1964 Chevrolet Bel Air Reviews, Pricing & Specs

I couldnt resist, I just couldnt. After owning a 1984 Mercury Grand Marquis for seven years, I came across a 1964 Chevy Bel Air four-door sedan quite by accident and more or less immediately decided to switch. Not that the Mercury was a bad car, quite the opposite, but the Bel Air struck a chord in me. Back in 1964, when I was a three-year-old boy, my parents bought their very first own car - a 1964 Chevrolet Impala four-door sedan, pretty much the same car as my Bel Air, only a higher trim level. So what? These day, 64 Chevies command high prices on the classic car market, but my Bel Air, which I found in the Netherlands, had an asking price of 6,700 euros (around 7,500 dollars), was presentable even though far from perfect, and could be driven home (I live in Germany). Given the fact that the seller and I agreed on 6,200 euros and that the sale of my Grand Marquis brought in 5,500 euros, I paid a mere 700 euros (~785 dollars) net for the Chevy, a car that drove me the 200 miles home safely and dependably. The only nuisance was the carburetor, which leaked a little gasoline. Turned out it was a retrofitted Holley on top of a non-original intake manifold. Both will have to go and an OEM 1-bbl Rochester carb will be reinstalled. This Bel Air was assembled at the GM Continental plant in Antwerp, Belgium from a CKD kit and has spent all of its service life in the Netherlands. Impossible to say how many previous owners it has had or how many actual miles it has accumulated over more than 57 years. I wanted that car the moment I spotted it because it brings back childhood memories galore. Cantt put a pricetag on that. Its a pretty plain car, a two-tone (white roof, blue body) pillared sedan with hardly any extra-cost options except Chevys trusted Powerglide two-speed automatic and a tinted windshield. Even the LH outside mirror is aftermarket. This means the Bel Air has no power steering, no power brakes, no power seats, no power windows, no air conditioning - and no V8. Under the hood is a 230 CID inline Six with 140 gross/120 net horsepower, which was standard equipment in all full-size Chevrolets back then, even the vaunted Super Sports. If you wanted V8 power, you had to cough up at least another 117 dollars for the 283 small-block and successively more for a 327 or a 409. Remarkably, 383,747 big Chevies rolled off the assembly line with the Six that year. Thats 23.39 percent of total model year production. Some readers of these lines will no doubt roll their eyes now and say: Who on Earth pays good money for a four-door sedan with a Six? The answer is: Me. Call me a crackpot, but I like four-door sedans, the plainer the better, and I like Sixes. This car may repel the big-block convertible/hardtop coupe crowd, but its the ultimate individualists ride to me. Ill fix the Bel Air so it will look good and drive well. Rustholes in the body have already been welded and repainted and now the mechanical problems (leaky radiator, valve cover, engine and transmission oil pans, the carburetor) are being solved one by one. When Im done, my Bel Air will never win any trophies at car shows, let alone stoplight Grand Prixs, and some classic car buffs will probably sneer at it. Who cares? I didnt buy this car to impress anyone but because I think its beautiful and very special. It will just be a nice, dependable driver that will take me on a trip down Memory Lane every time I crank it up. Cant wait.Dec 31, 2021