1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Is a Rust Bucket After 40 Years in the Mud, Still Runs and Drives

Parked next to a barn, this Bel Air was completely neglected by its owner for a whopping 39 years. And not it spent almost four decades fully exposed to bad weather, it also sunk into the mud pool that formed under its wheels. That's usually a big problem because the frame ends up sitting on the ground too. All told, this Chevy was doomed to rust away.

Until the owner decided to do an online auction and included the derelict Bel Air. That's when YouTube's "Working Hands" jumped in to give the four-door sedan a second chance. They spent a whopping four hours digging the car out of the mud and we've seen the video in early September 2022. Amazingly enough, they also managed to get the old inline-six engine running again.

A month later and the new owner returned with a new video, one that includes footage of the car's first wash. And not surprisingly, the cleaning process confirms that this Bel Air is a rust bucket. One that can't be saved without a very expensive restoration that doesn't make sense given the market value of a 1962 Bel Air four-door.

But that didn't stop "Working Hands" from making it driveable again. And amazingly enough, the 235-cubic-inch (3.9-liter) inline-six engine still had enough grunt to push the 3,500-pound (1,588-kg) classic sideways for a bit. But that's about everything this Bel Air will get to do before it will be parted out.

It's a bit sad if you think about it, but the Chevy is simply too far gone inside and out. But becoming a parts car is definitely better than rotting away in someone's backyard, so I guess we could say that this 1962 Bel Air was rescued.