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Оглавление1955
The Delray was a submodel inside the Two-Ten series that had a unique vinyl/vinyl interior pattern and colors. The model was popular with customers, as 115,584 examples were built, with a base price of $1,835. Shown here is a ’55 Two-Ten Delray coupe in Onyx Black.
Until the fall of 1954, Chevrolet had been nothing more than GM’s pedestrian, entry-level car line. Excitement was a word that never came in the same sentence with Chevrolet. But the wheels were turning that would take Chevy from strong-selling brand to leader in design, horsepower, and appeal. In 1952, Ed Cole, until that moment one of the top men at Cadillac and partly responsible for remaking GM’s top brand post-war, became Chevrolet’s chief engineer. Cole knew what it would take to transform the Chevrolet brand, and he also knew he would need a lot of help to get it done.
At the time of his ascension to chief engineer, Chevrolet’s design department consisted of 850 people. Under Cole, that was quickly expanded to more than 2,500, providing the necessary personnel to design a completely new car top to bottom, inside and out. That team of talented and visionary designers and engineers completely transformed the brand and created a trio of automotive icons. But while it was a team effort to execute the plan, it was the strong leadership of Ed Cole that made it happen.
The first was the Corvette. After debuting at the 1953 Autorama and leaving attendees stunned, the Corvette went into limited production and showed that the Chevrolet brand was starting to emerge from its chrysalis. At the same time, Cole’s team was busy transforming Chevrolet’s core products into something Detroit had never seen. And the transformation wasn’t superficial.
The 1955 Chevrolet
Design work began in June 1952 at the GM Styling Building in Detroit. Thousands of early sketches were further refined until a handful of concepts remained; then these concepts were mocked up in full-size side views. The process began to bog down at that point as certain design aspects of the new car were overthought, slowing progress considerably. Harley Earl, the legendary design chief, became increasingly frustrated with how things were going. The situation culminated with Earl losing his cool with the designers and reading them the riot act, a move that helped unjam the design process and get things going again.
To start, Cole had the engineers come up with a whole new chassis for the 1955 model. This chassis featured a completely new front suspension system that became the basis for many of Chevrolet’s and GM’s front suspension designs for decades. The rear suspension still used longitudinal leaf springs, but the heavy torque-tube drive setup was pitched in favor of an open Hotchkis drive system and Salisbury-type rear axle in place of the old Banjo-type axle. Convertible chassis were equipped with a strengthening X-member to help boost rigidity on the more-flexible convertibles. Together with the redesigned suspension system, the new Chevrolet chassis proved to be a top-handling platform.
Besides its many styling firsts and groundbreaking design, the ’55 Chevrolet also ushered in a new era of automotive performance that would lead to the following decade’s muscle-car era and was the delivery platform of probably the greatest engine design of all time, the small-block Chevrolet V-8. It gave the redesigned Chevrolet the power and response to match its new styling, and versions of the original small-block remain in production by General Motors to this day.
Chevrolet’s V-8
To go with the new chassis, the powertrain team came up with a completely new engine to power Chevy to the top of the sales charts. Two ideas had been considered: a small V-6 designed by GM central staff engineer John Dolza that was deemed underpowered and a 230-ci V-8 based off the Cadillac V-8 that Cole and Harry F. Barr had designed in the 1940s. The Cadillac-based V-8 was passed on as being too costly for Chevrolet to produce. This left about 15 weeks for the engineering team to come up with a suitable new engine to power Cole’s totally redesigned 1955 Chevrolet.
Cole brought Barr over from Cadillac (such was Cole’s influence and power inside General Motors) to become assistant chief engineer at Chevrolet. The engine Barr and his team created was the first V-8 to come from Chevrolet in 30-plus years. It stood apart from competitors with a new, lightweight design, strong power output, and solid reliability. Until that time, the Ford flathead V-8 had been the top dog, but what came to be known as the small-block Chevy quickly supplanted it and became an automotive legend in its own right.
In a 1974 interview, Cole talked about designing what would become one of the most iconic engines every produced and the cornerstone of Chevrolet’s powertrain lineup.
“You just know you want five main bearings—there’s no decision to make. We knew a certain bore/stroke relationship was the most compact. We also knew we’d like a displacement of 265 cubic inches, and that automatically established the bore of 3.75 inches and the stroke of 3.00 inches. And we never changed any of this. We released our new engine design for tooling direct from the drawing boards, that’s how crazy and confident we were.”
Ed Cole’s core concept for Chevrolet’s makeover was built around using lighter components, and the new V-8 engine was no exception. All the new components for the 265 were designed with weight savings in mind. And while shaving a little weight from components individually didn’t seem like much, together it combined to make the new small-block the lightest V-8 produced to that point capable of making the power it did.
For buyers not ready to make the leap to the new V-8 engine, Chevrolet also updated the tried-and-true 235 Blue Flame Six with higher compression and internal upgrades for better performance. The 235s mated to 3-speed manual transmissions were rated at 123 hp and had solid-lifter camshafts; 235s paired with an automatic were rated at 136 hp and had hydraulic-lifter camshafts.
Transmission options for 1955 consisted of the proven Powerglide 2-speed automatic (paired with a 3.55:1 rear gear ratio), the fully synchronized standard 3-speed manual (3.70:1 rear gear ratio), and an optional 3-speed manual equipped with BorgWarner’s overdrive unit, the first time this was available in a Chevrolet and called the “Touch-Down” overdrive. It was activated by a pull handle mounted on the dashboard and could be used with every gear. Paired with a factory 4.11:1 rear gear ratio, it dropped engine RPM by 22 percent from 25 mph and above.
While the ’55 Two-Ten wasn’t loaded with lots of chrome and shiny stuff, its clean styling and shape made it just as eye catching as a chrome-laden vehicle from the competition. While GM management wanted more brightwork on the new ’55 Chevy, Harley Earl fought and won the battle to keep the use of chrome and stainless more modest.
