57 Chevy
Tri year Chevrolet (55,56 & 57). Small V8s, great
looks. How could a toy like Hot Wheels not have a 57 Chevy in the line up? Well
they do. It started in 1977 [1]. It has been featured with a big motor covering
the entire hood surface and featured without any motor. This casting is
possibly in the running for most castings overall in all of the main lineup. It
has been featured 3 times as a treasure hunt, featured in every anniversary set
and several branded releases like malt o meal, shell, O’Reilys and also
featured in the MacDonalds happy meal toys several times.
The Casting
Could not have
been much better of a casting either. The famous fins, the slightly raked hot
rod stance, side pipes, with or without the motor, it just looks great. The V8
symbol that is iconic for this era of styling is also cast into the hood and
trunk. Every detail of the massive chrome bumper and grill is represented
clearly. No expense of detail was spared at the back bumper either. The taillights are part of the body and
painted so it looses a little detail but it doesn’t take much imagination to
relate it to the real thing. It has had a plastic bottom and metal bottom. The
metal bottom cars have some weight to them and really make them fun to play
with. It has had a ton of castings but seems to fly off the pegs and carries a
fair price for older versions. The treasure hunts, especially the 96 real rider
version carry a hefty price. Speaking of treasure hunts, this model is the only model to be featured 4 separate times as part of the treasure hunt segment.
The earliest
releases were released in the flying colors series. Bright packaging with a ton
of colors. The casting in that series was mild, gloss red with a yellow 57
Chevy tampo on the side. Regardless, everything about this release including
the packaging fit into the era perfectly. The first release was also the last
year for redline wheels so finding one of those is a treasure in itself. It is a classic diecast that hopefully will remain in the lineup for years to come. Get the 2019 Black with yellow flames series while you can, this will surely be a hit as it is one of the best mainline versions I have found in a long time.
And that’s the casting. It was the late 50s, an epic era for the
future of automotive styling. All manufacturers of this era were devoted to
uniqueness in their brand. The 57 Chevy is another car that you will get to see
at bigger car shows and cruise ins. They were very popular with hot rodders,
presumably because of the massive engine bay that can hold a wide variety of
engine choices. With the right setup, could even be a sleeper. Regardless of
how many times you see one, there is always a new interpretation and is always
worth checking out. On the hot rod scene, it has been an icon that has stood
the test of time. Amazingly too, the amount of chrome that has to be polished
on one of these, requires a full day set aside for that chore. It has also been
featured in the popular video game Forza Motorsport in almost every release. So
icon for icon, the 57 Chevy may be in the running for the Hot Wheels flagship
car as well as being a frequent cruise in flyer car.
Happy hunting, and drop a comment!
Thanx for coming along for the ride.
Collector Quentin
As always, although I own the diecast pictured in these
posts, all artwork, logos, car names, paint descriptions and wheel descriptions
are copyrights of the Mattel inc.
Chevy is a trademark of the General Motors corporation.
[1] https://hotwheels.fandom.com/wiki/%2757_Chevy accessed November 22, 2019
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