Vehicle Sighting - 1956 Chevy 210 4-door sedan

[Number_35]

I've always found daily drivers more interesting than show cars, and have usually preferred 4-doors to 2-doors. Thus, I was delighted to see this '56 Chevy 210 a few weeks ago. The original Blueflame 6 is gone, replaced by a small-block Chevy V8, probably a 350. I think the hidden fuel filler cap is very cool! Note the single-chamber master cylinder - that would be a worthwhile upgrade.

The previous owner had painted the roof silver. A complete restoration is planned by the present owner.

The interior shot appears to show a column-mounted manual shift lever.

I assume the new engine is running GM's HEI distributor, but forgot to check.

Anyway, this was a delightful find.

 

[Snagglefoot]

I can recall when 4 doors went to the crusher. Dang

 

[drtyler]

Still has the vacuum wipers too.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Pretty car. '56 is my favorite of the 55, 56 and 57 cars.

 

[drtyler]

Pretty car. '56 is my favorite of the 55, 56 and 57 cars.

Seems like 55 and 57 get all the love, but the 56 looks the best. Chevy got that one just right.

 

[dnastrau]

That looks like a fun driver. It appears to have likely been a 265 V8 car from the start based on the V emblem on the hood (and the holes for the missing top part).

6 cylinder emblem:

https://realdealsteel.com/i-23902534-1956-chevy-6-cylinder-hood-emblem-assembly.html

V8 "V" emblem:

https://realdealsteel.com/i-23902627-1956-chevy-chrome-hood-v.html

V8 emblem top piece:

https://realdealsteel.com/i-23902530-1956-chevy-v8-hood-emblem-assembly.html

 

[drtyler]

That looks like a fun driver. It appears to have likely been a 265 V8 car from the start based on the V emblem on the hood (and the holes for the missing top part).

6 cylinder emblem:

https://realdealsteel.com/i-23902534-1956-chevy-6-cylinder-hood-emblem-assembly.html

V8 "V" emblem:

https://realdealsteel.com/i-23902627-1956-chevy-chrome-hood-v.html

V8 emblem top piece:

https://realdealsteel.com/i-23902530-1956-chevy-v8-hood-emblem-assembly.html

It's missing the trunk V though. Clearly was never there.

Hood got updated with a V with the V8 swap, but the existing shield would no longer fit. So it got binned.

 

[loneryder]

That looks like a fun driver. It appears to have likely been a 265 V8 car from the start based on the V emblem on the hood (and the holes for the missing top part).

6 cylinder emblem:

https://realdealsteel.com/i-23902534-1956-chevy-6-cylinder-hood-emblem-assembly.html

V8 "V" emblem:

https://realdealsteel.com/i-23902627-1956-chevy-chrome-hood-v.html

V8 emblem top piece:

https://realdealsteel.com/i-23902530-1956-chevy-v8-hood-emblem-assembly.html

289 ci?

 

[Kernel Potter]

"289 ci.?"

You're maybe thinking of the 283 ci engine which became optional in '57. The orginal displacement of the Chevy small block was 265 ci. I have found it stumps a lot of people, even people that consider themselves pretty hardcore(old school) hot rodders.

 

[meep]

"289 ci.?"

You're maybe thinking of the 283 ci engine which became optional in '57. The orginal displacement of the Chevy small block was 265 ci. I have found it stumps a lot of people, even people that consider themselves pretty hardcore(old school) hot rodders.

Yes! 289 was Ford.

those Chevy motors were some soft metal. We had a 57 with the 283. At 80,000 it had to be bored .040, the ridge and cylinder wear was so pronounced. that Small v8 was smooth and quiet, unbelievably so, with or without the oil bath air cleaner.

neat find!

 

[jhs914]

289 ci?

289 was a Ford engine (Studebaker also made a 289). As stated by Kernel Potter the Chevy small block started as a 265, then went to 283, 327, 350, in standard production motors. The 302 for the original 1960's Camaro Z28 had the 4" bore from the 350 and the 3" stroke crankshaft from the 283. Later they made a low performance 305 SBC and a 400 cu. in. motor for full size Impalas. In the 70's and 80's they produced some odd ball sizes like 262, 263, and 267 as "economy" engines. The hot rodded 383 is a 350 block with the crank from a 400.

 

[Kira]

My grandmother had a green one. Yes, a '56 and I thought the hidden fuel filter was the coolest thing. Also, that my grandma drove was a cool thing as her daughter, my mom, didn't!

I can hear her say, "You have to follow the door closed or open a window because the body is so tight the air pressure will prevent it from closing completely.

You gotta love where the dealership put it's placard.

 

[skyactiv]

I can see the HEI distributor behind the air cleaner. That car is a chore to drive lacking optional power steering and power brakes.
I see the Jesus on the dash to keep the driver and an occupants safe; an old Catholic thing.

 

[Kira]

It's a Christian thing. The words Catholic and Christian are often confused in daily parlance; like 'galaxy' and 'universe' in outer space stories.

 

[MrHorspwer]

Radiator is on the wrong side of the core support. Common thing to do to gain extra clearance when swapping in a V8 and using a later accessory drive. A proper '56 accessory drive would have a generator on the left side, not an alternator on the right, and would fit with the radiator on the engine side of the core support.

It is also a late engine, probably a run-of-the-mill 350 or a late 327. Early small blocks like the 265, 283, and early 327 had the oil fill and breather going into the valley through the intake manifold, not the valve cover (nevermind the PCV valve on this engine, which would age it to the very late-60s at the earliest).

 

[zrxkawboy]

My uncle has a '56 Sedan Delivery, which had belonged to my grandpa. IIRC, the taillight on that body style swivels to the side, rather than down like the one in your pic.

 

[atikovi]

No salt used on the roads up there in winter? Or the guy only drove in the summer?

 

[drtyler]

Radiator is on the wrong side of the core support. Common thing to do to gain extra clearance when swapping in a V8 and using a later accessory drive. A proper '56 accessory drive would have a generator on the left side, not an alternator on the right, and would fit with the radiator on the engine side of the core support.

It is also a late engine, probably a run-of-the-mill 350 or a late 327. Early small blocks like the 265, 283, and early 327 had the oil fill and breather going into the valley through the intake manifold, not the valve cover (nevermind the PCV valve on this engine, which would age it to the very late-60s at the earliest).

The radiator is on the correct side of the core support for the 235 inline 6. When they swapped the V8 in there, they left the radiator alone.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Yes. Clearly a later engine. Needs a supercharger, IMO.
Or an LS?

 

[RoadDukie]

What the heck is up with the license plates? They look like they are written in some sort of alien language...