1955 Chevrolet Bel Air
Eric Staniforth might have fallen in love with the 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air in the early Sixties, but it was almost half a century before he could make his dream of a mid-Fifties model become a reality, as Jon Cass discovers...
Eric Staniforth has been a long-time fan of the Chevy Bel Air since he first saw one back in the Sixties: "I was working in Hunstanton very close to an American air base," Eric remembers. "We used to drink in the same watering holes as the guys from the air base." It was common practice back then for American employees working at US military stations to bring a car over to the UK with them and Eric soon began to take notice of these huge impressive cars he would see on a daily basis.
"It all started when I was dropping a couple of the guys from the air base off in my Ford Anglia on a regular basis," Eric remembers. "George, one of the Gls, soon insisted it was his turn to drive us back instead." George didn't have a Ford Anglia, in fact far from it, as instead he cruised around in a black '56 Chevy Bel Air. "One night on the way back, George asked me to 'fill ' er up' while he paid," Eric smiles, "I searched for an age to find the fuel filler cap, but even with my limited knowledge of American cars having filler caps in unusual locations, I still couldn't find it." Both George and the garage assistant predictably began howling with laughter and eventually the location of the fuel cap behind the swinging tail-light cluster was exposed. "I just saw this as another new-found gimmick for me to admire the Bel Air even more," Eric laughs.
Thoughts of owning a Bel Air himself seemed an unrealistic proposition back then, but Eric, being a petrolhead at heart, soon became an integral part of the local classic car scene, owning and working on a variety of British classics. "The nearest I got to a Bel Air was a 1960 Mkl Humber Hawk limo in black, as it happened," he smiles. "I used to kid myself I was driving around in a mid-Fifties Bel Air, which may sound a bit daft, but if you were to park the two alongside each other, there are many similarities in the styling."
As the years progressed, Eric began to take a keen interest in unusual air-cooled cars. "I'd already dismissed VW Beetles, Porsches, Rovers and even Tatras," Eric recalls, "then I picked up an article about an American-built Franklin, first made in 1898." The difficult search to find a Franklin in the UK was on and incredibly Eric managed to track down a 1927 example in deepest Norfolk: "The bodywork was in reasonable shape, but the engine and the rest of it needed work," Eric explains, "but at least I'd found one."
Eric was happy to tackle most of the renovation work himself, eventually stripping the engine down twice, along with the gearbox and differential for rebuilding, while plenty of welding work was involved, including the wheels! "I had to rebuild just about everything by the time I'd finished, but I went on to show that car for the next 20 years, picking up plenty of trophies in the process," Eric smiles.
Sadly, illness forced the sale of the Franklin, but during his recovery Eric was determined not to be finished with the classic car scene just yet. "I was keen to go for a car that was lighter to handle, perhaps with power brakes, power steering and automatic transmission," Eric explains. "I made a short list and staring me in the face was the 1955/6 Chevy Bel Air." While the '57 Bel Air remains the iconic shape to many, Eric confesses to not being a particular fan of the trademark high fins and rocket launchers up front from that particular year.
The arduous task of tracking down a '55/'56 Bel Air in the UK ensued, and it had to be a four-door model too, just like the black example he'd ridden around in back in the Sixties. "My friend Martin in Barnsley happened to own a '56 Bel Air and I tried my best to persuade him to sell it," Eric laughs, "but he was having none of it and still owns the same car to this day!" After having no luck in the UK, Eric's search extended stateside where he'd built up a few useful contacts from his Franklin days. "Putting the feelers out paid off. Finally, an old Franklin club member knew of a '55 four-door located around eight miles from where he lived in Sevierville, Tennessee, that was up for sale," Eric explains. "It was in the final stages of having a full groundup restoration which was a huge attraction, as I was no longer able to put the amount of work in myself like I'd done with the Franklin."
Eric spoke to the vendor, Ronnie, who had restored the '55 for his wife to drive. "I'd by now confirmed this car was worth a closer look and spoke to my friend Art in DeRuyter, New York, about my intentions, "Eric says. "Art told me not to bother flying out and that he'd be happy to make the 1400-mile round trip to check the car out as it'd be a nice drive." Eric was blown away by his friend's generosity, especially when Art confirmed the '55 had his seal of approval and that he'd be keen to buy the car himself if Eric didn't want it.
It turned out that Ronnie had built the car for his wife, but she'd found the newly installed 350 V8 crate motor far too fast. "Apparently she'd only driven the car once and hated it, telling Ronnie that either she or the car had to go!" Eric explains. "She had found the acceleration to be too fast, and demanded the '55 be listed on eBay straight away, though she did find happiness in a '57 six-pot Chevy soon after!"
That sudden decision to list the ' 55 on an internet auction site was not in Eric's plan and he had a gruelling wait to find out if he'd become the new owner. "It was a nail-biting finish, but my highest bid won the car," Eric smiles. "It actually worked out cheaper than my original offer, so I had some funds spare towards my shipping costs." The Bel Air was then despatched by transporter to New Jersey docks before its journey across the Atlantic to Liverpool facilitated by Hill Shipping (www. hillshipping.com /Tel. 01795 876000). "We were nearing the end of the 2014 show season by now, just enough time to assess the car before I could enjoy it," Eric recalls. "There were a few paintwork issues and a split in the driver's door, but these didn't bother me as I planned on returning the colour to turquoise instead of pale blue for the lower half."
"APPARENTLY SHE'D ONLY DRIVEN THE CAR ONCE AND HATED IT, TELLING RONNIE THAT EITHER SHE OR THE CAR HAD TO GO!"