1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Replica With 24-Carat Gold Plating Wows the Crowd at the Autorama

Everyone wants a piece of it. It is probably the most Instagram-ed and TikTok-ed car at this year's Autorama, which opened its gate on March 1 at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Detroit.

The stunner on display is a replica of a Chevrolet Bel Air that GM paraded on November 23, 1954, in Flint, Michigan, during a huge celebration to mark the production of 55 million cars. And the 55th million was a car of gold.

All chrome surfaces that would normally show up inside and outside the model were plated with 24-carat gold. That day, the Chevy showed up on a floating platform, surrounded by piles of colorful flowers and wowing the gazillion people gathered for the celebration.

Almost seven decades later, a replica of that sedan has the exact same effect on people in Detroit. Built at the Snodgrass Chevy Restoration shop in Melbourne, Florida, the replica closely follows all the details of the original car. A car that spent most of its life in a private collection before it simply vanished.

The 1955 Chevy Bel Air paraded in Flint reportedly burned in a fire that engulfed the entire warehouse hosting the collection it was part of, somewhere in North Carolina. Only the gold-plated wiper arms and blades were saved from the blaze. Years after the fire, the owner tried to sell them, but asked too much money for them.

The experts from the Snodgrass Chevy Restoration shop asked for the help of an automotive historian to help them get everything in place and figure out the exact shades and trims of the original car.

The photos from the era were mostly in black and white and did not help much. Furthermore, back in 1955, the car was paraded with no documentation or sticker because it was not meant to go out on public roads. So, the team basically had zero information.

Seven months and 1,800 hours of work later, they got it ready and up on a trailer, on its way to Detroit for the 2024 Autorama.

The team invested around $100,000 just for the chrome plating. And apparently, it was worth every penny. At the Duke Energy Convention Center, many of the guests came especially to see the gold-plated replica of the Chevy, take a photo of it, and then, brag about it on social media. The car has all doors, hood, and lid popped open, so visitors can see that everything is done according to he original specification.

Even the engine bay and trunk are painted in gold Axalta paint, which cost $350 a quart. Meanwhile, the cabin hosts buttons, switches, inserts on the steering wheel and dashboard, plus the frame of the speedometer in 24-carat gold as well. A total of 600 gold pieces decorate the replica.

The 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air replica is going to tour the United States this year and be on display at several car events throughout the country to tell the tale of the car from almost 70 years ago.

The Uncertain-T from the 1960s is at this year's Autorama as well

The 2024 event also hosts the Uncertain-T, the hot rod based on the Ford Model T, which shot to stardom in the 1960s. Inspired by a cartoon drawn by a classmate, Steve Scott built the contraption in his parents’ garage in Reseda, Los Angeles, using a hand-made tubular steel chassis and components from a Ford Model T. However, it was powered by the V8 engine of a 1957 Buick and had the automatic transmission of a 1955 Pontiac.

Steve completed his project car in five years and immediately took it across the country. The vehicle won almost every single prestigious custom-car award possible. In the late 1970s, the car disappeared from everyone's radar.

Five decades later, after years of traveling the country in search of it, Beau Boeckmann, president and CEO of Galpin Motors in North Hills, California, found it sitting in a warehouse, just blocks away from his dealership in Los Angeles.

The model was exhibited in its “as found” condition at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California, at the beginning of February. One month later, it shows up in Detroit. Before it goes anywhere else to stun the audience, the hot rod will undergo restoration. Beau Boeckmann wants to take it as close as possible to its original specification, just as Steve Scott drew it in the mid-1960s.

Those who want to see the out-of-this-world Ford Model-T-based hot rod, as well as the gold-plated Chevy Bel Air replica with their own eyes must pay the $27 admission fee. But they’ll have to hurry. There are only a few hours left before it closes.