I'll admit I know very little about these cars, and as Im reading here trying to get better, I keep seeing some terms I need explained. I get the 2-door (coupe) 4-door (sedan) and convertable bodies, but what is a 210. 150 ect? Also I see what I think are trim packages del-ray, bel-air, what are the others? and if I'm not asking to much could some body please let me know what order they come in? I think Bel-Air is top trim level but after that I'm as lost as a boy can be. Keith
Probably everything you could ever want to know... BTW not all 2 doors are coupes... http://www.trifive.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=43
150 is the cheapest, 210 is middle ground, Belair is the top. A "hardtop" or "Coupe" denotes a pillarless 2 door. The 2 door with the pillar around the door glass is referred to as a 2 door sedan or 2 door post. A lot of people assume that any car that is not a convertible is a hardtop, and that is not true. There is also a 4 door hardtop in '56 and '57, sometimes referred to as a sport sedan, no pillars around the door glass but it's still considered a sedan. Similarly, the 2 door post wagon was called Handyman where the Nomad has hardtop doors, so no pillar around the door glass.
Squablow-Good stuff on the 150-210-Bel Air, but I don't think the 4 door hardtop is considered a sedan. It is called a sport sedan by Chevy, but is really a hardtop (no post between the two side windows when both are rolled down). My 56 4 door HT uses a 2 door HT windshield, not a sedan W/S. I have a friend who is a fiend on the tri-fives, and he says that Nomad doors are sedan doors without the frame. Says it has to do with the top of the body of the door-but I don't know. Maybe someone else will chime in on that.
I believe the rear quarters are different between 150 and 210. Warning bells are going off in my head, the top of the line was actually a little longer in the rear quarter, i don't know if wheel bases are the same and doors are different or if the car is just a little longer. A good friend ran into this during a resto of his 56 or 7. The usual shit, this are more complicated than they could be.
the 150 was a bare bones 6 cyl. buisness coupe- chrome, radio, clock (sometimes rear seat) delete-- 210 was a step up with minimal chrome trim, bumper (just rear spear) with an optional clock, radio auto or man tran - Belaire was all the chrome and bells an whistles
yes, no delrays in 55-56-57 I had a black 57 2dr post in the mid 60s - no back seat, no chrome on side of body, the heater was two knobs...no sliders and of course there was no radio, single sun visor on driver's side. I always called it a 110 cuz it didn't have anything at all. Oh yeah - six cylinder with 3spd O/D. It didn't stay that way for long, of course dj
hard tops no pillar post. sedans have pillar post 150 side trim only one strip up to frt door 210 side trim two strips , belair all the way up frt fender with insert in 57 any option could be ordered 150,210,or belair. Hard tops have longer glass in rear making it look longer all have same wheel base thus sedans and hard tops have different roof line. difference is between edge of rear glass and edge of deck lid. nomad used hard top doors all other wagons use sedan doors
Well, that's not entirely correct. The quarters on a hardtop are slightly different than a sedan. They are very close, but no cigar....
Yes, a Delray was a high end 210 and available at least in 55-6. There was a 4 door sedan in all 3 yrs, and a 4 door hardtop in 56-7, regardless of what Chevy called it. 150 and 210 are simply trim levels...have nothing to do with quarter panel sheet metal or wheelbase. Level of stainless trim is the most obvious difference. A 150 could have a radio, V8, and many other things back when you get what you want. Nomads use a version of a 2 dr hardtop door. Otherwise, wagons use a version of sedan doors (2 dr or 4 dr). Lots of misinformation in this thread...either non tri-five guys are answering, or no wonder people here don't like tri-five guys.
Delray was an interior trim package in 55 and 56. This package was available on 210 cars. Vinyl upholstery instead of cloth. Look on the trim tag on the top of the firewall and it will have an "A" behind the trim number. 1011A is the full number. The number of combinations available in 55-57 between body styles and trim packages boggles the mind. I think they would have gotten confused on the line building them. Wheel bases were all the same and frames interchange except for convertibles with X member built in for strength. 57 had different frame horns in the front. Lots of good books on the subject to read up on these cars.