A Totally New Direction for Styling
On the outside, the design of the 1955 Chevy was not only a major departure from Chevrolet’s previous styling efforts but also a huge gamble in terms of sales. Would customers like or even accept the new styling? Would they want a car with an unproven engine? The designers and chief engineer Ed Cole, believed in the new car, which gave them the confidence to forge a new path for GM’s leading sales division despite the risks.
The final designs were mainly influenced by Chevrolet studio chief Clare MacKichan, body engineer Charles A. Stebbins, and staff designer Carl H. Renner. Harley Earl issued the design edict of “go all the way, then back off”; the edict helped drive a final design for the 1955 Chevrolet that was only a bit less daring than originally conceived but was sure to turn heads and be a sales winner.
Even though the car featured a somewhat boxy design (helping to give the nickname “Shoebox Chevy” to the eventual trio of cars), several of its design elements lent it a sleek, modern, bold look that was very clean compared to the 1953–1954 models. While the 1955 Chevy was actually an inch shorter and narrower overall than the previous model, the fully flush rear fender design (the first in Chevrolet’s history) and low hood top that did not rise above the front fenders made the car appear longer and wider than it really was.
The totally redesigned body pulled styling cues from Ferrari and other sporty vehicles. Interestingly, the main feature most influenced by Ferrari, the front egg crate–style grille, was the only significantly controversial part of the car with management. Harley Earl loved the simplicity of the design, but the higher-ups preferred a design with more brightwork that spanned the full front width of the car, similar to a concept initially considered in the early design stages. In the end, the grille was left alone, but management’s preferred design would be incorporated into the 1956 model year update.
Some dealers weren’t fans of the new grille either, thinking it would be tougher to sell against the chrome-laden front ends of the 1955 Ford and Plymouth models that were also new for the model year. Designer Carl Renner bore witness to the discussions and Harley Earl’s power in the GM hierarchy. Although some people didn’t agree with the design decisions made by Earl during the car’s development, his rank and power prevailed, and Harley Earl got his way; the car went into production as he intended.
Harley Earl’s Influence
The final product was almost a personification of Earl, harmoniously integrating many of his favorite ideas into a unified design that flowed smoothly from front to rear. The ’55 Chevy’s one-piece, wraparound front windshield (the first one-piece windshield used on a Chevrolet) took cues from Earl’s famous 1951 LeSabre show car, the new Corvette, and the 1953 Oldsmobile and Cadillac Eldorado Fiesta convertibles. Earl’s fondness for low roofs was expressed in the ’55’s noticeable, rakish beltline dip on all models except wagons. On station wagons, curved rear side glass gave the increasingly popular model a less utilitarian look that did not impede functionality. A major contributor to Harley Earl’s mindset was his height. His 6-foot 4-inch stature gave him a unique view of design mockups. It has been noted that sometimes designers strapped wooden blocks to their shoes so they could stand at the same height as Earl and see things from his viewpoint, though this was never done in front of Mr. Earl.
Two-Tone Paint Schemes
Important to the 1955’s design was the two-tone paint scheme, a big selling point in the mid-1950s. For Bel Air and Two-Ten model cars, special paint dividers were added to highlight the bold new two-tone scheme. The dividers allowed Chevy designers to create 23 different two-tone color combinations for the ’55 models, a veritable rainbow of offerings that added to the cars’ bold new look. Since the One-Fifty models had no side trim, two-toning was limited to just a secondary color for the roof, but roof-only two-toning could be ordered on Two-Ten and Bel Air models if the buyer so desired. This was an easy way for dealers to add two-toning to a car already on the lot to sell to a potential buyer who wanted two-tone paint.
Stylin’ and Profilin’
Hooded headlights were quickly becoming a must-have styling trend, and not to be outdone, Chevrolet designers blended this concept into the 1955’s fenders beautifully. Out back, designer Chuck Stebbins came up with the distinctive ’55 taillight design, pulling them out slightly from the rear fender downslope to accent the car’s flowing lines, while at the same time making the taillights and related turn signals more visible from the side. Part of this came from the original design of the 1955 decklid that was to have a strong horizontal crease just above the license plate, which Stebbins’s design would’ve accented and complemented. But in a rare occurrence during the new Chevrolet’s design process, Harley Earl and Ed Cole (both proponents of the decklid crease) were overruled by newly appointed GM president Harlow Curtice, and the crease was eliminated. It’s surmised, and most likely the case, that the crease was eliminated due to production costs; the crease would have added multiple extra stamping processes into the decklid’s component pieces and increased the complexity of welding those pieces together. As time has passed, though, the GM brass’s frugality proved to be a good thing because the simpler shape made the design of the ’55 more elegant.
Interior design for 1955 ditched the jukebox-style design of the previous model and went with a cleaner, more symmetrical layout. Although the yellow dash in this photo looks good against the green interior, it’s incorrect. From the factory, the dash was painted green to match the interior, not the car’s Harvest Gold exterior main color.
As MacKichan later commented, “Nothing was carried over. With the new V-8 engine and the young man’s youthful image, we tried to make the design more youthful. But there was always a Cadillac feeling. The front fender eyebrows, the swept-wing eagle hood ornament designed by Carl Renner, and the new wraparound windshield. And Stebbins’s taillight design was intended to give a Cadillac look. I don’t think ‘copy’ is the right word, but the flavor was definitely there.”
