Classic recollections: Bare bones Chevy still a beauty

From its inception, the self-powered motorcar has always been intended to meet man’s need for basic transportation. The individual’s ability to freely travel from Point A to Point B and back is what has sparked and fueled ingenuity and determination to refine the automobile.

Overtime, this mechanical inventiveness spilled over, creating the exciting world of customizing, beautifying and modifying. Still, at its core the car has remained a humble servant, existing largely to haul passengers and cargo.

And despite a decade marked by vehicle opulence, the 1950s had its fair share of no-frills vehicles; a prime example is the ’56 Chevy 150 that Bryan Matthias keeps in his garage.

This unadorned bow-tie had done quite a bit of freight ferrying; being used in Nebraska, Texas and Indiana before finally coming to reside in Park Ridge, serving a local preacher and his family.

Right about the time that young Bryan was getting out of the Navy and returning home, the reverend hung up a ‘For Sale’ sign on the dash. Bryan’s father, eagerly anticipating his son’s arrival, saw a great opportunity for a father-son restoration project.

“Dad wanted us to put together a ‘cruiser’ and given this car’s non-abusive past, we thought this would be a great candidate,” says Bryan.

A couple hundred bucks swapped hands and the stripped-down sedan was taken back to the Matthias’ Arlington Heights garage with intentions of a total transformation into a gleaming new ride. Days came and went, weeks turned into months and years into decades, all the while the plain Jane 150 sat. To the pair’s credit, they did keep an eye on the austere classic: updating the licensing and plates, keeping the tires full of air, changing the fluids and even making brief jaunts around the block every now and then, but never fully investing the time to bring it back to its factory-fresh former glory.

After the Chevy’s 25-year mechanical sabbatical in storage, the Matthias senior elected to make a change.

“After sitting for all those years, Dad finally decided to get it out of his garage and pass it on to me,’ said Bryan. The four-door was relocated to its new home in Bryan’s garage, just four blocks away but now with a new purpose in life. “While the original idea was to replace, restore and make some modifications, now I’m going to keep it just as it is — a ‘survivor’ and leave everything alone. There’s hardly ever desire to build or keep the 150 trim; everyone wants the upgraded 210 models or the especially desirable top-of-the-line Bel Air. The basic 150s were the cheapest model, coming with very limited options and often used by fleets or the military for errand duty. Most ended up stripped for parts in junk yards and then crushed without hesitation.”

The fact that this minimal mover has escaped mechanized death and remained preserved for close to six decades is what makes it special. The majority of the components on Bryan’s ride are all original — right down to the two-tone white ivory and ocean-green paint, having never been touched since it was sprayed on at the Janesville, Wis., factory.

Under hood you’ll find the Blue Flame 140 inline six-cylinder intact with an odometer reading a well-traveled, but still sprightly, 126,000 miles. Still visible on the firewall and underside of the hood are alignment markings drawn on by technicians along the assembly line — not too common as most wear off or are painted over.

Keeping the 150 drivable are a few non-’56 items, including Mexican blankets thrown down on the bench seats for extra comfort, a modern battery and a wiring harness Bryan installed himself. “Frankly, it’s a miracle the car has no major malfunctions. Everything is still working well despite sitting for so long and not a single piece leaks!”

There was a period of time where it may have been disregarded as just a means to make cross-town errands but Bryan’s bottom-of-the-barrel four door has now become something more. It has become a rolling time capsule; forgoing the fancy chrome, accessories and powerful engine, instead serving to remind us of the type of automobiles that once could be readily seen on the highways, driveways and drive-ins of simpler days gone by.

While so many owners quickly upgraded to flashier rides, discarding the back-to-basics 150, Bryan has no such plan in mind.

“It’s not going anywhere. It’s become a family heirloom and at 20 miles per gallon, it’s far better than buying that cheap import to get around in!”