This is on a 56 but all tri fives are the same. A Delray Club Coupe belongs to the Fisher Model Series 2124 made by Chevrolet. It has a special number on cowl tag all it's own: Style: 1011A. Total U.S. production was 56,362 but having less than half of it's production was the Series 210 Delray Coupe this year had a run of only 25, 644. According to Chevrolet it is similar to the two door sedan but more alluring inside due to it's all vinyl interior which they compared to imitation leather. The Delray's were first introduced in 1954 and were manufactured through 1957. The Chevrolet Delray is a 210 Series mid-range optional trim level. but had a seperate series of it's own by 1958. Intially , Delray was a two-door sedan having an interior of upgraded vinyl upholstery with waffle-like pleating and a color that complements that of the exterior body along with carpeting & other minor changes. Although considered as a optional trim level, it had the same standard equipments as that of the 210 series. When Delray had it's own series, it replaced the Chevrolet One-Fifty or 150 model. It beacme Chevrolet's price-leading, no frills models as opposed to the more expensive Biscayne, Bel Air, and Impala models. However the features of the Delray were not that significant gaining the bottom end status, but for prospective buyers eyeing for a low-price, economy and basic all-around vehicle then the delray would be perfect. The 248 inches V8 engine & a fuel-injected 283 cubic inches V8 engine were available for the upgrading purposes. Finally the Chevrolet Delray came to rest with the Biscayne, the second lowest trim level taking over in 1959. Back in 1956 Delray's cost $59 dollars more than a two-door sedan, that's about $360 in 2006 dollars. True Delray's are really an obsure model. The big difference to a regular two door sedan was the Del Ray had an all Vinyl (washable) interior including the seat, door panels, and a vinyl perforated headliner.<!-- / message --><!-- edit note -->
All 55-57 Chevies have the same wheelbase - I think it is 117 inches. Buick, Olds, and Pontiac had a short and a long car, but Chevy was the lowest on the totem pole, and just had one. The quarter panels are probably longer on the 57, but the wheelbase in the same. I believe the the 55-56 quarters are the same length, different wheel and tail light openings and as was pointed out, are a little different, with a deeper, more pronounced 'sweetheart dip' in the hardtop quarters than the sedan. The Del Ray had a model-specific interior, and I believe a rubber floor mat instead of carpet, and squares sewn into the seat covers, but I am fuzzy on that. I think Del Ray was the cheapest of the 58's with the Bel Air being moved down to the middle trim level, and Impala being the top dog. I don't if there was a Biscayne in 58 or not. 55 and 56 sheet metal is almost 100% interchangeable, with trim hole being different, and lots of 57 stuff will bolt on too. Pontiac as well.
For 57 it's as simple as looking at the front fender! 150 no inserts in the indentations near the headlights,210 had brushed aluminum metal inserts and the Belair had gold anodized aluminum inserts. The 57 Belair aluminum trim was all gold anodized on the exterior.Grill,hood and trunk vee's and the fender inserts.Scripts as well! Of course the Belair had the brushed aluminum side panels at the rear,210 was painted and 150 had different side trim similar to the 55 and 56.
I'm not sure what you mean...if you mean that on a sedan, part of the rear side window moldings, the C and B pillars that were part of the original qtr stamping are differeng than on a HT, yes they are different. edit - a post mentioned the sweetheard dip...yeah, that looks different because of the B pillar / window molding areas on the sedan.
I mean I had to modify an aftermarket 1955 hardtop quarterpanel to fit my 1955 210 Delray sedan. They are NOT the same. Everything else is the same but the dip at the bottom of the rear side window didn't line up...There is an inch or so difference between the two.
Sure, that on the left is a 56' 210. You will notice only 1 line of moulding going down the side. 2 lines of moulding is a 240 or a 2400 series which is a Bel Air. Bel Air and Noman are the only 2 with a writen name and not a number series.
A 210 with the Del Ray pkg, was a trim upgrade that came with carpet. Which no 150's had & most 210's lacked. A Del Rey also had just the roof painted white, with out the whole two tone paint job. Del Ray started in 55 & ran 'til 57 as an upgrade, like I said... So now for the 58 change, Del Rey became the cheapy version. Then in 58 the Biscayne version was first introduced, as one step up from the Del Ray. Then in 59, the Del Ray line was dropped & the Biscayne was the lowest of the line up. 57 Chevy has a bigger windshield, over the 55-56 which is the same 55-57 150 2dr sedans & wagons door glass, is the only one that rolls up & dwn. 150 55 Chevy's have no stainless moldings. 55 -57 nomads are the only '2dr Bel Air' wagons made in those years 210 2dr Hardtops are little less seen. Body parts aren't different because of trim level 150 -240(bel air) Only the moulding holes(or lack there of) except 56 210 & Bel Air key holes and door lock pieces are specific to 56 only! Otherwise they're not like 53-54 chevies where the trunk lids are different because one's for a coupe, an the other fits the sedan.. 55-57 Chevy Sedan parts fits sedan.. Hardtop fits hardt.. and so on! I'll write more as I think about it!
J. Fishbeck - a 150 2 dr sedan having rear qtr glass that rolled up and down depended on whether or not it had a back seat or not. Ie, utility sedans had fixed rear qtr glass, otherwise they rolled up and down.
Nomad doors are not the same as 2 dr hdtp doors. Nomad doors are straight across the top with no dip toward the rear. 2 dr hdtp doors dip. To re-skin a Nomad door, a 2 dr sedan doorskin is required. All Nomads were Bel-Airs, and as has been mentioned, no other 2 dr wagons were Bel-Airs. It's interesting to me how often I see 210 and 150 2 dr wagons, and even sedan deliveries, advertised on eBay and elsewhere as Nomads.
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