It’s What’s Inside
The new ’55 Chevy’s interior didn’t escape the constant wave of changes as its design was refined and updated. Soft trim, developed by designer Ed Donaldson, was more plush and expensive-looking than before to accentuate the new interior design, especially with the Nomad’s waffle-pattern vinyl seat covers. The dash design went in a refreshingly simple and opposite direction from Chevrolet’s recent “jukebox” designs that were asymmetrical and loaded with brightwork. Featuring a symmetrical arrangement, the instrument panel shape mirrored the passenger-side speaker outlet. This layout had the added bonus of making the car easier to convert to right-hand drive for export models. Gauges were directly ahead of the steering wheel and compactly located in a fan-shaped unit that fit into the dashboard opening. They were surrounded by a chrome bezel that incorporated the shift indicator for Powerglide-equipped models. The passenger-side speaker mirrored the gauge cluster in shape, with a single speaker mounted behind a simple grille ornamented with either a stylized Bel Air script for Bel Air models or stylized Chevrolet script for Two-Ten and One-Fifty models. The basic design had been introduced with the 1953 Corvette, the first model to reflect the bolder direction Chevrolet’s designs were beginning to take.
For Bel Air models, a full-width applique with 987 tiny Chevrolet bowtie logos embossed into its surface dressed up the dash. Two-Ten and One-Fifty models had no applique, and the area was painted a color contrasting the main color of the dash. Fresh air ventilation was also improved for 1955. At the exterior base of the windshield on the top side of the cowl was a grated air intake that used the car’s aerodynamics to enhance the amount of air sucked in. This air was fed to the kick-panel vents located on the driver’s and passenger’s sides, and air was fed to the defrost and heater vents on models equipped with a heater.
How Do You Want Your ’55 Chevy?
When the all-new Chevrolet lineup debuted under the Motoramic headline in the fall of 1954, 14 different models spanned the Bel Air, Two-Ten, and One-Fifty trim levels. In February 1955, the Nomad two-door wagon, inspired by the Corvette Nomad concept of 1954, joined the lineup under the Bel Air trim level. Late in the model year (June 1955) a two-door hardtop was added to the Two-Ten series.
1955 Nomad
Inspired by Harley Earl’s Corvette Nomad concept car, the new Nomad was a production concept that today permeates the automotive world, combining the utility of a station wagon with the sportiness of a two-door car. The idea of a sporty station wagon had been suggested by MacKichan’s staff earlier in the design process, but it was Earl who made it happen.
As MacKichan recalled, “The Corvette theme was a popular one. Carl Renner had come up with a sketch for a station wagon roof that caught Earl’s eye. Bringing this idea to the Chevrolet design studio, Earl asked that it be incorporated into a station wagon version as one of the Corvette idea cars for the 1954 Motorama show.”
Once again the designers hit the mark, and when the Corvette Nomad debuted at the Motorama show inside New York’s posh Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, it was a smashing hit with all in attendance. So much positive attention and energy surrounded it that Howard O’Leary, assistant to Harley Earl, excitedly called MacKichan back at the design studio and ordered the Nomad roof styling be incorporated into a version of the new Chevrolet, while giving the design staff only 48 hours to come up with the overall design. Designer Carl Renner hurriedly set to work on meeting the no-time-to-spare deadline.
“The show car’s roof was taken from a full-size drawing, cut apart, stretched out, and mated to the 1955 Chevrolet lower body,” MacKichan explained. “The hardtop front-door glass framing, forward-sloping rear quarters, wide B-pillar, fluted roof, wraparound rear side glass, real wheel housing cutout, and the seven vertical accent strips (bananas as they would later be known) on the tailgate were all retained in a remarkably good translation from the Corvette dream car.”
Chevrolet’s marketing department had plenty of great things to work with in selling the ’55 Chevrolet to the public. The car’s fantastic looks and sporty, youthful, energetic vibe had buyers excited about Chevrolet like never before. The sales slogan “See the USA in Your Chevrolet” soon came to mean “See Chevrolets All Over the USA” as sales of the new car launched strong and remained that way through the entire model year.
But the final production Nomad had some changes of its own besides the Bel Air–based lower body and front end. Instead of rectangular openings like all the other body styles, including the standard wagons, the Nomad had specially shaped trapezoidal rear wheel openings. The liftgate design was a conventional one that retained the bananas from the concept car but was a steel unit that folded down instead of the show car’s drop-down tailgate window. The ribs/flutes at the rear of the roof were left from one of Harley Earl’s early Nomad plans for a telescoping, stainless-steel roof section. This idea was quickly shot down because of leak concerns and prohibitive production costs. Pontiac also managed to get its own Nomad, called the Safari, despite strenuous objections from Chevrolet executives.
While the Nomad looked great, the reality was its functionality and price hampered its sales. Producing the Nomad cost more than other models because it shared few body parts with the rest of the product line aft of the firewall and above the floorpans. Base price for a V-8-equipped Nomad was $2,571, making it the most expensive production Chevrolet ever produced; $265 more than a V-8 Bel Air convertible and $210 more than a comparably equipped but much more useful four-door Bel Air Beauville wagon. Not having the second set of doors probably hurt the Nomad’s sales as well, and while the more open design made seeing out for passengers and drivers great, in an era with no standard air-conditioning, and ineffectual factory AC, the interior got pretty toasty on sunny days. The special liftgate also had the bad tendency to allow exhaust fumes into the cabin when the window was open, and the window was prone to water leaks.
When everything was put together, the good couldn’t outweigh the bad. The Nomad was the slowest mover of all 1955 models, with only 8,386 produced, and it continued to be that way for the 1956 and 1957 model years as well. Chevrolet sold far more traditional station wagons across the Tri-Five years, but in an odd twist of fate, the Tri-Five Nomad became one of the most desired and valuable models of classic Chevrolets when Tri-Fives started garnering the attention of the collector car market.
