This '57 150 four-door sedan (56,418 built) sports the predictable six-popper, three-on-the-tree, and, get this, radio delete. Largely unmolested, it'll be a washing machine by the time you read this.
The Tri-Five Chevy may have moved beyond the reach of low-buck hot-rodders long ago, but we're still amazed when we see any Tri-Five, let alone several, go to the crusher. Here are a few of the many Tri-Fives that were recently crushed unceremoniously when Curboy's Auto Wrecking (in Sturbridge, Massachusetts) closed its doors for the last time after more than 70 years of operation.
Groovy Factoids
- Contrary to popular belief (except for a small number of Corvettes), there were absolutely no four-speed Chevy passenger cars built in 1957.
- Tri-Five styling intentionally emulated that of top-level Cadillacs and Motorama show cars. The fresh styling revitalized Chevrolet's position as a top offering in the low- and medium-price field.
- The letter V appears before the rest of the VIN on original V-8-powered Tri-Fives.
Sights like this were common at Curboy's. The '57 150 two-door sedan (right) is one of 66,833 built. A no-frills stripper, it's the best stuff for hot-rodding. Note how six-cylinder models position the radiator ahead of the support. The shorter length of the optional 265 and 283 V-8s allowed the radiator to mount behind the support. Though it's not prime Car Crafting material, the '58 Caddy Coupe De Ville (left) is also a sad sight. | 
Though it's a four-door, this '55 Bel Air (366,293 built) offers a final glimpse of its classic egg-crate grille before going to the crusher. Sure, these cars are all super crusty, but losing them still sucks. The presence of chrome-molding clips on the front fender mark this as a Bel Air. Cheaper 210 and 150 models were without chrome spears on the front fenders. |
Another Bel Air, this is one of the 282,476 four-door sedans built in '56. Its front clip, engine, and frame were scavenged long ago and hopefully helped to get other Tri-Fives back on the road. Also for '56 was the final year of the firewall battery location. In '57, Chevy moved it to the radiator support to make room for a new heater motor and duct arrangement that replaced the cowl air intake used previously. | |