1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Spent 34 Years in a Norwegian Garage, Roars Back to Life

Yes, the Tri-Five is anything but rare (apart from the Nomad wagon) by production figures, but many cars never made it into the 21st century. Because they were cheap and common in the 1960s, many Bel Airs were hot-rodded, modified into gassers, or even smashed to bits at demolition derbies.

Come 2022 and the Tri-Five Bel Air is still a somewhat common classic, but solid and unmodified examples are becoming increasingly harder to find. This 1956 Sport Coupe is one of the lucky ones. And amazingly enough, it emerged out of long-term storage in Norway.

What's a big American classic doing in Scandinavia, you ask? Well, old U.S. rigs are quite popular in that part of the world. And it's not a new trend. It's been like that for decades and countries like Sweden, Norway, and Finland have quite a few American car clubs to brag about. All told, I'm not surprised to find out that this 1956 Bel Air was shipped from Mississippi to Norway back in 1987.

The Tri-Five spent only a few months on Norvegian roads after its trip to Scandinavia. That's because the owner soon discovered that while functional, the Bel Air was in poor shape overall. Disappointed that it didn't drive as smooth as his 1965 Impala and 1975 Caprice, the owner put the Tri-Five into long-term storage, hoping that he will restore it someday.

That never happened and the Bel Air remained in storage for a whopping 34 years. Come 2022 and the son decided it's time for the old coupe to see daylight again. And what a gorgeous sight this Tri-Five is.

Sure, it's been poorly repainted in the past and the chrome will need a lot of work to shine again, but this old gal took more than three decades of storage like a champ. But that's mostly because it was kept in a super dry, fully closed garage. With no exposure to the elements, it's not surprising that the Bel Air looks just like it did back in the late 1980s.

What's more, the owner managed to get the engine to fire up again and even drove the car around the neighborhood for a bit. While Chevrolet was offering a 265-cubic-inch (4.3-liter) V8 in 1956, the original owner of this car opted for the base 235-cubic-inch (3.9-liter) inline-six. Shared with the Chevrolet Corvette, the "Blue Flame" was rated at 140 horsepower when new.

With the old mill now up and running again, the Bel Air will probably get the restoration it deserves. And hopefully, it will show up at local car shows to display its gorgeous white-over-blue suit. Until that happens, watch it come back to life after 34 years in the video below.