Lost 50 Millionth GM, 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air tribute
All that glitters is gold; such is the case of this painstakingly recreated 50 Millionth GM, gold plated 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air that has been lost to history.
STORY BY DAVE DOUCETT
This recently completed recreation of the 50 Millionth GM car is based upon a new Real Deal Steel ’55 Chevy two-door hardtop body which has a retail value of $21,500. Now that it's finished, the car will appear at several shows.
Dave Doucette
In the magic land of “Tri-Five” Chevys, there exists a mystical unicorn. Unless you were alive in 1954 and lived in Flint, Mich., you never saw that unicorn, and you may not even know it existed.
But it did for one day that November when General Motors celebrated the production of its 50 millionth car—a one-of-a-kind gold ’55 Chevy Bel Air Sport Coupe (two-door hardtop). The utterly gold car—with almost everything painted a special gold paint, more than 600 pieces of it gold plated and with seats covered in a special gold-laced fabric—rolled off the assembly line and onto a float that starred in a massive parade in downtown Flint. Then it disappeared.
General Motors celebrated the production of its 50 millionth car—a one-of-a-kind gold ’55 Chevy Bel Air Sport Coupe (two-door hardtop)— on November 23, 1954. After its assembly, the car was paraded through Flint. Note the car looks copper in this old image, which likely has color-shifted. GM actually built three matching gold cars: two were built so promotional materials were ready on the big day, and the actual 50 Millionth GM vehicle.
Dave Doucette
Of the nearly five million 1955-1957 Chevrolets produced during the “Tri-Five” era, this is the mystery that has remained unsolved in the nearly 70 years since that celebration in Flint. No one has since claimed seeing the car in all of its golden glory, nor has anyone come forward as its owner. But for a phone call several years to Joe Whitaker, co-owner of Real Deal Steel and a long-time Tri-Five Chevy specialist, that puzzle would remain unsolved.
That call generated a string of discoveries: First, the original gold car remains missing. Second, there were actually three special gold ’55s produced, not just one. And third, while cars two and three disappeared, the first gold ’55 survived, passing through several owners before ending up in burned pieces in North Carolina.
The recreated 50 Millionth GM car features all the gold paint and gold plating of the original landmark car. The recreation was completed in early 2024 using a Real Deal Steel body.
Dave Doucette
And the subject of this significant call? The caller told Joe that he had a pair of Trico gold wiper arms and blades that were produced for the gold ’55, complete with a corporate shop order that confirmed the pieces were made for the 50th Millionth GM car. The owner was willing to part with them, but at a high price that Joe wasn’t interested in paying at the time.
Joe posted a photo of the gold blades on social media, which prompted a call from someone who said he knew the location of the original car’s remains. After that call, Joe discussed this discovery with Dave Snodgrass of Snodgrass Chevy restoration in Melbourne, Fla.
“If there was ever a million-dollar Tri-Five Chevy, it would be this gold car,” Joe told Dave at the time. They agreed that pursuing the North Carolina lead was worthwhile.
Joe found the family in North Carolina that owned the car, only to learn that it had burned years before and was scattered in pieces around their property. Joe eventually bought the remnants, but there was not enough to restore.
“It’s rather a miracle, because we entered the project not thinking that we’d get anything from the original Motorama car,” Joe says. “To wind up with much of the remnants of the original car is amazing.”
By 2022, Joe became friends with Steve Blades of Kentucky, who knows as much as anyone about Tri-Five Chevys. Joe, Dave and Steve decided that, since the original car no longer existed, why not build a replica, a tribute car, using a new Real Deal Steel body?
Even the chassis of the recreated 50 Millionth GM car was painted gold, just as on the original.