Gold Plated 50 Millionth Tribute: 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air
In the Fall of 1954, General Motors was preparing to celebrate its 50 millionth vehicle to roll off the assembly line. The honor went to a new 1955 Chevy Bel Air Sport Coupe that was gold-plated from head to toe. Three of the cars were built and none are known to survive, so this example was built from the ground up as perhaps the neatest tribute we’ve seen in a long time. This auto will be available here on Mecum at their auction in Indianapolis on May 18, 2024. How high do you think the bidding will go for this gold beauty? Our special thanks go to Barn Finder Mitchell G. for turning up this exceptional tip!
Why the ’55 Bel Air Sport Coupe was chosen by GM we don’t know, but what a way to celebrate! 5,000 4-door sedans were built for sale to the public to help commemorate the occasion. The Sport Coupe was perhaps the coolest new Chevrolet at the time (sans the new Nomad), and it came with Chevy’s first V8 since 1918 – a 265 cubic inch wonder that produced 162 hp with a 2-barrel carburetor and a 2-speed Powerglide automatic transmission. That was hard to beat back in the day!
We understand this car is not a restored example of another ’55 Bel Air, but a hand-built car from the chassis up. Of the three gold cars built for the 50th, the only one that could be accounted for burned up in a fire in 1996 and the owner cut it up into pieces and scattered it around his property. Part of the restoration team on this beauty bought those parts to help serve as a foundation for this custom-built marvel where everything but the tires appears to be gold-finished or plated.
We’re told more than 4,000 hours went into this building, not to mention the cost of all the parts and pieces it consumed. The paint alone is said to have cost $1,200 per gallon (times five!). So, if you do the math, the investment in this vehicle was huge and will likely be reflected in whatever reserve the seller sets. The project was completed in January 2024 and has already accumulated several awards. Because it’s not based on an existing chassis, this vehicle is titled a 2024 automobile. A detailed and fascinating story as to how it came to be can be found here.
Auctions Ending Soon
2006 Ford Mustang Saleen S281 SCBid Now7 hours$15,000
2002 Subaru Impreza WRXBid Now3 days$333
1975 Chevrolet Corvette ConvertibleBid Now3 days$3,000
1964 Ford F-100 Camper CustomBid Now3 days$2,000
2006 Jeep Wrangler SportBid Now5 days$10,500
Comments
“the owner cut it up into pieces and scattered it around his property.”
hmmmm.
Kind of like “spreading the ashes” of a deceased “loved one”. Yup we mourn the loss of our beloved cars.
Agree….highly suspicious story.
Who would ever take ANY car, let alone a rare one, and “cut it up into pieces” and then proceed to “scatter it around” their property.
This story has holes, and only appears attempt to add legitimacy and additional “value” to the price of the car.
To me this just looks like someone with too much money and time on their hands trying to cash in on a reproduction “rare” car.
They should have just called this car what it is…an overpriced pet project and left the “scattered” ashes of the real car story out of it.
If you paid attention , the ORIGINAL CAR BURNED UP IN A FIRE IN 1996 !!!!! That is when and why that owner cut it up and scattered it on his property !!
It is a true story; you can look it up. I know the people who are involved in the build. They did tons of research and did recover some parts of the original car, but most were unusable because of the fire, being crushed and how he cut it up. The car was in a garage that burned to the ground, collapsing and crushing it. Total loss. No way to fix it. The Tribute car was built by a multitude of companies and people who wanted to honor the car. Not built by a single shop or person. So, there is no holes or fishy stuff going on here. Just some people who love cars and like to keep history available to the next generation.
It says the owner of the ORIGINAL car did after it was burned up in a fire in 1996
And Uncle Anthony “went away” around the same time.
Didn’t check the box for A/C? Obviously an economy model.
Tribute? Keep it.
I’ve only seen photos of the actual, original gold Bel-Airs and this tribute appears as close to the real thing as I’ll ever see. But the gold overload is too much for me to handle. I’ll be surprised if this meets the reserve; the only likely buyers for this car probably have a museum to park this in.
Pictures do not do this car justice; in person this thing is jaw dropping. The amount of detail is amazing.
Sometimes people build stuff like this and it leaves me scratching my head as to why. I get they overpaid for Wal-Mart gold spray paint and they were building a tribute to something but the way the paint shines in the photos here it reminds me of when my kids got some gold spray paint at Wal-Mart to paint one of their Bicycles. I’m not even sure if I would watch the auction to see what it sells for.
Gold price today is $2300 per ounce.
How much is this car worth?
Fools gold, @ about $10.50/ton.
If you open the page, scroll down to post # 27.
One more thing. I’ve never heard about him crushing and spreading it in the field. Maybe his family did that after he died.
I can shed some light on the golden 55 story. Many years ago, an acquaintance introduced me to Bill Edney, an upstate South Carolina resident who owned the actual car. Well known in the Trifive circles, he had disassembled it for a long-term restoration. Many of the parts had been replated at considerable expense. The barn or building it was stored in caught fire. It and its entire contents were destroyed. Mr. Edney died a few years after that. Here’s the link to Trifive.com. Scroll down to post # 27. As far as the grinding up and spreading, I’ve never heard that.
https://www.trifive.com/threads/golden-anniversary-1955.203954/page-2
Saw this car at Autorama in Detroit this year, it makes quite an impression in person. I think it looks great
From the link that Russ provided: “All told, more than 4000 hours of effort and several hundred thousand dollars were invested into the project.” The gold plating alone was quoted at over $100,000. I don’t know if any would agree, but if I were to build a tribute like this, I would have used an original GM body, rather than a Goodmark reproduction. Hope to see it this next week at Mecum.
Mecum? Nah, all I could afford was the 1:18 diecast off eBay few years back for $100 bucks brand new. But hey, that “gold” plated 55 Belair looks good in my huge collection of mini wannabes!
Interesting item. Too risky to own, though — even if one had nothing better to do with their money. But I feel bad about the negative comments. Someone (or, some foundation, perhaps?) will see and appreciate this for what it is, and purchase it. And that is fine with me.
“Because it’s not based on an existing chassis, this vehicle is titled a 2024 automobile.” I’m not sure anyone would ever license this, but does a 2024 title mean that it would have to meet 2024 safety and emissions standards?
***Not a political statement***
I could see a certain recent former president having this parked at a casino or some such.
Trailer queen 👑. Only good for looking at. No thanks.
I think that limited-production “reproductions” are exempt from current-day emissions standards (such as, that 1934 Packard remake from Ohio that we MIGHT get to see in production, at SOME point…). I agree that this is strictly a “display” item: how could you DRIVE something with a gold-plated engine!
I am also perplexed by the choice to use a reproduction body and to do it with a 2024 title. If you were going to undertake a labor of love such as this, at that kind of expense, why in the world wouldn’t you start by finding a REAL 55 V8 hardtop in half decent condition.
The only possible justification for not doing that would be to prevent any possible future allegation that it is the original car (happens all the time where a really good clone is built, sold as a clone without any misrepresentations, but then suddenly the new owner claims it is real). But with the publicity this “tribute” is getting it does not seem there would be any possibility that it could ever be claimed to be the original later.
Mystifying to me.
Learn a new fact every day. My dad owned one of the 5000 4 door BelAirs painted gold. Thought it was unique but didn’t know it was 1 of 5000! In Central Nebraska no less.
Thanks Old Beach Guy for your comment I’m the youngest son of the original owner of the Real Golden 55 Chevrolet
I thought I read a couple years ago that one of the originals was in the Chevrolet museum.