Hot take: Dad's 1957 Chevy Bel Air was better than the '58 model and I can prove it

My grandpa left me two photos from his old dealership. One is a '57 Bel Air with the small block V8, the other is a '58 with the big fins. I've been looking at these for weeks and the '57 just has cleaner lines. The '58 looks like they tacked on extra chrome to compete with Chrysler. My uncle says the '58 rides smoother but I think he's just nostalgic. Anyone else think the '57 was the peak before they went too flashy?

2 comments

2 Comments

johnfoster5d ago

Oh man, I read this article a while back about how the '57 actually had better engineering under the hood than people give it credit for. That small block V8 you mentioned was way ahead of its time, and the '58 was more about looks than performance. I've seen a few '57s at car shows and they just sit right, you know? The fins on the '58 always looked a bit like an afterthought to me, like the designers couldn't make up their minds. But yeah, the '57 was definitely the last year before they went totally crazy with the chrome.

dakota_rivera10h ago

Yeah the small block V8 actually debuted in 1955, so by '57 they'd already been refining it for a couple years. The '58 did get that new 348 big block option though, which was more about torque than the small block's balance. But honestly I agree the '57 just looks tighter all around, like they knew exactly what they wanted before the fin craze took over.