Delray Survivor

By David Douchette

Many “Tri-Five” Chevy fans tend to lean toward the bookend model years—1955 and 1957—rather than the 1956 models. However, fans of the ’56 remain adamant in their loyalty. Look at the numbers, they say.

The numbers they’re referring to are the sales numbers. Fewer Chevrolets were sold in 1956 than in 1955, but more were sold than in 1957. Chevrolet sold a lot of cars in those years. For 1955, more than 1.7 million left the factories, 1.63 million in 1956 and 1.56 million in ’57. By their logic, 1956 should be the second-most-popular model year of the Tri-Five years.

While it’s quite possible that there are a few hundred thousand Tri-Fives left in the United States plus more overseas (Tri-Five Chevys were heavily exported to Australia and Europe in those days), very few fit in the same category as Terry Getz’s low-mileage, unrestored ’56 Two-Ten Delray.

The Safety Harbor, Fla., resident is the second owner of a survivor 1956 Chevrolet that registers barely 33,000 miles on its odometer. He bought the car in 1980 from the estate of the original owner and, in addition to acquiring a well-kept car, he also received a wealth of supporting documents. At that time, the mileage was around 16,000 miles.

A ’56 Two-Ten Delray coupe is rare enough (fewer than 3.5 percent of ’56 models produced), let alone one with its original paint and interior in such good condition. And, like any good old-car story, Terry learned about the car in a chance meeting. While at a car show that featured Tri-Five Chevys in May 1980, a stranger approached him to ask if he was interested in buying the ’56.

“I looked at the car and made him an offer,” Terry says. “It took them two weeks to decide to accept my offer.”

Terry completed the deal and took the car home along with the collection of paperwork that detailed the car’s life: original sales forms, title, owner’s manual, as well as the deceased owner’s driver’s license, voter ID, license plates and a photo of the 1948 Chevy that was traded in on the new ’56. The first owner—M.J. Novak—lived in Tampa when he bought the ’56 from Dempsey Chevrolet for $ 2,261.50. The deal included a trade-in allowance of $ 855 on the 1948 Chevy two-door sedan. Dempsey Chevrolet passed through a couple of owners before the location was replaced by a Walmart.

Terry says the ’56 has just four options: Two-tone paint ($ 26), custom interior ($ 7), white-wall tires ($ 40) and a deluxe heater and defroster ($ 55). Included in the paperwork that Terry acquired with the car was the car’s first State Farm Insurance policy—only $ 27.80 for a year!

With the exception of the Delray upgrade, Terry’s ’56 is a basic example of Chevy’s midline Two-Ten two-door sedan. The bottom-of-the-line 235-cid inline six-cylinder engine produces 140 hp and 210 lb.-ft. of torque. In addition, it has manual drum brakes and manual steering. It wasn’t optioned with a radio, so the only music while cruising the highways is the hum of the six-cylinder and the turning of the tires.

The new, iconic Chevy V-8 was introduced the previous model year, yet the inline six remained popular for many years after. While the six-cylinder engine was only offered in 140-hp form for 1956, the 265-cid V-8 was offered in four versions ranging from 162 hp to 225 hp.

Keeping a survivor car such as Terry’s ’56 in as close to as-born-condition as possible is always a challenge, he says. The interior upholstery and carpet are in surprisingly good condition, but there are signs of the wear and tear that even 33,000 miles can produce.

Terry refrains from correcting the worn areas. The car’s nearly 70-year-old exterior paint of Pinecrest Green and India Ivory is in good condition for its age. Some of the worn spots on the headlight brows could be blamed on the “love bug” phenomenon in Florida. The insects show up a couple of times a year and millions of them commit mass suicide on the fronts of vehicles traveling the state’s highways. Leaving the insects’ decomposing remains on a car too long often causes damage to paint.

As a testament to the quality of the trim pieces on cars of the 1950s, all of the chrome (emblems, hood bird, trim pieces, light housings, etc.) is original and in very good condition. Front and rear bumpers, too. The factory 15-inch steel wheels and hubcaps remain intact. Reproduction Goodyear whitewall tires are on the car now and, while the original spare sits in the trunk, it’s aged out of any potential use.

One area of the car not in original condition is the engine compartment, and there’s a reason why. In the early 1980s, Terry showed the car in Classic Chevy International’s well-known shows, which are judged on a scale of 1,000 points. The rules at the time in the original, unrestored class allowed detailing of the engine compartment, so that area was restored.

“We were allowed to detail the engine compartment,” Terry says, “so at some point we pulled the engine to work on the detailing and we changed intake gaskets, things like that.”

Terry is meticulous about keeping the car’s routine maintenance up to date, even though the car is seldom driven. The oil is changed once a year. The transmission and rear axle fluids are checked.

“The rear differential fluid has never been changed,” Terry notes.

Over the years, the brake shoes have been replaced (Terry kept the original shoes) as have the wheel cylinders. One modern upgrade, though, is used to keep moisture out of the brake lines. The original brake fluid has been replaced with silicon fluid.

Even the radiator is original, although it was removed, cleaned and reinstalled in 1981, shortly after Terry bought the car, but it has never been re-cored.

The trove of paperwork that accompanied the car when Terry bought it included a receipt and lifetime warranty from a Midas Muffler shop that replaced the original muffler in the mid 1970s. Terry says the car needed a new muffler again in the early 2000s, so he took it back to the Midas Muffler shop, obtained an estimate on a replacement and then produced the old lifetime warranty document. The somewhat surprised customer service rep hesitated, reviewed the warranty paperwork, and then agreed that “lifetime means lifetime.” There was no charge for the new muffler.

As any Tri-Five Chevy owner knows, almost everyone who sees one has a connection of some kind. They owned one in high school. Their parents or grandparents had one. They may even own one now. What kind of response does Terry’s unrestored original ’56 provoke?

“People can’t believe the condition for the age of the car,” Terry says. “People thank you for keeping it as a survivor. Even people who don’t like old Chevys comment on the shape it’s in.”

These days, the ’56 is driven to Tampa Bay-area car shows and cruises. Otherwise, it stays safe and dry in Terry’s garage where it continues to gracefully age. 

Love old Chevys? Here are a few more articles for your reading enjoyment. 

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