1957 Chevrolet One-Fifty

The 1957 Chevrolet offered affordable performance and modern styling, making it not only a success in its time but has endured as the very definition of an American classic car. Chevrolet offered a plethora of trim levels, body styles, and power train configurations from the base-level 150-series to the high-end Bel Air. Over 146,000 examples of the One-Fifty Model were produced in 1957. Although this was a significant figure, the combined Two-Ten and Bel Air Series netted over 1.22 million sales.

The basic styling that was first introduced in 1955 continued through to 1957, albeit with updates along the way. For 1957, Chevrolets wore a new oval-shaped front bumper grille flanked on either side by round, protruding bumper guards. Located within the bumper were round parking lamps located at each end of a horizontal center bar. Above the bumper were two round headlights and a Chevrolet medallion. There was a strip of chrome that ran from the trailing edge of the rear tail fins to the front door region.

Body styles included a 2- and 4-door sedan, 2-door utility sedan, and a 2-door station wagon. The two-door sedan was priced at $2,000 with six-cylinder power or $100 with the V-8. The sedan had a base price of $2,050, the two-door utility sedan at $1,885, and the two-door station wagon at $2,300. The base engine was an overhead-valve six-cylinder 'Blue Flame' unit displacing 235.5 cubic inches and offering 140 horsepower. Transmissions included synchromesh, overdrive, or Powerglide.

The most popular One-Fifty body style for 1957 was the two-door sedan with 70,774 examples built, followed by 52,266 of the sedan, 14,740 of the station wagon, and 8,300 of the Utility Sedan.

Chevrolet produced the One-Fifty (150) from 1953 to 1957. Its name was sourced from its production series number (1500) but shorted by one digit to make it consistent with the numerical automobile name trend of the 1950s. When introduced, the One-Fifty replaced the Styleline Special model of the previous years as the company's most affordable, entry-level model. Following the 1957 model year, the One-Fifty was replaced by the Delray.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2018