A Smash Hit
Overall the brand-new, redesigned 1955 Chevrolet was heralded by the automotive press with high acclaim and nearly universal acceptance. Journalist and new-car tester Tom McCahill described the new Chevy as “a junior-size Oldsmobile with Buick doors and a Cadillac rear, the most glamorous looking and hottest-performing Chevrolet to come down the pike, providing rugged competition for Ford in the scramble to see which American car will outsell all others.”
On the road, the 1955 Chevrolet, with its new chassis and powerful V-8 engine, exceeded all expectations when it came to drivability, road worthiness, and handling. “Best handling Chevrolet I have ever driven,” reported Popular Mechanics tester Floyd Clymer, “and it feels like a large car.” Motor Trend named the ’55 Chevy the year’s top handling car along with the 1955 Mercury. Walt Woron wrote, “That mushy feeling so long associated with American automobiles is gone. In its place is solid sureness, a willingness to be steered, not aimed (and his test car was without power steering). When we deliberately drove it off the shoulder, the ’55 wouldn’t whip so as to cause us to lose control. We could throw it into turns at practically any speed, even turns that would make other cars quail.”
For such a radically new car with many unproven mechanics, very few criticisms were leveled at the 1955 Chevrolet, and those were generally minor and related to the tester’s personal preference and attitude, such as criticizing the replacement of certain gauges with simple warning lights, finding the steering lock-to-lock was slow at 4.5 turns, feeling the handling had a lot of room for improvement, and griping about the seat not moving far enough back and the steering wheel being too close.
Performance
Minor criticisms about debatable flaws were easily negated by the car’s overall styling and performance. The old-man, boring, pedestrian Chevrolet was dead. In its place was the reborn Chevrolet: young, virile, energetic, exciting, and bold. “The Hot One!” as Chevrolet’s marketing dubbed it. Even with just the base 265 V-8, it was more powerful and cost less than the new Plymouth 260-ci V-8 or Ford’s larger 272-ci Y-block. And since the new Chevrolet weighed less than the competition, that extra horsepower made performance even better.
In testing, a Powerglide/265-equipped ’55 hit a top speed of 108 mph, while the 180-hp-equipped test car given to Motor Trend ran 0–60 mph in 11.4 seconds (in low gear) and a quarter-mile elapsed time of 18.4 seconds. Road & Track got the best results with a 3-speed overdrive/Power-Pack V-8 in a Two-Ten two-door sedan. The 0–60 time was 9.7 seconds, and the quarter-mile was 17.2 seconds. While by today’s standards these times seem painfully slow and unexciting, back in late 1954, when tires were skinny, grip-deprived bias-ply donuts and most cars were lucky to have even 100 hp, these numbers were right at the top. As an added bonus, and before the concept of miles per gallon (MPG) was really considered by car buyers, the new ’55 Chevy could register a credible 18 to 22 mpg.
The new Chevrolet’s stock performance, and its potential for even more in the hands of a skilled mechanic, quickly attracted racers and other speed junkies to showrooms to order a new Chevrolet. These cars quickly found their way to the circle tracks, dragstrips, and salt flats of Bonneville, along with certain alcohol-related transportation businesses. Legendary mechanic and engineer Smokey Yunick had the ’55 Chevrolet dominating NASCAR races. These efforts helped start what would become Chevrolet’s other profit center: performance parts. Ed Cole, seeing what competing manufacturers were doing to put their cars in victory lane, had performance boosting, heavy-duty parts developed, and issued to racers through dealership parts departments. This led to more Chevrolet wins at the racetrack and led to the birth of the sales phrase “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday.”
And for customers buying on Monday, or any other day of the week, a person could buy a Chevrolet just how they wanted it to match his or her life or personality. The 1955 model offered more options, including the new V-8 engines, than ever before to equip a new Chevrolet. The most expensive option was air-conditioning, adding $565 to a car’s bottom line and making it one of the rarest factory options purchased. But buyers could choose from lots of value-packed items. The base 265 V-8 cost only $99, power brakes were $38, power-assist steering was $92, and overdrive 3-speed was $108. Dozens of options inside and out allowed buyers to take home the exact car they wanted.
The end result was a blazing sales success with Chevrolet outselling Ford by 230,000 cars during 1955-model-year production and by almost 66,000 cars during the calendar year. When the ’55 stopped coming off the assembly lines in late summer of 1955, the various assembly plants had built 1,704,667 cars, a new production record for Chevrolet and one that would help ensure countless ’55s would still be around almost 65 years later. In fact, GM’s 50 millionth car produced ended up being a Bel Air sport coupe, and a series of milestone Bel Air four-door sedans were built and painted a similar gold to the 50 millionth car.
Production Plants
Under today’s production logistics, a model is produced at only one or two plants and shipped from there all over the country and even the world. In 1955, however, Chevrolet/General Motors assembly plants were located from coast to coast, producing all body styles and trim levels of Chevrolet. Some plants also produced trucks, while the St. Louis, Missouri, plant produced the Corvette. Through the production network, certain large orders and special orders were fulfilled by a single plant, such as cars purchased by the federal government.
The 1955 Chevrolet body was primarily produced at 10 assembly plants. Each plant had its own prefix code that was stamped into the vehicle identification number (VIN) tag on each car.
Production numbers for each assembly plant are unavailable because the individual plant production records were destroyed in a fire.
1955 VIN Tag Information and Decoding
The VIN tag on the 1955 Chevy is located on the driver-side pillar post. To decode the VIN tag, follow this guide:
A: This part of the VIN will be either one or two letters. If there are two letters, the first will always be a V, denoting a factory V-8-equipped car. The second letter denotes the model series of the car.
| 6-Cylinder Model Codes | |
| Code | Model |
| A | 1500 (except 1508) |
| B | 2100 |
| C | 2400 |
| D | 1508 |
| E | 2900 |
| V-8 Model Codes | |
| Code | Model |
| VA | 1500 (except 1508) |
| VB | 2100 |
| VC | 2400 |
| VD | 1508 |
| VE | 2900 |
The VIN tag on the 1955 Chevy is located on the driver-side pillar post. Besides the car’s recognized production number, the VIN tag also tells if a car was built at the factory with a 6-cylinder engine or a V-8 engine, what series/model number the car is, what model year the car is, and what assembly plant the car was built at.
