As Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers age, the appeal of classic cars is still very much present, but the lack of amenities is difficult to manage. We whose navels are no longer as close to our spines as they once were have what may be considered “automotive lifestyle creep.” We have been spoiled by cars that have power steering, power brakes, supple suspensions, air conditioning, decent sound systems, power seats, quality leather interiors, and all the other amenities one would expect on a nicely appointed new car.
Enter the restomod. Yes, you can still look cool with all the style of a true classic car while retaining the luxuries we have come to love in more modern offerings.
Among the most recognizable shapes in American automotive history are the Tri-Five Chevrolets. The Chevy 210, 150, Bel Air, and Nomad were all new in 1955, with designs warmly welcomed by the public. They have remained popular decades later, and that popularity has bridged generations. It is easy to understand the desire to give one the full restomod treatment.
The example seen here is a dazzling execution of a Chevy 210 restomod. The custom blended two-tone silver and green metallic is a welcome departure from the boy-racer colors that so often adorn other builds. The finish is glossy and deep. Gone from the front fender is the Chevrolet script, adding to the smoothed appearance.
All the chrome and brightwork gleams. As your eye travels over the Chevy 210, you notice sculpted Corvette door handles have replaced the originals. The hood ornament has been eliminated, adding to the sleek appearance. The side mirrors look period correct, until you notice the integrated turn signals.
The interior is swathed in sumptuous two-tone leather covering short-back front Recaro buckets that don’t clutter the lines of the Chevy 210’s profile. Artfully shaped door panels have the handle and small speaker situated together in a small oval above a much larger door speaker. A Budnik leather-wrapped steering wheel tops and custom tilt column. The dashtop is attractively covered, and all of the gauges have been moved from in front of the driver to a center gauge pod. The remainder of the center stack and console house a modern head unit, shifter, vents, switches, and some rear passenger controls. Embossed just above the stereo is a large “ZL1,” reminding the driver of the monster lurking beneath the hood.
Nestled in the Chevy 210’s brilliantly polished and smoothed engine bay, you will find a chrome-dipped GM Performance Parts Ram Jet ZL1 454, cranking out 510 angry horsepower. The firewall has been smoothed and shaped around the ZL1. The radiator has also been given the custom treatment, with a painted and shaped cover. The underhood and engine bay have the same glossy finish found on the exterior of the Chevy 210.
Polished Budnik wheels are fitted at all four corners of the Chevy 210, with the rears significantly wider than the fronts. To halt this beast, Baer brakes with cross-drilled rotors have been mounted.
The undercarriage of the Chevy 210 is every bit as spotless and brilliant as the top. The paintwork is exquisite. Lines, headers, oil pan, and suspension bits are all highly polished or chromed.
A final detail of note: this Chevy 210 couldn’t have just any filler door hidden behind the taillight. This one has been changed to an electric power unit that rises to reveal the cap.
Of course, all this quality and craftsmanship does come at a price. This Chevy 210 is available from R & H Motorcar Group for $400,000.
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Comments
Just Beee-u-teefull! My favorite sereis of cars, the Tri-Fives! Best style Chevies EVER!!! Had a ’57 Bel Air 2 door sedan. Put a ’62 327 in it with a T-10 4 speed. Painted it the color of the day–Marina Blue, with black buckets out of my ’64 Imapla SS. Of course, American Racing original Torq Thrust wheels. Had a blast with that car. Had to sell it cause life gets in the way. Life goes on.
Sorry, but this thing does not have enough ’55 Chevy to be called a restomod. As the name implies, a restomod is a restoration with some modifications, as in a basically stock car with some relatively simple upgrades, usually to bring the drivetrain, brakes, and suspension up to 1990-ish standards. It is upgraded to be driven. This is a rich person’s garage ornament. It is in no way a restoration. It is a complete, overdone custom build with nothing that is remotely ’55 Chevy, aside from the basic body shell.
As I said its open for discussion I think its a Restomod worth $400,000 +
you think its a hotrod worth $100,000
neither you or I are right nor wrong
Can you provide us all the Details and Picture of the 2022 all new Chevy Traverse?
Greg
Thank Uncle Sam they didn’t slam tha dang thang and f@#k up a good ole American classic as some custom rebuilders are wont to do
I love how it has been bought into our modern world in a relatively subtle way keeping the classic look and style of the fifties
For mine a Chevy 210 worthy of any custom award available
This baby is gorgeous but i have a question , in this day and age why people still are not able to make their own chassis and panel clones from steel, aluminum , fiberglass or carbon fiber instead of ripping this national treasures for just a skeleton and replacing every other part.
This car is exactly what you ask for. Cars like this are ground up builds, every component hand made, not a car chopped from a museum quality donor. Probably very few donor parts on this car.
That’s why it’s so gorgeous.
And that’s exactly why it’s in no way a “restomod”.
You can! You can buy all the body parts repop and out it on a custom chassis.
