Sun Star Chevrolet Bel Air 1953 Hard Top Campus Cream/Target Red 1:18 Diecast

Lovely unboxed model. Thoroughly cleaned and inspected, the advisories are: some minor paint blemishes and chrome loss, some blemished on the whitewall tyres, both door mirrors have been repaired. The tip of the ‘jet bird’ hood ornament and driver’s wing radio aerial is missing.

Gloss “Campus Cream” painted bodywork with a “Target Red” roof, infill on the rear wing and dash top, chrome front bumper, grille, Chevrolet badge, ‘Jet Bird’ hood ornament, headlight surrounds, upper wing trim, door mirrors, side trim with red insert over the rear wing and Bel Air script, sill trim, fuel filler flap trim, door handles, rear light surrounds, rear Chevrolet badge with “Power Glide” lettering, rear bumper and over riders. Silver windscreen surround, windscreen wipers with black blades, door caps, front quarterlights, side and rear window trim, exhaust pipe. Black 1953 licence plates. Realistically glazed and tinted lights, clear glazed windscreen, side and rear windows.

Opening doors with two-tone pale grey and red seats, matching door cards with silver door handles and window winders, body colour red dashboard top with silver Chevrolet script, chrome centre strip with white on black instrument dials, pale grey lower dash, chrome rear view mirror. Functional red 2-spoke steering wheel with chrome horn ring, Chevrolet hub badge, that turns the front wheels, pale grey and black column-mounted gear lever, and instrument switch lever, red floor with black pedals.

The bonnet opens revealing a detailed 235 Cubic Inch (3.85 litre) “Blue Flame” straight 6 engine, battery, air cleaner, wiring, radiator, intake manifold .

Underneath there is a detailed chassis, suspension and drivetrain with a blue painted engine, silver transmission, propshaft, exhaust system and fuel tank.

It rolls on body colour wheels with chrome trim rings and hubcaps with blue Chevrolet badges, treaded rubber whitewall tyres.

The Chevrolet Bel Air is a full-size car produced by Chevrolet for the 1950–1981 model years. Initially, only the two-door hardtops in the Chevrolet model range were designated with the Bel Air name from 1950 to 1952. With the 1953 model year, the Bel Air name was changed from a designation for a unique body shape to a premium level of trim applied across a number of body styles. The Bel Air continued with various other trim level designations, and it had gone from a mid-level trim car to a budget fleet sedan when U.S. production ceased in 1975. Production continued in Canada, for its home market only, through the 1981 model year.

In 1953 Chevrolet renamed its series, and the Bel Air name was applied to the premium model range. Two lower series, the 150 and 210, also emerged (as successors to the Special and Deluxe series, respectively). The 1953 Chevrolet was advertised as "Entirely new through and through" due to the restyled body panels, front and rear ends. However, essentially these Chevrolets had similar frames and mechanicals to the 1949–1952 cars.

The Bel Air was given a facelift in 1953. The pre-war technology, such as torque tube drive, six-cylinder splash feed engines, knee-action suspension, and split windshields of the early models, was phased out, and the foundations for the first post-war modern Chevrolet passenger car were finalized. The Bel Air series featured a wide chrome strip of molding from the rear fender bulge to the rear bumper. The inside of this stripe was painted a coordinating color with the outside body color, and "Bel Air" scripts were added inside the strip. Lesser models had no model designation anywhere on the car, having only a Chevrolet crest on the hood and trunk. 1953 was the first year for a curved, one-piece windshield. The lower-cost Thriftmaster option installed on manual transmission cars was replaced by the larger "Thrift-King", a lower compression version of the 235.5 cu in (3.9 L) Blue Flame engine producing 108 hp (81 kW).

In the July 1953 issue of Popular Mechanics, a tested 1953 Bel Air went from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 19.6 seconds.

Bel Air interiors had an optional massive expanse of chrome across the lower part of the dashboard (most were painted), along with a deluxe Bel Air steering wheel with a full chrome horn ring. Carpeting and full wheel covers rounded out Bel Air standard equipment. For 1954, the Bel Air stayed essentially the same, except for a revised grille and taillights and a revised engine that had insert bearings and higher oil pressure, needed for the full-flow oil filtration system that was not available prior to 1954. Prior to 1954, the 235 and 216 cubic inch six-cylinder engines had Babbitt bearings and scoops to create oil pressure at the bottom of each rod, and the oil pressure was standard at 15-30 PSI. During these years, there were three engine choices, depending on the transmission ordered. Both 235 cubic inch engines were "Blue Flame" inline six-cylinder OHV engines, featuring hydraulic valve lifters (in 1953 with automatic transmissions) and aluminum pistons. The 115 hp (86 kW) 235 cubic inch displacement engine was made standard on stick shift models, with solid lifters and splash plus pressure lubrication, including Babbitt bearings. Powerglide cars got a newly upgraded 125 hp (93 kW) version which had hydraulic lifters and full pressure lubrication.

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