B: These numbers indicate the model year of the car.
C: This one letter denotes the factory that built the car.
D: This sequence of numbers is the actual serial number of the car. At any of the given body plants, this number was not duplicated. For 1955 and 1956, the starting number was 01001.
1955 Body/Cowl Tag Information and Decoding
On 1955 model Chevrolet cars, the cowl tag is located on the passenger’s side on top of the cowl, unless the car had factory-installed air-conditioning, in which case the cowl tag was riveted to the top of the driver’s side of the cowl. To decode the cowl tag, follow these guidelines:
A: These two numbers denote the model year of the car.
B: This four-digit number (sometimes followed by a letter) denotes the model and series of the car. This number was assigned by the Fisher Body plant the body was built at.
The body/cowl tag tells what plant a car was built at, its build sequence number, its model, what color it was painted originally, its original interior, and what factory-installed options it originally had.
C: This part will be either one or two letters, denoting which Fisher Body plant the body was assembled at.
D: These numbers denote the car’s numerical order of production at the Fisher Body plant. This number is never duplicated and starts at 0001 to denote the first body produced.
E: This three-digit code denotes the interior combination the car was originally built with, both colors and fabric material.
F: The three-digit code here (sometimes followed by a letter) denotes the car’s original exterior paint combination, whether it was a single color or two-tone paint scheme. This code was the same for all assembly plants.
G: This part of the cowl tag tells what factory options were installed on the car. Typically, only major items will be denoted here, such as air-conditioning and EZI tinted glass. The following option codes are typically seen:
| Factory Option Codes | |
| Code | Option |
| AC | Air-Conditioning |
| CP | Padded Dash |
| EZI | Tinted Glass |
| SA | Power Seats (Only) |
| WA | Power Windows (Only) |
| WS | Power Windows and Seats |
Production Numbers
Six different Bel Air models were available, totaling 773,238 units produced. Convertibles and Nomads were only available in Bel Air trim. The least produced was the Nomad two-door wagon, and the most produced was the four-door sedan. The lightest Bel Air was the two-door sedan, whereas the heaviest was the Beauville four-door wagon. The most expensive was the Nomad, and the cheapest was the two-door sedan.
This chart shows the 1955 model Chevrolet trim level and body style for Bel Air trim level vehicles.
Note the stainless trim around the window frames on this Bel Air four-door Sedan, model 2403. An easy way to spot a fake Bel Air sedan (for decades a popular trend was to add Bel Air fender and quarter trim) is whether the car has the appropriate window trim. No window trim, not a real Bel Air.
Note the accessory front bumper and grille guards on this Bel Air two-door sedan. These guards could be ordered on any trim level or body style ’55 Chevrolet. These guards could be installed at the factory or by the receiving dealership, even after the car was sold.
Unique to the Bel Air line, the Nomad was a luxury wagon before the term was coined. It had a unique roof line, a rear door, and quarter panels that were different from the other wagons in the lineup. The 1955 Nomad also had its own special trim, a chrome front fender eyebrow piece that connected to a chrome horizontal spear. The ’55 Nomad had a unique rear wheelwell opening as well. In the following years, 1956 and 1957, the Nomad had the same trim design as the rest of the Bel Air line and the same rear wheelwell opening as the other cars and wagons as well.
The year 1955 was unique amongst the Tri-Five group, as the regular Bel Air four-door wagon, Two-Ten four-door wagon, and the two-door Nomad wagon each had unique trim. In the case of the four-door wagon, instead of using the same quarter panel trim as the two-door and four-door cars, General Motors used modified quarter trim with a shortened vertical spear (shown here). The One-Fifty series wagon had no quarter panel trim, just like the One-Fifty series cars and the Sedan Delivery. You can also see in this picture the optional fuel-filler-door guard.
Two-Ten and Delray Production Numbers
Total Two-Ten model production for 1955 was 805,309 units. Of the six different Two-Ten models, the most produced was the four-door sedan; the least produced was the sport coupe/hardtop. Two-Ten hardtop production didn’t start until June 1955, which limited its availability and sales. The Handyman two-door station wagon was not like the Nomad two-door wagon and used a lot of the same body parts as the four-door station wagon, including the tailgate. The most expensive Two-Ten model was the Townsman four-door wagon; the cheapest was the two-door Sedan.
Two-Ten models can easily be distinguished from Bel Airs by the absence of a front-fender spear and only a Chevrolet script on the front of the fenders.
The Two-Ten sport coupe/hardtop was a midyear addition to the 1955 lineup, and only 11,675 examples were built. Unlike the normal practice with the Two-Ten series, the Two-Ten sport coupe had the same stainless window trim and window flappers as the Bel Air model. The Two-Ten models had no front-fender spear and just a stylized Chevrolet script. The quarter-panel trim was shaped somewhat like the Bel Air’s but was not identical.
One-Fifty Series Production Numbers
The 1955 model-year production saw 166,987 One-Fifty models produced. The most produced was the two-door sedan, whereas the least produced was the Sedan Delivery. The most expensive One-Fifty was the Handyman two-door wagon, and the least expensive was the two-door Utility Sedan. The One-Fifty featured two utilitarian special models: the Utility Sedan, which was meant for traveling salespeople and delivery services that didn’t need a station wagon, and the Sedan Delivery, which had a large, flat floor for hauling loads that needed to be secured versus hauling in the back of a pickup truck. While the Sedan Deliveries typically had no rear windows, a series of “window deliveries” produced for the U.S. Forestry Department had a solid window in place of the normal steel panel where windows were placed.
