1958 CHEVY BEL AIR: The Anatomy of a Sales Ticket

1958 Chevrolet Bel Air 4-door sedan.

1958 . . . the year that Elvis Presley was inducted into the U.S. Army, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Little Rock, Arkansas, schools must integrate, and NASA initiated Project Mercury, aimed at putting a man in space within two years.

It was also the year of the Eisenhower Recession. The worldwide economic slump affected the automobile industry with car sales in the United States dropping 31% in 1958 relative to 1957. In the nine months following 1957’s peak automobile production fell 47%, compared with an 11% decline following 1953’s economic downturn. [1]

Chevrolet's Sweet 17.

Despite being a recession year consumers made Chevrolet the top-selling automobile brand, surpassing Ford as the previous year’s titleholder. The 1958 Bel Air sport coupe and sedan were at the core of Chevrolet’s popularity, with the Biscayne (formerly the 210) and the Delray (formerly the 150) offered as budget models. The Nomad, Brookwood, and Yeoman filled in the choices for station wagons. Joining the Corvette as Chevrolet’s sportier offerings the new Impala was introduced as a 2-door hardtop coupe and 2-door convertible model.

The following sales invoice, dated January 29, 1958, illustrates what the buyer of a new Bel Air 4-door sedan would have purchased for $2,986 (a relative value today of $25,176).

A sales invoice for a Bel Air 4-door sedan (see photo at beginning).

The body and style number in the model box, “1849-8”, identifies the car as a 4-door 6-passenger sedan with an eight cylinder engine. Chevrolet introduced the powerful 348 cubic inch V8 big block engine as an option in 1958.

The code in the serial number box, “F58T 109568”, refers to the car’s production information. F: eight cylinder engine 58: 1958 model year T: Tarrytown, New York (North Tarrytown Assembly) 109568: vehicle serial number

The selected exterior color scheme was Sierra Gold and Artic White. Chevrolet offered fifteen other color combinations to choose from, all of which were coordinated to six interior combinations.

1958 Best-Sellers: Chevrolet surpassed Ford.

For an additional $491 the purchaser customized his order with a heater, oil filter, undercoat, gas filter, Powerglide transmission, Positraction limited slip differential, white wall tires, pushbutton AM radio with antenna, backup lights, outside mirrors, tubeless tires, and contour mats – the majority of these items are standard features on today’s cars. The standard three-speed manual transmission was upgraded to a Powerglide two-speed automatic transmission, which started in low and automatically up-shifted to high at a speed determined by the throttle opening. Another automatic transmission option that was available was the new three-speed Turboglide, which provided a continuously variable gear ratio that made shifting unnoticeable. The Positraction limited slip differential allowed two output shafts to rotate at different speeds, allowing torque to transfer to the opposite side when one side is slipping.

The new V8 big block.

Chevrolet redesigned their 1958 Bel Air lineup from the ground up. The single-year only design was supposed to be implemented for 1957 Bel Airs, replacing the 1955 and 1956 models. But because of production problems the major redesign was moved to 1958 and the 1957 models instead received minor changes.

Chevrolet’s chief designer, Clare MacKichan, was responsible for the “Sculpturamic Styling”. Noticeably, the iconic tailfins of the 1957 models were rounded and the fenders were given a gull-wing treatment for a “Jet Age” appearance. The side trim was meant to resemble a rocket ship in flight. A broad grille and quad headlights were added to the front end. The models were made longer, lower, and heavier, with a total weight of 3,470 pounds (1,874 pounds front, 1,596 pounds rear). An improved “Safety Girder” x-frame chassis featured box-section side rails and a boxed front cross member, with its rear tied together by a channel-section cross member.

Clare MacKichan's "Sculpturamic Styling".

Although the redesigned 1958 Bel Air sports a more elegant styling, today, most automotive aficionados view the earlier models, especially the 1957 version, to be more of an American classic.

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The Tarrytown Assembly plant, circa 1953.

The 1958 Bel Airs were built through 1957-58 in five assembly factories: North Tarrytown, New York (Tarrytown Assembly); Arlington, Texas (Arlington Assembly); South Gate, California, (South Gate Assembly); Baltimore, Maryland, (Baltimore Assembly); and Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.

The location for the Tarrytown Assembly plant was originally the site of the Stanley Steam Car Company. John Brisben Walker, the publisher of Cosmopolitan magazine, and partner Amzi Barber purchased the patents to the Stanley Steamer for $250,000. In 1899 they brought land on the banks of the Hudson River in North Tarrytown (now Sleepy Hallow) and commissioned Stanford White, the noted New York architect, to design the 700-windowed building. Production of the Walker Steamer commenced in 1900.

Over the years the plant grew in size and changed hands. In 1903 the plant was sold to John D. Maxwell and Benjamin Briscoe for the Maxwell-Briscoe Motor Co. By 1912 five different Maxwell gasoline-powered models were produced.

Chevrolet purchased portions of the complex in 1914 and 1915. Within a few years the company integrated into General Motors in 1918. By 1930 the original buildings were replaced by a new facility. During the World War II years the plant concentrated on building military vehicles and aircraft components. Production for civilian vehicles resumed in 1946 with Chevrolet prospering during the post-war automotive boom. The last models to come off the plant’s assembly line were GM’s second-generation minivans, the Chevrolet Lumina, Pontiac TransSport and Oldsmobile Silhouette.

The plant was closed at the end of June 1996 and demolished in the summer of 1999. Diversified Realty Advisors and SunCal acquired the land in late 2014 for $39.5 million. The “Edge-On-Hudson” property is currently being developed into housing with green spaces and recreational amenities.

Sources:

“1958 Classic Chevrolet: ’58’s Real Eye Opener is CHEVY!” http://58classicchevy.com/ . Retrieved 2017-03-27.

“After 100 Years, 12 Million Autos, Venerable Tarrytown Turns to Dust” http://www.autonews.com/article/19990712/ANA/907120709/after-100-years-12-million-autos-venerable-tarrytown-turns-to-dust . Retrieved 2017-03-27.

“Chevrolet 1958 Specifications – Passenger” https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/docs/gm-heritage-archive/vehicle-information-kits/Chevrolet/1958-Chevrolet.pdf .

“Chevrolet Bel Air” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Bel_Air . Retrieved 2017-03-27.

“North Tarrytown Assembly” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Tarrytown_Assembly . Retrieved 2017-03-27.

1. ^ “The Economic Report of the President.” Monthly Labor Review 82.3 (1959): 1-225. The American Presidency Project. U.S. Government Printing Office, January 20, 1959. Web. 2017-03-27. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/economic_reports/1959.pdf .

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PHOTO FINISH

Paul Currie's 1958 Chevy Yeoman at the 2016 Syracuse Nationals.