![]() ![]() One single taillight was positioned in each lower ‘corner’ The license plate was simply centered on the bar. A double hand formed covering ‘bar’ was built, chromed and installed over painted steel mesh in the ‘V’. The iconic ’57 Chevy fins were rounded off and the rear of the car highly modified by removing the rear bumper and forming a ‘V’ shaped taillight opening. The side trim was removed, a scoop formed below the Chevy’s side dip and a pair of front wheel openings replaced the stock rear wheel openings. A pair of Studebaker pans formed the grille with a single chromed bar placed inside and Lucite park lights were positioned on the ends. The hood was shortened and pancaked, the ‘gunsights’ removed and a pair of early Corvette hood releases were installed. It’s been reported the owner did most of the body work on the car. Sometime around 1965/’66, the ‘57 was changed/modified with major bodywork. The first version of the car as full Custom. A’61 Chevy dash had been installed along with a ’59 Impala steering wheel. The interior sported four ’63/’64 Chevy Super Sport (or Corvair) bucket seats and were upholstered in white & black tuck n’ roll. A full feature appeared in the May, 1964 issue of Car Craft titled “Covered Wagon.” The top had already been chopped and covered in black vinyl and had a smaller rear window reminiscent of a convertible-type window, the headlights had been ‘tunneled’ three inches and ’56 Plymouth taillights were installed in the stock ’57 Chevy fins, other than the typical nosing and decking, the balance of the outside appeared stock. Initially the ‘57 was called the “Black Rose,” and did the Midwest car shows as a mild kustom, it appeared as a single small photo in the “Showtime” section on the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, show coverage in Car Craft magazine, March, 1964 issue. The car was owned and built by a man named Don Gajdosz (Gah-dish), who was an auto interior upholsterer by trade. This 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air is a true 1960’s survivor kustom… its original home was Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (As brothers Roger and Dan Jetter know it. 57 CHEVY HINT OF MINT Originally customized in the early 1960, this 1957 Chevy Bel Air became famous in the mid 1960’s when it was redone as a show car named “Hint of Mint”
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