This chart shows the 1955-model Chevrolet trim level and body styles for One-Fifty trim level vehicles except the sedan delivery. One-Fifty models can easily be distinguished from Two-Tens by the absence of all factory side trim except for a Chevrolet script on the front of the fenders.
The One-Fifty series was the budget line, with only five body styles, including the Sedan Delivery. The only trim was the stylized Chevrolet script on the front fender. On Canadian-built One-Fifty sedans, interestingly, Two-Ten wagon side trim was installed. Why this was done is unknown, but the Canadian designers had a little more freedom to do things than did their American counterparts.
The One-Fifty Utility Sedan was meant for traveling salespeople and other on-the-road types who needed interior storage space for large items more than they needed a passenger-accommodating back seat. The floor had a plywood panel with a vinyl floormat on top, and a simple cardboard panel blocked off the trunk space. When Utility Sedans ended up on used car lots back in the day, they commonly had a back seat installed to make them more attractive to used-car buyers.
The barn find shown here is an all-original Bel Air two-door sedan in Coral/Shadow Gray two-tone. This color combination was available only during the 1955 model year. Besides the front-fender spear, setting the Bel Air sedan apart from the Two-Ten model was the stainless trim mounted on the upper part of the window frame.
Paint Colors and Combinations
In the 1955 model year, single-tone paint schemes were straightforward no matter what trim level a particular car was. The only factor was that certain monotone paint colors were not available on the Two-Ten and One-Fifty series, while the Bel Air series benefitted from the full factory color palette. That’s not to say that a customer with enough influence and charm couldn’t special order a Two-Ten or One-Fifty with a certain color.
When it came to the two-tone paint schemes, the Bel Air and Two-Ten shared certain designs, while the One-Fifty had its own unique two-tone paint scheme. For the Bel Air and Two-Ten series, the main two-tone paint scheme had the roof and upper rear section above the quarter panel trim painted the secondary color, with a specially designed paint divider extending down from the end of the quarter panel trim to the front edge of the rear bumper. A secondary two-tone option was to paint just the roof a secondary color. On One-Fifty models, just the roof was painted the secondary color, since the One-Fifty had no side trim that could act as a natural paint divider for two colors.
Shown here are all available factory paint options for the 1955 model year: 14 single-color options and 23 two-tone options. A car’s original factory paint was denoted on its cowl tag. In the case of a special-order paint color, the cowl tag had “SPEC” stamped into the line where the usual factory paint color code would be.
1955 Single Color Exterior Paint Combinations by Model
For 1955, buyers looking to purchase a single-color/monotone Chevrolet had 14 exterior paint colors to choose from. Most of these colors were available on all models of the ’55 Chevrolet, even the budget line One-Fifty models. If a buyer ordered a convertible, the only color limits were on what color options could be had for the convertible top to coordinate with the body color. How many of each color was produced is unknown as of the writing of this book. The records with that information were destroyed in a fire decades ago, and no backup detailed production records are known to exist.
The all-new 1955 Chevrolet put the industry on notice that GM’s “economy brand” was shedding its stodgy, old-man image. In its place was a more youthful, energetic persona that would attract new buyers and set the brand apart from all its competitors. Besides heralding a rebirth of sorts, the ’55 Chevy would end up becoming an automotive icon that would remain popular into the next century.
These charts show the color options available for 1955. Although most models could be ordered in about any single color, certain limitations existed based on model and design edicts.
Not the most expensive model ’55 (that title belonged to the Nomad wagon), 41,292 examples of the Bel Air convertible were built with a base price of $2,206. You can see how the steel wheels, even though covered by the full wheel covers, were still painted to match the main body color on this 1955 Bel Air convertible in Harvest Gold/India Ivory two-tone.
The sport coupe, commonly called a hardtop, was the most popular Bel Air two-door model, outselling the two-door sedan by almost 20,000 units with a total production run of 185,562. It carried a base price of $2,067 and became one of the most popular ’55 Chevy body styles. This 1955 Bel Air sport coupe example in Copper Maroon/India Ivory two-tone wears optional fender skirts. The lack of pillars gave the hardtop very clean lines and excellent visibility from inside the car. (Photo Courtesy Fastlane Classic Cars, Inc.)
1955 Two-Tone Exterior Paint Combinations
Buyers could choose from 23 different two-tone paint schemes for the 1955 model year. Selection was limited, though, depending on what trim level and/or body style a person was looking at. Color choices for convertibles were limited to colors that could be properly and tastefully coordinated with the available convertible top colors. Some two-tone combinations were available with either color being the main body color, while the other was the secondary color. If a car was painted a nonstandard color at the factory, on its body data tag would be “SPEC” on the line where the paint code would normally be stamped into the body tag. Cars were built with special-order paint colors to serve several purposes and organizations ranging from police departments to the military to the federal government to special fleet orders.
While the Nomad was part of the Bel Air trim series, it had its own unique side trim and Nomad-only rear wheel openings that almost exactly mirrored the front wheel openings. These features added to the Nomad’s price, a whopping $2,472, the most expensive model in 1955. This 1955 Nomad in Gypsy Red/India Ivory two-tone is equipped with an optional front and rear fender/bumper guards.
The side profile of this 1955 Bel Air sport coupe in Skyline Blue/India Ivory two-tone shows how the pillarless design of the sport coupe opened things up and gave the car a super clean profile. Sport coupes had lower rooflines than their sedan counterparts and correspondingly shorter windshields as well.
1955 Two-Tone Colors
Which two-tone colors could be ordered depended on trim level and body style. For Bel Air and Two-Ten trim levels, the two-tone scheme was identical with the roof and upper rear part of the body painted the secondary color and the front clip (fenders and hood) along with most of the lower body painted the primary color with a special paint divider trailing down from the rear tip of the quarter panel trim to the front tip of the rear bumper.
