Hosted by Hyde Park and District Lions Club
1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Sports Coupe – Brian Durnin

1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Sports Coupe – Brian Durnin

Featured Car for July 25, 2024


Owned by Brian Durnin, London, Ontario

[If you’re wondering why this beautiful car is adorned with Christmas stockings and a Santa cap, this feature car came on the night that was ‘Christmas in July’.]

Brian purchased his ’57 Chevy about 10 years ago from Brampton, although it was originally a US car, manufactured outside of Boston, MA.

Unfortunately about 5 years ago, while coming home from Missouri, the Chevy had a run-in with a deer and required extensive repairs to its front end and driver’s fender. The fourteen-month restoration was undertaken by RM Auto Restoration.

The car has a 350 cu. in. V8 which produces about 320 hp. The engine is fed by a 4 bbl Edelbrock carburetor on top of an Edelbrock intake manifold. The power plant is mated to a 700R4 automatic transmission and solid rear axle.

The reproduction interior, installed 10 years ago, closely follows the original design with piping and buttons, although the seat fabric has been tucked & rolled (as opposed to the original flat) to keep it from wrinkling over time.

On the dash in front of the steering wheel is a chrome traffic light viewer which, using a prism mechanism, allows the driver to sit tall and back in the seat but still be able to view traffic lights which are high and close above the car. The Cragar mag wheels, popular in ’60s, and the beautiful red paint finish a classic look.

Since he purchased it, Brian has put about twenty-thousand miles on the odometer, having shown it in the US several times.

By the way, Mickey Mouse lives in the trunk.