian

Welcome aboard ; lots of good people with lots of expertise here. Good to see a fellow-Canuck on here . There are precious few of us ; got your snow-tires on your winter beater yet ? Remember to take all your water-soluble stuff in out of the cold before freeze-up ; last year this old guy lost a new pressure-washer to the frost ; the heat went out one blowin' cold Feb. night and we were busy diggin' out of the drifts and didn't notice . That cast iron just doesn't like the frost at all . Enjoy the Tri-fiveforum. Bob
 
#12 ·
Canadian tri fives had some colors or interiors not available in the USA.
So if you're after original in a specific color then Canada is an option.

For example in the USA a black 57 convert could only be had with the red and silver interior.

In Canada black could be had with silver and white interior.

Otherwise, don't really see a value difference unles the buyer wants a car specifically made in either country.
 
#14 ·
Canadian tri fives had some colors or interiors not available in the USA.
So if you're after original in a specific color then Canada is an option.
Mine is a Canadian-made 57 in Limefire Green Metallic. I love having an unusual but still factory color on an all-original car.

As for value I don't think it makes a difference, as others have said. There are other things different between the US and Canada made cars (rear view mirror mounting position, antenna, rear shock reinforcement plate, etc) that some may argue aren't original until they find out the car is Canadian. Then they still may not believe they're original... Won't affect the value but might be a harder sell to those unfamiliar with the differences.
 
#15 ·
Hi sleecraft,
Yes in most cases it is valued the same. In some cases It may be valued higher. Depends on the car and how correct the numbers are. The Canadian cars had their engine serial # stamped right into the cowl tags. If the engine # in your car( on the right frt boss of the block, by the cyl head on V8 and dist on the 235) matches the # on your cowl tag, then you have a matching #'s car.
Unlike GM of The USA, GM Canada has( Don't know if this department is still around) a historical vehicle records department. You send them your serial # along with $50.00, and they will send you a detailed list of all the equipment that came on your car, when it was built, who the original first selling dealer was, etc, etc.

Unlike their American cousins All CANADIAN built Pontiacs were built on the Chevrolet platform. The CDN tri 5 pontiac bodies are all chevrolet. They used the same 235 or 265/283 V8, had ball joint frt suspension instead of Kingpins, etc etc. The only difference to the tri5 chev are the frt end, Dash, tailights and side trim. The rest of the car is Chevrolet.
American Tri 5 pontiacs are a totally different car. Different body dimensions, chassis with kingpin suspension, engines and transmissions, bumper mtg brackets, different heater box location on cowl, Etc, etc.

Attached find some info on Canadian cowl tags.

Could not attach. File must be too large.
 
#16 ·
canadian 55 belair convertible thankx to all who replied

thankx to everybody who replied to my post. i recently bought a 55 belair convertible. i asked the seller to fax me the title before payment. title looked good so i sent the check. i took a look at the title again and saw the numbers were not the typical chevy vin numbers. i almost choked. come to find out canada has different numbers system and from what i can tell has no door tag. vin is on cowl. called gm canada gave him the cowl serial #numbers and got some info on the car. it is a car born in canada, number 139 of only 870 6 and 8 cy convertibles produced for sale in canada in 55. there is some confusion as i called it a cowl serial number and they call it a vin number. i called a very nice guy in canada who had an orig 55 canadian sedan and he said there is no vin on door pillar only on cowl. if anyone buys a 55 chevy and the vin has numbers only and no letters its probably built in canada. but call gm canada, give them the numbers and if it was built in canada they will have the info on the car and can decode the cowl number for you. thankx again j