Dave Doucette
In early 2024, that tribute car was completed. But, along the way, the story of the 50th Millionth GM car took its share of twists and turns. The big discovery—a big one—is that there were actually three gold ’55s built. The first, of which the remains were found in North Carolina, was actually produced before the actual 50 millionth car, because it was needed for promotional uses and materials and is known as the Motorama car. This car was produced with the custom paint and the hundreds of gold-plated pieces. The second car—apparently less decorated and gone without a trace—was produced to generate a film of it going down the production line. The third car—that real 50 millionth car—rolled down the line in Flint on Nov. 23, 1954—the day GM held a huge celebration throughout Flint and at its assembly plants across the country on the occasion of its 50 millionth car being built.

There is essentially no GM documentation on the three cars. Joe and Steve worked with GM archivists to find any trace of the cars, but the general consensus is that the North Carolina car is the first, the second was probably repainted and sold, and the actual 50 millionth car just evaporated.

The new car is based on the history of the actual 50 millionth car (the third car). Thanks to the efforts of Real Deal Steel, Snodgrass Chevy Restoration and a group of restoration industry suppliers, the tribute car is a spectacular finished product, recreated to a much higher quality that what could have come off a mass-production assembly line during the 1950s.
An early-model-year 1955 Chevrolet 265-cid V-8 was sourced for the project and it, too, was painted gold, just as on the original 50 Millionth GM car.

Dave Doucette
The tribute car is a mix of reproduction parts and used pieces from people such as Steve, who provided several date-coded parts from his collection, including the engine, transmission and various suspension parts. He was even able to locate a set of NOS AC spark plugs correct for the ’55 Chevy (a different plug was used in succeeding years).

Golden Star Classic Auto Parts supplied the sheet metal components that were assembled by Real Deal Steel. Shafer’s Classic Reproductions provided brake lines, fuel lines, exhaust and other engine compartment pieces. American Autowire supplied the wiring system. Auto City Classic provided all the glass, as well as the chrome metal frames. Gene Smith Parts provided the grille, grille surround and other chrome items.
Ciadella Interiors sourced the proper gold vinyl and fabric for the recreation.

Dave Doucette
The original gold ‘55s used a one-off fabric insert on the seats. Ciadella Interiors was able to source NOS vinyl and fabric to completely upholster the interior of the tribute car.

All of these components were expertly assembled by the team at Snodgrass Chevy Restoration, which spent at least 1,800 hours creating the tribute Bel Air. As part of that process, the car was assembled, checked for fit and disassembled multiple times during the body-prep work.
“You have to fit every piece,” Dave Snodgrass says. “You can’t take anything and expect it to fit the way you want it to fit.”
The gold paint on the original car was a custom blend, not a standard GM production color. The recreation team tested various shades of gold (good quality color images from 1954 are rare) before settling on the correct shade. Once the body was ready for paint, five coats of basecoat were applied, followed by four coats of clear. Then, of course, hours of wet sanding and buffing.

Axalta paint was used – five-and-a-half gallons of gold – at a cost of $350 a quart. Add the costs of primer, sealer, clear, etc., plus the labor, and you have an idea of the cost of this type of paint job.
The liquid gold to plate the recreation's many 24-karat-gold trim parts was priced at $5,000 a gallon.

These Trico wiper blades were destined for one of the three 50 Millionth GM cars built, and their discovery was the impetus for the recreation.