Barn-Kept 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Is a Hot Rod in Disguise, Has Mysterious Gearbox

With more than five million examples built from 1955 to 1957, the Chevrolet Tri-Five was extremely popular. And even though it's not a rare classic (except for the Nomad wagon), it's an expensive vintage rig in restored form. A Bel Air, for instance, will set you back $50,000 to $100,000 in Concours-ready condition.

But the majority of two-door Bel Airs that are still around needs a lot of TLC to become road-worthy again. This Turquoise beauty is one of them and thanks to YouTube's "DezzysSpeedShop," we should see it back on the road soon.

A somewhat rusty example that likely spent some years in storage, this 1957 Bel Air is not your average Tri-Five. The two-door hard-top rides on wire wheels, which are rather unusual on Tri-Fives, and hides an upgraded V8 engine under the hood.

It's not clear whether the small-block is a 265- or 283-cubic-inch (4.3- or 4.6-liter) mill, but the mismatched heads hint that someone tinkered with V8 at some point. The amount of horsepower traveling to the rear wheels remains a mystery, but Dezzy says it's been hot-rodded. What's more, the V8 now mates to a four-speed manual transmission.

That's an aftermarket upgrade since the Bel Air came with a three-speed manual on top of the automatic options that Chevy offered at the time. It's definitely a more modern gearbox, but it's a mysterious unit when it comes to specs and origin.

While it needs TLC, this 1957 Bel Air is gorgeous thanks to what appears to be original turquoise paint and a two-tone, black-and-white interior. It also sports a front bench for that authentic 1950s vibe. Hurray for another Bel Air saved from a sad life off the road.