Classic/Antique Car Repair/1955 belair color

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Expert: Paul Wilczynski - 7/16/2009


Question
I would like to know approximately how many 1955 chev bel airs were produced in the two-tone shadow grey/coral color. I haven't been able to find this anywhere on line. Thanks, Loyd

Answer
Having owned a '55 Nomad in this color combination, I looked long and hard for this figure myself. I had zero luck. If the factory kept such records, they have never beem made public. It is, however, one of the rarest color combos for that year. I believe only Cashmere Blue/India Ivory and Shadow Gray/India Ivory are rarer, at least on Nomads. Coral/Gray might even be the rarest on all models. It was most popular on convertibles.

--Paul

Classic/Antique Car Repair

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Paul Wilczynski

Expertise

Most questions involving vintage car restoration, mechanical and body, paint and upholstery. Parts sourcing. Extensive experience in wood-bodied station wagons, British and French cars of the '40s through '70s. Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, Sunbeam Alpine and Tiger, Citroen Maserati, VW Beetle, 1955-65 Chevrolet (especially Nomad station wagons), Corvair.

Experience

Wide-ranging and long-term. I owned a restoration shop in the 1970s, continue to dabble in vintage exotics. At one time, had a seven-car collection of contemporary exotics which I had restored and maintained myself. When I was 18 years old, I designed a woodie kit for the VW Beetle, which I developed into a product which was featured on television and in over 100 magazines and 25 books at last count. I still own and drive one of my creations. I owned a design and fabrication consultancy from 1982-2002, specializing in show car fabrication for manufacturers including Ford, Mazda, GM, Subaru, Mitsubishi, etc. Since 2003, I have been a department manager in Industrial Design, and a full-time instructor in automotive design and fabrication at the university level. My students go on to design automobiles as staff designers for major auto manufacturers worldwide.

Organizations
Western Automotive Journalists, Industrial Design Society of America.

Publications
Long list of magazines and books, including Playboy, VW Trends, VW Greats, Hot VWs, and European automotive magazines.

Education/Credentials
I teach design and fabrication at university level. My education is in Industrial Design, University of Illinois (1966-1970).

Awards and Honors
Many awards for restorations in local concours and shows.

Past/Present Clients
Mazda, Ford, GM, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Honda, Toyota, Chrysler, Mercedes, Porsche.

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