Nice car, but $400,000??? Really??? Asking prices on these ‘restomod’ cars are getting ridiculous.
Really?
You don’t think the attention to detail the quality of the craftsmanship, the hour’s of work gone into every detail of this unique one off build is worthy of $400,000
In England Jaguar are producing restomod E Types and Jensen FF Interceptor restomods are being turned out of a factory each selling for £400,000 to over £1,000,000 thats British Pounds not American Dollars so you go do the maths at least with a custom restomod like this beautiful Chev210 you are getting a labour of love and something truly unique
“You don’t think the attention to detail the quality of the craftsmanship, the hour’s of work gone into every detail of this unique one off build is worthy of $400,000”
No; not even close, especially for a car with an out-of-the-box crate motor. Apparently, you aren’t familiar with the US ‘restomod’ market; similar cars show up for sale here every day for $100K. Complete, brand-new steel bodies and frames, along with everything else to build a “brand new” 55 Chevy are readily available, and reasonably-priced, something I can’t say about the car in this story.
And as far as comparing a factory-restored Jag to a tri-five Chevy, well, I’ll just let that slide.
…Super Nice Restoration ,with the Color Highliting the Body Lines Flow from Front to Rear. But asking $400,000.00 is pretty Ridiculous when the …55, 56, 57, 58, & 1959 Chevrolet 2 Door Hardtop & Posts are selling at Mecum & Barrett Auctions for Half 1/2 …of what people have Invested in them for a Complete Restoration. Just ,hang tight if your in the Market to Purchase your “Dream Machine” & take a look at the Mecum Auction in March out in Arizona….Respectfully, again the Car Looks Great…but not $400,000.00 Great my Friends…GOOD LUCK !!!
They will never see $400,000.
They may have that much in the car but seldom do you get the full return at these prices.
Generally they may see a little over $100,000 for this car.
Anymore it best to buy a well documented built car than to do one on your own. Even many restored cars are cheaper vs doing it yourself anymore unless it is some very rare high dollar car,
Can you also do a 57 4 door
As a Baby-Boomer, I am a fan of ’55s as long as I can remember. Grew up with them and drove one in HS. Long may you run!
Not a true tri five if it doesn’t shake rattle and roll.
I’m in tune with some of your other readers, in the tune of this car not being worth 400,000 dollars. Go to one of the big auctions and see what you can buy with half or less than 400,000 dollars and they will most likely appreciate in value, I don’t see this car doing anything but deprecateing at that price.
Wikipedia Restomod definition Generaly accepted by most automotive clubs around the world
A resto-mod is a classic car that has been restored, but modified with modern parts and technology. Aesthetically, the vehicle looks the same until you look under the hood or reach for the radio. When an owner decides to modify their vehicle it is usually to comply with emissions standards, incorporate safety features such as airbags, brakes, or in some cases, GPS systems. Further, many owners will upgrade the engines on a classic car so as to enhance performance and increase fuel efficiency. Regardless of what features are changed or added, the ultimate goal is to modify the classic car without significantly altering its outward appearance.
So according to this definition this Chev 210 is a Restomod however everyone will have their own opinion who is wrong and who is right is open to discussion
Open for discussion maybe, but if the definition is that one doesn’t notice the difference until reaching for the radio, well, this fails. There isn’t a single piece in the interior of this car that even vaguely resembles original.
Re read slowly the restomod description I posted earlier the interior of the car doesn’t have to resemble the original only the exterior
Which part would like for me to reread? Maybe the sentence that says, “the vehicle looks the same until you look under the hood or reach for the radio”? That would seem to imply that I wouldn’t notice the interior wasn’t original until I looked at a small, unnecessary electronic device in the middle of the dash. This is a street rod. Where would you like to draw the line between a restomod and a street rod?
This is NOT a Street Rod. A street rod is usually an open wheel early car. A true Hot Rod. If this ’55 is anything other than a Restomod, it’s a street machine. Not a street rod. You guys are going nuts over something so foolish. It’s sharp and it’s someone’s dream come true. When it does sell, it won’t be for $400,000! The market is good, but NOT that good. Watch Mecum in Jan. you will all see how much these go for in the real world! Oh yeh. For the guys who cringe at this being an old original ’55 body, one can now buy all tri-five bodies, repopped. They aren’t cheap, but an all repopped ’57 Bel air, sold last year at Mecum. NO NOS parts at all. All repopped!!!!!
I am surprised this was not specifically built for someone. 400k is a believable number but usually you don’t front the whole thing with the hope someone will buy it. Nice car. Great color combo. Purists hate this stuff. At the end of the day, the car is only worth wh a t someone will pay. It started life as a 210 so it was the cheap base model with posts.
Not exactly true Thom, a 210 was the middle option car. The 150 was the “cheap” car if you have to use that term.
