Loaded ’56

Emory Bishop, CA

Once upon a time, in Chevy dealerships long ago, dealers did all they could to sell you much more than just the car. Sure, selling you the car was profitable particularly if you had a car you were trading in, but they wanted more. They were highly trained and encouraged by GM to order tons of accessories to stock in their showrooms and upsell all car buyers and owners the best they could. Special radio displays, flags, signs, books and posters were all supplied to try and sell accessories. And, judging from the 1950’s new car invoices I have seen, they were fairly successful. Not only did they charge the customer for the part, but they also charged for installation.

In addition to displays, dealers realized that their best selling tool would be a car ordered with as many options as they could get from Chevy and once it arrived, send it to the shop and install as many accessories on it that they could and park it right in the best spot in the showroom window. That way, when a customer walked in not only did they see a beautiful new 1956 convertible, they saw a car with accessory fender birds, Wonderbar radio, floor mats, traffic light viewer, accessory bumper guards and a continental kit! With the customer now salivating and wanting their 210 4-door to look this good, the salesmen could shoot fish in a barrel and load the customer up.

Emory’s convertible is much like that car you may have seen in the showroom in 1956, showing off the best Chevy had to offer. This top-of-the-line convertible is fitted with 31 factory options and dealer accessories. The car is Sherwood Green and India Ivory on the outside, which is a seldom seen and very striking combination. Under the hood lurks an original 225 HP 265ci dual-quad engine, very rare in 1956 especially in passenger cars. He is the fourth owner and has now owned the car for 23 years. When originally found via a classified ad in a San Diego newspaper, the car was not one of those dream “rust-free California” cars. It had significant rust from living in a coastal environment since new. A 13-month frame-off restoration was performed and finished in 1986. Even though it was restored 22 years ago, the car still shows well and wins at CCI events. Emory is proud to say that the car has been driven nearly 50,000 miles since restoration. This is not a trailered car, it is driven and enjoyed!

In addition to the ’56 convertible, Emory has a pro-street ’56 Nomad and a fully restored ’71 Chevy ½ ton pickup.