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1957 Chevrolet 210 Spent 50 Years Up on a Sign, Gets Saved by Dad and Daughters

It's 2022 and classic cars are wasting away almost everywhere you look. While many of them are waiting to be crushed or dismantled in junkyards, others are rotting away in backyards. Some were luckier than the rest and got barn roofs over their "heads," but they were parked decades ago.
1957 Chevrolet 210 7 photos
Photo: Great American Northern Garage/YouTube
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Fortunately enough, some of these classic cars get saved from time to time. And while some become donors to save other vehicles, others get fixed and make it back on the road. And needless to say, it's very satisfying to see barn-found classics come back to life after decades of sitting.

The 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five you see here won't run against any time soon, but it's an intriguing find because it spent almost 50 years up on a sign. Yup, people used to do that back in the day to advertise businesses like dealerships, repair shops, or gas stations.

Apparently, this 210 spent almost five decades perched almost 30 feet (9.1 meters) in the air on a platform with large "nifty 50's" lettering on it. And based on the only photo supplied in the video below, it sat like that near a gas station.

The sign was taken down many years ago, but the 210 remained bolted onto the platform. Come 2022, and Chad of "Great American Northern Garage" decided the Tri-Five deserves a better fate and rescued it. With a bit of help from his daughters, he unscrewed the Chevy off the platform, blew some air into the tires, loaded it on a trailer, and took it home.

Unfortunately, there's no "will it run?" attempt because this Tri-Five doesn't have an engine under the hood. But the two-door is in great shape for a car that spent almost 50 years out in the open. Yes, there is some rust around the lower doors, the paint has faded away, and the interior is dirty and damaged, but this 1957 Chevy is a solid restoration project.

And while the 210 may not be as fancy, desirable, and valuable as the Bel Air, it looks just as cool inside and out. And besides, Chevy 210 values are also on the rise, with Concours-ready examples now fetching close to $50,000. Sure, this 1957 version is nowhere as expensive, but it has a lot of potential as either a restored classic or a restomod with an LS swap. Check it out in the video below.

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About the author: Ciprian Florea
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Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
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