Some of you people out there really s#@t me as I posted before a majority of people consider a rebuild to be a restomod as long as it resembles the original vehicle from the outside its up to the build what engine, running gear and interior the car has
as to what you spend on it is irrelevant as long as the outcome is what you wanted if I had the money I’d build something like this and be proud to drive it daily with my arm out the window and middle finger extended why would you go and buy a $100,000 remod if it wasn’t exactly what you wanted and you are capable of building something like this
I have a 4 door 55 I know it will never bring the money that the 2 door hardtop will bring but it’s not what it’ll bring to me it was about building a car from the 50’s that makes a wonderful hotrod!!! I haven’t yet finished the car the interior and paint still needs to be done but I have redone the entire suspension and drivetrain. I have a 500hp 383 stroker with a built for 600hp 700R4 tranny!!! I still have a little way to go but when I’m done it’ll be awesome for me thanks!!!
Just a minor point Tommy; the car pictured is a Tudor Sedan, not a hardtop. A hardtop would have no post.
Re read slowly the restomod description I posted earlier the interior of the car doesn’t have to resemble the original only the exterior
The work that was done to this car is exquisite!!! The time and patience put into it is worth more than $400K especially if they built this car for themselves! I know because I’ve been building a 55 4 door myself. I know it’ll never bring the money the 2 door hardtop will bring but I didn’t build it to sell it just to satisfy me. I have a 500hp 383 stroker with a built for 600hp a 700 R4 tranny. I still have the interior to do and the paint but the whole suspension and brakes have been done also and when it’s done it’ll be mine just the way I wanted it built and the beauty of having a 4 door is it’ll save the life of my interior because my wife and best friend and his wife will be riding in it lol, thanks for letting me share!!!
..I bought a 1954 Chevy 2 door sedan, she’s got the blue flame 6 cylinder 3 on the 3 standard. My cost was 8 thousand certified. It’s original and a blast to drive..One of these days I might drop a small block chevy under the hood…LS1 would be nice…thank you…
i
Beautiful car, not worth $400K, and kinda useless. It’ll never be driven except into its special satin lined queens trailer. I’m the type that builds a car to be driven daily and also show them. Rain, snow, dirt, it can all be cleaned off. But that car will never see the road. What a waste.
Baloney! Easily makes a good driver and I seen similar on the street. Albeit an expensive one.
How could you possibly know if this car is never going to be driven there are plenty of people around the world using $1,000,000 + cars as daily drivers i know if I bought it I’d hammer it
I bought my first 55 when they were still just used cars (1965) and I still have a 55 Nomad and a 55 4-door 210.
It’s a ridiculous argument as to whether it’s a “true” restomod or something else! Who cares! The term was loosely created just to communicate the car had been generally “RESTOred” with some “MODifications”. Now this conversation truly is futile.
Nevertheless it is a beauty. Would get anywhere near $200k. But that argument is much like the restomod one. Doesn’t matter.
I love the 56 gas filler idea, might use that myself. Makes a clean profile. The shaved “birdless” hood is a common old school thing we all did in the past. Same with the “smoothie” bumpers. I like the rear Nomad bumper idea as it gets the license off the rear deck.
Sooooi, very little real modifications on the exterior but heavy ones on the drive train and interior.
It’s a very worthy car and would be a riot to drive.
A lot of posts on this one! Yes, it is a Sedan and not a hardtop. Many, many people don’t know, or get the difference. Only the “Old Timers” really know. But I agree with those of you, who say it will never sell of $400,000. Just watch Mecum in January. These things go for $100,000 to $150,000. Even the announcers tell you, “Buy ’em, don’t build ’em!” To build one to your liking, is very, very expensive. That’s cause your ideas just keep growing, and thus the cost. The only thing is to build what you want. Worry about getting the money out of it later….or never. Again, it’s “Buy ’em” not “build ’em”.
Maybe $300,000 max?
I brought my first Chevy convertible 1955 Belair in 1966 for $150.00. Still have today and have Had it completely restored from the ground up. Every nut ,bolt , rubber parts.. everything new. Paint, top, tires etc.
66 American Motors Classic 770 showcases many Chevy concepts yet unique in it’s own way today as I seek a sponsorship to mechanically restore to either a rebel or Javelin Sleeper Car many mistake it to the Chevy Niva
Well, whatever it is, it’s not a 1955 Chevrolet. Not anymore.
I read all the comments and its still a 55 chevy to one respect. No body mentioned the upper Belair stainless around side windows at least that is what i see in pics. Any comments is it a 210 or Belair. I personally dont like body stainless on side mixed it takes away to me. Still a nice ride .
Bought my first 55 Chevy in 1963 and have had many tri fives primarily 55’s since and have one in my shop that I occasionally show and drive yet today.This one though a high dollar built by talented people is a build that’s not my style. Do not care for the stance , wheels and even the interior. No longer a nice 55 with modifications but a custom that at one time was a 55 Chevy. If others like it , good for them and go for it.