On One-Fifty models, two-toning was limited to painting just the roof the secondary color, since there was no quarter-panel trim that could act as a paint divider. Two-tone options on One-Fifty models were limited to certain color combinations and offered the fewest options of all three trim levels. Because the One-Fifty was typically ordered by fleets and other special-order entities that requested special colors for the vehicles ordered, it is not uncommon to see a One-Fifty body data tag that has the stamp “SPEC” where the normal factory paint code should be.
Interior Codes and Combinations
Available interior material and color combinations for 1955 Chevrolets were limited based on trim level. Even inside each trim level, certain models, such as the Bel Air convertible and the Two-Ten Delray club coupe, had their own unique interior material options and colors. Bel Air and Two-Ten trim level cars had several interior combinations from which to choose, while the One-Fifty series had only three.
| Trim Tag Number | Material | Models |
| 500 | Light Gray Pattern Cloth | 1200 (except station wagon and Sedan Delivery) |
| 547 | Light Gray Pattern Cloth with Black Vinyl | 1211 |
| 506 | Beige Vinyl with Light Blue Vinyl | 1011A |
| 507 | Beige Vinyl with Light Green Vinyl | 1011A |
| 508 | Ivory Vinyl with Black Vinyl | 1011A |
| 503 | Dark Blue Gabardine with Light Blue Pattern Cloth | 1011D, 1019, 1037 |
| 504 | Dark Green Gabardine with Light Green Pattern Cloth | 1011D, 1019, 1037 |
| 505 | Dark Brown Gabardine with Light Tan Pattern Cloth | 1011D, 1019, 1037 |
| 509 | Light Blue Vinyl with Dark Blue Pattern Cloth | 1011D, 1019D |
| 510 | Light Green Vinyl with Dark Green Pattern Cloth | 1011D, 1019D |
| 511 | Beige Vinyl with Dark Brown Pattern Cloth | 1011D, 1019D |
| 513 | Turquoise Pattern Cloth with Ivory Vinyl | 1011D, 1019D |
| 531 | Coral Vinyl with Gray Pattern Cloth | 1011D, 1019D |
| 549 | Dark Gray Pattern Cloth with Ivory Vinyl | 1011D, 1019D |
| 525 | Red Vinyl with Beige Vinyl | 1067D, DTX |
| 526 | Dark Green Vinyl with Light Green Vinyl | 1067D, DTX |
| 527 | Dark Blue Vinyl with Light Blue Vinyl | 1067D, DTX |
| 528 | Brown Vinyl with Beige Vinyl | 1067D, DTX |
| 533 | Dark Gray Vinyl with Coral Vinyl | 1067D, DTX |
| 537 | Turquoise Vinyl with Ivory Vinyl | 1067D, DTX |
| 551 | Dark Gray Vinyl with Ivory Vinyl | 1067D, DTX |
| 519 | Straw Pattern Cloth with Light Blue Vinyl | 1037D |
| 520 | Straw Pattern Cloth with Light Green Vinyl | 1037D |
| 521 | Straw Pattern Cloth with Red Vinyl | 1037D |
| 522 | Straw Pattern Cloth with Turquoise Vinyl | 1037D |
| 532 | Gray Pattern Cloth with Coral Vinyl | 1037D |
| 550 | Gray Pattern Cloth with Ivory Vinyl | 1037D |
| 514 | Blue Ribbed Vinyl with Beige Vinyl | 1062F, 1063F |
| 515 | Dark Green Ribbed Vinyl with Light Green Vinyl | 1062F, 1063F |
| 516 | Brown Ribbed Vinyl with Beige Vinyl | 1062F, 1063F |
| 517 | Straw Pattern Cloth with Beige Vinyl | 1062DF |
| 518 | Straw Pattern Cloth with Blue Vinyl | 1062DF |
| 502 | Straw Textured Vinyl with Brown Vinyl | 1263F |
| 524 | Dark Green Textured Vinyl with Light Green Vinyl | 1263F |
| 501 | Straw Pattern Cloth with Brown Imitation Vinyl | 1271 |
| 541 | Beige Vinyl with Green Waffle Pattern Vinyl | 1064DF |
| 542 | Beige Vinyl with Blue Waffle Pattern Vinyl | 1064DF |
| 543 | Beige Vinyl with Brown Waffle Pattern Vinyl | 1064DF |
| 544 | Beige Vinyl with Red Waffle Pattern Vinyl | 1064DF |
| 545 | Ivory Vinyl with Turquoise Waffle Pattern Vinyl | 1064DF |
| 546 | Gray Waffle Pattern Vinyl with Coral Vinyl | 1064DF |
| 552 | Gray Waffle Pattern Vinyl with Ivory Vinyl | 1064DF |
Delray coupes featured a unique interior upholstery pattern and color options, such as this Two-Ten Delray club coupe interior in ivory vinyl/black vinyl pattern. The Delray base price was $1,835, only $60 more than the base price of a regular two-door sedan.
Because they didn’t have front seats with folding sections, Bel Air four-door sedans had slightly different seat-cover styling than the two-door models but used the same fabric pattern, as shown here in this 1955 Bel Air four-door sedan with Coral Vinyl/Gray Pattern Cloth Interior.
The only Tri-Five year with a unique interior pattern for the Nomad was 1955; the feature was dropped to help cut the Nomad’s price for the 1956 model year. Ten different Nomad interior color combinations were available in 1955 models, including this 1955 Nomad interior in Beige Vinyl/Green Waffle Pattern Vinyl.
Convertibles were offered in six interior color combinations; all were vinyl/vinyl combos to provide extra durability since convertible interiors are exposed to the elements much more than fixed-roof cars. Shown here is a Bel Air convertible interior in Light Green Vinyl/Dark Green Vinyl.
