1956 Chevrolet 210 for sale $34,900

The code 687 Onyx Black paint is pretty nice, and itandrsquo;s this carandrsquo;s original color. Not perfect, but it looks great. If we had to guess, weandrsquo;d say itandrsquo;s perhaps 10 years old and hasnandrsquo;t seen anything but fair weather cruising. But itandrsquo;s the sheetmetal underneath that makes this car special, because itandrsquo;s laser-straight. The doors open and close with ease, the hood fits beautifully and doesnandrsquo;t move around, and thereandrsquo;s a lot of new weather-stripping throughout so it seals up well. The shiny 210 trim doesnandrsquo;t allow for many mistakes in the panel alignment area, and youandrsquo;ll note that this one fits so well youandrsquo;d think it was done with a ruler. And speaking of the trim, itandrsquo;s all extremely nice, from the chrome 1-piece California-style bumpers to the side trim to the jet-inspired hood ornament. Out back, the taillights were already some of the most ornate of the period, but this car has been fitted with aftermarket lenses that feature the Chevy Bowtie emblem, which is a neat, subtle touch.

The black vinyl interior is the biggest departure from stock, but itandrsquo;s beautifully done and uses almost all the original hardware, so it looks right for the period. It was originally code 564 Charcoal, so itandrsquo;s not too far off from that. The split bench is original and slides on well-oiled adjusters and the diamond-pattern upholstery has a vintage andlsquo;50s vibe that really works. The carpets were new at the same time, the door panels were upholstered to match, and, well, if youandrsquo;re not an expert, you may not even notice that it isnandrsquo;t 100% stock. There are no drastic modifications beyond seat belts and a later AM/FM/cassette radio, which uses the original knobs and broadcasts through the factory speaker in the dash. An under-dash A/C unit is similar to what might have been installed sometime in the 1960s, although it appears to be backed by modern components, so itandrsquo;s quite effective and easy to service if you need to top it off in the future. Thereandrsquo;s also a 12V power point tucked in next to the A/C unit, perfect for charging your phone or your GPS. The steering wheel remains in excellent condition, the bright trim on the dash looks fantastic, and all the gauges are fully operational, although the temperature gauge seems to be a bit of a pessimist. Lights, horn, wipers, signals, and other accessories are all fully operational, too. In back, the trunk is outfitted with a correct rubber mat, full-sized spare, and a jack assembly. Peel the mat back and youandrsquo;ll find original trunk pans with only a small area with some rustandmdash;nothing significant, but on a car this clean even the little stuff stands out.

Thereandrsquo;s no way to be 100% certain, but we believe this to be the carandrsquo;s original 265 cubic inch V8. It shows T0920GF on the stamping pad, which decodes as follows:

T = Tonowanda assembly plant
0920 = September 20, 1955 assembly date
GF = 265 cubic inch V8, 1955 build date, 3-speed manual transmission, with A/C

It all adds up pretty well and we canandrsquo;t argue with how it runs. With a 4-barrel carburetor up top, it starts quickly and easily, idles smoothly, and pulls through traffic with real enthusiasm. Our first drive was on a 40-degree morning, and the handsome little Chevy just shrugged it off and went about its business with a minimum of fussiness. It has obviously been recently rebuilt and detailed, with Chevy Orange on the block, correct stamped valve covers, and nicely finished ramandrsquo;s horn exhaust manifolds backing it up. The A/C compressor up top is a modern Sanden unit thatandrsquo;s both more compact and more reliable than the