Golden honors for '57 Chevy

GM celebrates 50th anniversary of classic high performance cruiser

Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News

DEARBORN HEIGHTS -- When his grandfather drove home with a new turquoise 1957 Chevrolet, 8-year-old Larry V. Spicer knew he would own and drive one of those someday.

It was 50 years ago when Chevrolet brought high performance, chrome and tail fins to the common people. And the car whose exterior design and internal muscle found a place in American pop culture has endured as an icon of Detroit's car-building zenith.

"When you are behind the wheel, you look down the hood or in the mirrors at those tail fins. It just takes you back to the '50s and '60s," said Spicer, 58, of Dearborn Heights. "Everyone recognizes what this car is and everyone has their own reason to like it."

General Motors Corp. will host a 50th anniversary celebration Saturday of the classic machine. More than 200 are expected at a car show at the GM Tech Center in Warren -- the largest gathering of '57 Chevys since they awaited shipments outside the factories, said Joe Whittaker, of Eckler's Classic Chevy International, a Titusville, Fla., specialty distributor of parts for classic cars and a show sponsor.

The show also will honor the 40th anniversary of the Chevy Camaro and Pontiac Firebird. Like the rest of the buildup to the Woodward Dream Cruise, it's a celebration of simpler, better times in the auto industry."It was an era when GM had 50 percent of the entire car market," said Pat Chappell, a Delaware author of "The Hot One," about Chevy's groundbreaking 1955 to 1957 cars. He will attend the show.

"That's an amazing number and it was an amazing time, when the country was growing and everyone was moving to suburbia. We were looking for second cars and something more than just utility, for something fun."

The 1957 Ford actually outsold the 1957 Chevy, but the style and performance of the car has endured to make it one of the most valuable among collectors. Some fetch prices of more than $100,000.

Spicer said he's turned down offers of $40,000 to sell his yellow and tangerine flamed Bel-Air called "Sunshine" that he bought in 1979 for $1,650.

The hot rod served 25 years ago as the mobile broadcasting platform for Honey Radio, an oldies station that went off the air in 1992.

Spicer said 20 weddings were performed inside the car, including his own.

"That one didn't last, but I kept the car," the retiree said with a laugh.

But the big love endures for the '57 Chevy, said Greg Wallace, manager of General Motors Heritage Center, a stash of historic vehicles in Sterling Heights that isn't open to the public.

"Go to the Woodward Cruise and you'll see there's still no shortage of '57 Chevys," he said.

"There were 1.5 million built and they came in 20 body styles with six engine options that included the first fuel injected high performance engine commercially available."

The car was light and powerful, with lots of interchangeable parts, so it was easy to repair and modify. Many, like Spicer's car with a newer 400-cubic-inch engine, power steering and disc breaks, have been preserved through the years to drive like a modern car.

For $70,000 to $100,000, fans can even buy a new 1957 Chevy built from entirely new parts.

An unusual example still cruises the streets of Metro Detroit as a stretch limo. The candy apple red machine is popular with older customers looking for anniversary celebrations.

The well-worn machine was found in Missouri field six years ago and completely rebuilt, said Kevin Malczyk of Entertainment Express of Dearborn Heights. "Everyone recognizes what it is, but it's really only people 40 and over who connect," Malczyk said.

You can reach Doug Guthrie at (734) 462-2674 or dguthrie@detnews.com.