In the early Fifties, Chevrolet sold one basic car, the full-size Chevy. In 1953 it came in three basic forms. At the bottom of the totem pole was the 150. This was a stripped down model, largely devoid of chrome trim, mostly intended for fleet and government sales (although not limited to them). It had a largely painted metal interior with rubber floor mats and plain upholstery.
At the other end of the scale was the Bel Air, with lots of chrome inside and out, a carpeted interior, and shiny hubcaps.
In the middle was the 210, like the '53 model seen here parked on College Avenue on an August afternoon in 2022.
This one, a 2-door sedan (distinguished from the sports coupe by the heavily-framed door glass and B-pillar) features some classic hot rod style touches, like baby moons (the owner later added a partially blacked-out grille). Most of the luxury frills that were standard on the Bel Air could be ordered as options on the 210.
This one has the 235 cubic inch Blue Flame Six engine, with a 7.5:1 compression ratio and a single 1-bbl carburetor, putting out 115 SAE gross horsepower through a 2-speed Powerglide automatic transmission. Popular Mechanics at the time clocked a 4-door '53 Bel Air with this powertrain at 19.6 seconds zero-to-sixty and 21.9 through the quarter mile.
This one's been spotted around the neighborhood a couple times, as you can see, but I'll always make time for it.
The top shot was with a Nikon D3 and a 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6G zoom; the second time, in October of 2023, I snapped it with the Olympus E-5 & PanaLeica 14-150mm f/3.5-5.6.
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