1955 Engine Serial Numbers and Suffixes
The 1955 Chevrolet had four different engine options, two straight sixes and two V-8s. Both 6-cylinders displaced 235 ci with a bore of 3.56 inches and stroke of 3.94 inches. One version came with a solid-lifter camshaft rated at 123 hp and was used only with manual transmissions, while the other version rated at 136 hp came with a hydraulic lifter camshaft and was used in front of the Powerglide 2-speed automatic. The two V-8 options were both 265 ci with a bore of 3.75 inches and stroke of 3.00 inches. Both engines used a hydraulic-lifter camshaft. The 2-barrel carburetor version was rated at 162 hp, and the 4-barrel-equipped version (dubbed the Power-Pack V-8) was rated at 180 hp.
Even though the new small-block V-8 would prove to be a great engine, 1955 buyers were wary of the new, unproven engine. Because of this, more cars were built with the proven, reliable 235 inline-6.
Blue Flame Six
For the 1955 model Chevrolet, the 235-ci Blue Flame Six that had been the main powerplant before 1955 was updated, and two versions were available depending on which transmission option a car was ordered with. For cars built with 3-speed or 3-speed with overdrive transmissions, there was a 235 with a solid-lifter camshaft rated at 123 hp. For cars built with a Powerglide automatic transmission, there was a 235 with a hydraulic-lifter camshaft that was rated at 136 hp. Both engines had 7.5:1 compression and a single-barrel carburetor.
The 235-ci Blue Flame Six was the only real carryover from the previous model Chevrolet, though it saw an increase in power for 1955 with the solid-lifter camshaft version making 123 hp, while the hydraulic-camshaft 235 cranked out 136 hp. All 235s in 1955 were painted blue.
265 V-8
The big news underhood was the all-new 265-ci V-8 engine. Featuring specially developed, lightweight casting methods, the 265 was lighter, smaller, and more powerful than most of its competitors. It was available in two different versions: one with a 2-barrel carburetor that was rated at 162 hp and another that was equipped with a 4-barrel carburetor rated at 180 hp. Both versions could be ordered with any one of the three different transmission options. Either version of the 265 V-8 could be ordered for any trim level or body style.
The 265 V-8 equipped with a single 2-barrel carburetor and rated at 162 hp was the base V-8 and was the most common V-8 option. V-8 sales in 1955 were outnumbered by 6-cylinder sales, as buyers at first were still leery of Chevrolet’s brand-new, revolutionary engine. As word spread about the 265’s performance and reliability, buyers quickly fell in step and started buying V-8-powered cars.
The real game changer was the debut of the new small-block V-8 displacing 265 ci. It was lightweight, powerful for the day, and had a high-performance ceiling that was embraced by owners and enthusiasts so much it created a whole new market for parts and accessories both from General Motors and the budding aftermarket industry. All 265s were painted orange in 1955. This 265 is the Power Pack engine rated at 180 hp with a single 4-barrel carburetor.
No matter what trim level or whether it was a car or wagon, all 1955 Chevrolets with a factory V-8 engine had these emblems installed just below each taillight. There were no V-8 emblems on the front of the car.
Engine Stamping Decoding Guide
1955 Source Designation: F – Flint, Michigan, T – Tonawanda, New York
1955 Model Year Designation: 55 for Passenger Car, 255 for Corvette V-8 with 3-speed
1955 Starting Unit Number: 0001001 and up at each engine plant, I-6 and V-8 engines numbered separately
Examples:
The 65th passenger car 6-cylinder engine built at Flint to be used with Powerglide transmission was stamped 0001065F55Y.
The 45th Corvette V-8 engine built at Tonawanda to be used with a 3-speed transmission was stamped 0001045T255GR.
Casting and Stamped Numbers
All engine blocks had specific numbers cast into them denoting when they were produced during the model year and any special features that set them apart from other engine blocks. Each block also had a casting date with the month, day, and year when that particular engine block was manufactured. In 1955, only one block was available for 265 engines and 235 engines, and there was only one head casting for each engine no matter what horsepower rating.
Block Casting Numbers
On V-8s, this number is cast in the block, just to the rear of the driver-side cylinder head. On 6-cylinders, this number is cast in the block forward and below the distributor. Besides the part number, blocks have the date of manufacture cast into them as well.
| Year | Engine | Casting Number |
| 1955 | 235 | 3836233 |
| 1955 | 265 | 3703524 |
On V-8s, the date code is cast in the block just to the rear of the passenger-side cylinder head. On 6-cylinders, this code is cast in the block just above the starter. The letter indicates the month (A = January, B = February, there is no letter I, J = September, etc.). The last number indicates the last digit of the year (4 = 1954, 5 = 1955, 6 = 1956, 7 = 1957). The other digit indicates the day of the month.
Example: M214 = December 21, 1954
Intake Manifold Casting Numbers
The V-8 intake manifold casting number is cast in the top of the manifold directly behind the carburetor. The 6-cylinder intake manifold is cast in the top of the forward inlet tube.
The date code can be found just forward of the casting number (V-8s). The letter indicates the month (A = January, B = February, there is no letter I, J = September, etc.). The last number indicates the last digit of the year (4 = 1954, 5 = 1955, 6 = 1956, 7 = 1957). The other digit (or digits) indicates the day of the month.
Example: C135 = March 13, 1955
Distributor Stamping Numbers
On 1955 and 1956 V-8s, the number and date code are stamped on the oval Delco Remy tag, which is attached to the housing side.
The date code has three parts:
First: A single digit indicates the last digit of the year (4 = 1954, 5 = 1955, 6 = 1956, 7 = 1957).
Second: A single letter indicates the month (A = January, B = February, there is no I, J = September, etc.).
