[wayne82748]

Not enough. With what I spent on the 55, i could have bought a 55 that was completely restored with a ls engine. So word to the young, if your looking for a trifive, first price the cost of parts to restore a car. I didn't and every day that bag of rusty bolts sits on blocks, its costing me money.

Bought 57 Bel 4 door sedan 5 years ago. 35K on odometer. Numbers match car. Have 18K in it with no interior. Everything done right with correct parts except for built up 283 PP. Probably have 25K in it when finished. Too much for 4 door sedan, but, check out the price of some of the bass boats I see. 45K for some of the fancy Rangers and crazy depreciation. Might get 60 to 70% of my money back some day, but it's great to drive down the block and hear "NICE!!!!!!!!!". Plus, for a 283 PG this thing goes!

 

[wayne82748]

Bought 57 Bel 4 door sedan 5 years ago. 35K on odometer. Numbers match car. Have 18K in it with no interior. Everything done right with correct parts except for built up 283 PP. Probably have 25K in it when finished. Too much for 4 door sedan, but, check out the price of some of the bass boats I see. 45K for some of the fancy Rangers and crazy depreciation. Might get 60 to 70% of my money back some day, but it's great to drive down the block and hear "NICE!!!!!!!!!". Plus, for a 283 PG this thing goes!

Forgot...paid $2500 for car 6 years ago. Thought it was fair for a numbers car.

 

[mr55/56]

In the early 70s my cousin paid $5 for a 56 BA 2 ht with no motor or trans. The same day he bought a minimal rust complete 4 dr for $35.

 

[57tim]

I paid $500 in 1964 for my 57 BA 2dr ht, black, pb, radio, pg, pp from my uncle. He bought it new and I had a ride in it when new. From that day on I wanted one never dreaming I would eventually get that one as my first 57.

 

[gbullman]

After driving my 55 on loan for about a year I bought it off the previous owner for $100 in 1976. Ended up holding on to it until last month; from late 76 until spring 1992 I paid to store it in various garages then it sat in the garage of our current home until late 2007. From late 2007 until spring 2010 my son and I renovated pretty much everything mechanical on the car and replaced much of the interior. Drove it 9K miles from spring of 2010 until this past fall (8K of those prior to fall of 2016). Just wasn't driving it enough the last few years and decided it was best to sell it to someone that will use it.

 

[HILLBILLY 823]

Back in 1964, I acquired an 2 dr 57, 210, 282, 3 on the tree for $400. I put in a Hurst "synchro-loc shifter, Duntov cam and solid lifters, Man was I cool. LOL. A friend had a 6 cyl 57 that he had smashed up that I paid $15 for as a parts car, (Good thing because I tore up a lot of parts).

 

[57R’villeHT]

My answer remains the same as it did in another thread a few days ago about people asking this same question at car shows. “I don’t know you well enough to know that you won’t go back and tell my wife”.

 

[Granpa49!!]

Shoot, I'm the boss at my house and my wife said that I can tell anybody I want to.

 

[Tropturq]

I bought my first 1956 Nomad in 1999 for 16,900. It was in good driver condition. This is not the same car as my current 1956 Nomad shown in my Avatar.

 

[Gary’s-Classic-Chevys]

In 1971, I bought my first trifive for $175.00 it was a 1956 Black Belair 2 door hardtop.
Sold it to my buddy 2 years later after high school and bought a 1965 Chevelle SS.
Those were the days.

 

[Rick_L]

I paid $25 for my first one in 1968. 55 Bel Air 2 door post. It had no engine, a PG transmission, and quite a few missing parts but nothing major was missing, no major body damage or rust but the paint job was pretty beat up. Put it together with a used 327, and a stock manual 3 speed with junkyard parts. Drove it daily for 5 years, adding a paint job (a really nice one for $30), and slowly upgrading the drive train (while tearing it up a time or two), first with a synchro 3 speed and finally a Muncie and 4.11 gears. Then turned it into a bracket racer, ended up being able to run high 12s. For some reason I thought I needed a more modern faster racer so I got a $300 beat up 67 Camaro and put my drive train in it. I ended up selling it as a roller for $400. At that point it probably was worth more but I was stuck paying for a covered place to keep it and wanted to spend money on the Camaro. The Camaro got sold (cheap) 3 years later so I could get in on a dragster.

 

[lostn50s]

Bought my first 55 2 door sedan for $50.00 in 1969, no motor or tranny. Spent about 2 years getting it the way I wanted and spent about 2 grand doing it. Lots of money at the time! Now 2 grand will buy a decent set of wheels and tires and MAYBE a set of lug nuts to go with them

 

[jullsplv]

Bought my first and only for $1,600 2 years ago. A shell and frame, '56. And if i would spend half as much time as i do searching/looking for the next car on actually working on the '56 i might be of been driving by now!

 

[warpwr]

Bought my first '56 in 1962 for $800, black and white Del Ray V8 3 speed overdrive car. I spotted it on the other side of El Camino in a car lot. They had just taken it in and hadn't even washed it. I was the second owner. The 2nd '56 I bought for $700 in 1999. The second one looks just like the first one did now. Both were painted.

 

[beudean2]

I bought a half worn out ‘57 210 4 door for $220 in 1974. It had a small V8 that ran like a top, but used oil. I didn’t mind that because it was my go to work car and work was only about 3 miles away.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mike Martens]

I bought my 55 in 1966 for $175. Drove it for a few years, gave it to my sisters who ran it into the ground. Warehoused for 35 years, 19 months for a complete frame off restoration and now (see pictures).

 

[55 longroof]

I paid too much!!!

Lol

 

[west55]

I brought my first Chevy 1955 convertible in 1966 for $150.00 As the

second owner of the car, I still have it today ALL original and complete frame up rebuild.

 

[jimdean]

My wife bought her 57 Bel air in 1984 from the original owner .He was from Nevada and bought the car in LA. She is the second owner of a 48k original. Paid $4000 for it in 84. We also own a 56 Beauville Wagon which just underwent a frame off resto. A Colorado car that needed no rust repair at all.

 

[halftimer]

I paid too much!!!

i paid 3k early 80 did have 5k of chrome in the trunk sold less than 6 months after i finish it had to buy building my shop was inwhich was ok my retirement now