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Iconic '57 Chevy Still Turns Heads

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By TERRY BOX The Dallas Morning News

Published: October 22, 2007

DALLAS - As Joe Geer's father lay dying, he turned to his son with one final piece of advice.

'Sell the '57,' Glynn Geer said.

It was 1989, and Joe had owned his raggedy 1957 Chevy hardtop for 13 years, since he was a 15-year-old kid in Mesquite, Texas. He had spent thousands on the '57 in an attempt to get it running and had been forced a couple of times to sell it to his father so he could buy something he could drive to work.

Nonetheless, Geer respectfully declined.

'I told him, 'Dad, it doesn't matter if I'm living in an apartment and eating fried bologna, I'm keeping that car,'' he recalled.

Car In Trust For Children

In an indication of the enduring appeal of the iconic 1957 Chevrolet - marking its 50th anniversary this year - Geer and his wife, Cindy, have since rebuilt their '57 Bel Air hardtop and placed it in a trust for their three children.

'Even though I bought the car, I sold it to my dad several times when I needed money, and he owned it at the time he died,' said Geer, 46, director of finance for Incap Fund of Dallas. 'I want my kids to have their grandfather's car.'

The Geers were among more than 20 readers who responded to a column in the Dallas Morning News about a '57 Chevy, all pledging their love for the iconic model.

'My husband tells people it's my car, but I've never driven it,' said Mary Frye of Rowett, Texas, about their blue '57 Chevy. 'I'm afraid if something happened to it while I was driving it, I'd have to find another place to live - if I lived at all! Besides, I like to sit right up beside my husband as he drives along with his arm resting on the door - that makes for an interesting tan that once was very common and now looks strange.'

Frye expressed appreciation for the social component: 'Part of the fun of driving the car is having the windows down so people can talk to us. You don't drive a piece of history and not expect people to honk at you or talk to you.'

Timeless Styling

Even now, in an era of gorgeous new Aston Martins, stunning Lamborghinis and head-turning Ferraris, a '57 Bel Air can still attract crowds of all ages. That's because of its bold styling and unusual amount of design detail - such as the gently hooded headlights, prominent bumper protrusions, beautifully curved top and signature flying silver panel on the back fenders.

And all those elements, which seemed fairly radical in 1957, have aged gracefully.

'The car looks fast sitting still,' said Richard Pietruska, an instructor at the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., and an automotive sculptor whose work can be seen at www.rpmart.com.

With all of the design considerations that must be included in new cars - aerodynamics for fuel economy and speed, body panels shaped for safety, windows sized for visibility, roofs positioned for maximum space - we are not likely to see a modern version of the '57 anytime soon.

But Pietruska noted that all the chrome on the '57 - which seemed a little gaudy to some designers a decade ago - looks bold now, and it's starting to creep back onto a few modern cars.

'I'm pretty sure that this is a car that will be with us for a while,' he said. 'One of the things about good design is it can be broken down into two or three lines. The '57 has that.'

Geer knew he was buying something special when he handed over $850 - 'a lot of money in 1976 for a teenager' - to buy his '57. Although the car had been painted several times, the body was straight and solid, and it had only 80,000 original miles on it.

'I just kept pumping money into it,' he said. 'I had $5,000 in it by the time I was 17, and it was still not roadworthy.'

Geer estimates that he has at least $35,000 in the car. But it doesn't matter.

'It's an emotional investment,' he said. 'Every time I get in it, I can feel my dad's presence.'

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