Post by Mike B on Jan 10, 2009 15:29:27 GMT -4
Even the license plate’s original on coral-and-white ’57 Bel Air
By Laura Lane 331-4362 | llane@heraldt.com
January 10, 2009
LINTON — Thirty years ago, Kelly Foglesong admired a neighbor’s coral-colored 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air sedan.
“I had seen it back when I was in high school,” the Linton banker recalled, “and made the remark to the owner that if he ever wanted to get rid of that car to let me know.”
Eight years ago, Foglesong got a call. “He got ahold of me and asked if I remembered saying that about the car and I said I did.”
The man was selling the Chevy. Foglesong bought it.
His purchase kept the car in the neighborhood where it has always resided. The man who bought the car new lived on G Street in Linton. When he died, his next-door neighbor purchased the car.
Foglesong, the third owner, lives on F Street on the same block as the first two owners.
So for more than 50 years, the car has never lived far from its original home. Nor has it traveled great distances, given its vintage; the Bel Air has just 65,000 miles or so on the odometer.
In the car world, Foglesong’s Chevy is considered “original unrestored,” which means it hasn’t been altered. Everything down to the upholstery is original to the car. The tires and other things that wear out over time are all that have been replaced.
“I like cars when they are just like they were back then,” Foglesong said. “It still has the original seats and everything. There’s no air conditioning, no seat belts. It’s a six-cylinder three-speed — three on the tree — and there’s no radio. It’s just plain Jane, not fancy or souped up.”
His Bel Air even has the origi nal license plate, which Foglesong found in the trunk and recently bolted onto the backside of the car. He said a recent change in the law makes his old plate legal.
“It must be that plate for the year of the vehicle, in good condition, no rust, no new holes,” Foglesong said. “I was actually stopped by a policeman who wanted to let me know my plate expired 50 years ago. After seeing the paperwork and the registration, it was straightened out.”
When his kids climb inside the car, they look for the push buttons for the windows and were clueless as to how to open the wing windows. They don’t go for rides, Foglesong said, since there are no seat belts and he is not about to do anything to taint the car’s unrestored status.
“It’s a real dream to drive,” he said of the two-tone sedan. “It goes down the road at 50 miles an hour and pretty much drives itself.”
Foglesong said the car turns heads, makes people stop in their tracks. “In my book, there is no more of an ultimate car than the 1957 Chevy Bel Air,” he said. “It’s one of those you can park somewhere and everyone will ask, ‘Is that your ’57?’ People know the car.”
The 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air featured boxy tail fins and a new grille that made it stand out from the 1955 and 1956 models. Two lance-shaped wind splits on either side of the hood replaced the customary hood ornament.
Chevrolet offered the car in pastel shades such as turquoise and the pinkish Canyon Coral of Foglesong’s car. His model, the basic four-door sedan, was the best-selling Bel Air in 1957.
He said collectors once were interested only in two-door coupes and convertibles. “They were very popular in the 1960s and ’70s, when everyone wanted the two-doors and they crushed the four-doors after taking parts off them, so they are getting harder to find.”
He intends to keep the car forever; his son might inherit it. “My girls will want hot rods. But I am hoping my son will be interested.”
Got a story to tell about a car or truck? Call 812-331-4362, send an e-mail message to lane@heraldt.com or a letter to My Favorite Ride, P.O. Box 909, Bloomington, 47402.
Kelly Foglesong’s 1957 Chevy Bel Air is considered ‘original unrestored,’ meaning almost everything but the tires is original. Courtesy photo
By Laura Lane 331-4362 | llane@heraldt.com
January 10, 2009
LINTON — Thirty years ago, Kelly Foglesong admired a neighbor’s coral-colored 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air sedan.
“I had seen it back when I was in high school,” the Linton banker recalled, “and made the remark to the owner that if he ever wanted to get rid of that car to let me know.”
Eight years ago, Foglesong got a call. “He got ahold of me and asked if I remembered saying that about the car and I said I did.”
The man was selling the Chevy. Foglesong bought it.
His purchase kept the car in the neighborhood where it has always resided. The man who bought the car new lived on G Street in Linton. When he died, his next-door neighbor purchased the car.
Foglesong, the third owner, lives on F Street on the same block as the first two owners.
So for more than 50 years, the car has never lived far from its original home. Nor has it traveled great distances, given its vintage; the Bel Air has just 65,000 miles or so on the odometer.
In the car world, Foglesong’s Chevy is considered “original unrestored,” which means it hasn’t been altered. Everything down to the upholstery is original to the car. The tires and other things that wear out over time are all that have been replaced.
“I like cars when they are just like they were back then,” Foglesong said. “It still has the original seats and everything. There’s no air conditioning, no seat belts. It’s a six-cylinder three-speed — three on the tree — and there’s no radio. It’s just plain Jane, not fancy or souped up.”
His Bel Air even has the origi nal license plate, which Foglesong found in the trunk and recently bolted onto the backside of the car. He said a recent change in the law makes his old plate legal.
“It must be that plate for the year of the vehicle, in good condition, no rust, no new holes,” Foglesong said. “I was actually stopped by a policeman who wanted to let me know my plate expired 50 years ago. After seeing the paperwork and the registration, it was straightened out.”
When his kids climb inside the car, they look for the push buttons for the windows and were clueless as to how to open the wing windows. They don’t go for rides, Foglesong said, since there are no seat belts and he is not about to do anything to taint the car’s unrestored status.
“It’s a real dream to drive,” he said of the two-tone sedan. “It goes down the road at 50 miles an hour and pretty much drives itself.”
Foglesong said the car turns heads, makes people stop in their tracks. “In my book, there is no more of an ultimate car than the 1957 Chevy Bel Air,” he said. “It’s one of those you can park somewhere and everyone will ask, ‘Is that your ’57?’ People know the car.”
The 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air featured boxy tail fins and a new grille that made it stand out from the 1955 and 1956 models. Two lance-shaped wind splits on either side of the hood replaced the customary hood ornament.
Chevrolet offered the car in pastel shades such as turquoise and the pinkish Canyon Coral of Foglesong’s car. His model, the basic four-door sedan, was the best-selling Bel Air in 1957.
He said collectors once were interested only in two-door coupes and convertibles. “They were very popular in the 1960s and ’70s, when everyone wanted the two-doors and they crushed the four-doors after taking parts off them, so they are getting harder to find.”
He intends to keep the car forever; his son might inherit it. “My girls will want hot rods. But I am hoping my son will be interested.”
Got a story to tell about a car or truck? Call 812-331-4362, send an e-mail message to lane@heraldt.com or a letter to My Favorite Ride, P.O. Box 909, Bloomington, 47402.
Kelly Foglesong’s 1957 Chevy Bel Air is considered ‘original unrestored,’ meaning almost everything but the tires is original. Courtesy photo