Chevrolet is a volume brand with 114 years of history behind it. Naturally, then, there’s a wide range of cars in its back catalogue, with a wide range of values. The cheapest Chevy in the Hagerty Price Guide is worth well under 10 grand. The most expensive is worth well over $3M. Even within a specific model range, engine choice, body style, and options can make a world of difference in how much a car will sell for.
That’s a pretty big spread, so we decided to look at the base price of a new Corvette and use that as a threshold. $70,195 gets you a no-options car delivered to the dealer, so we set $70K as our threshold and then looked at classic Chevrolets built from the 1950s to 1970 (arguably the company’s best years) to see what we could conceivably buy in #2 (“excellent”) condition. Below is what we came up with.
#2 value: $59,700-$63,100
The Tri-Five (1955-57) Chevy lineup included several ’50s icons, including the first version of the Bel Air-based Nomad. With handsome Harley Earl-era style, a practical two-door wagon body, and V-8s of either 265 or 283 cubic inches, it was a great way to see the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet. The 1957 models are arguably the most handsome of the bunch and generally the most valuable today.
Currently, the only way to get into a #2 condition ’57 Nomad for under $70K is to stick with the lower-output, two-barrel carbureted engines. A ’57 Nomad fitted with the Corvette’s 283 cubic-inch/283 hp fuel-injected V-8 comes in at six figures, and the 283 cid/270 hp dual quad car comes in at $96K, while top-tier restomods on the ’57 Nomad platform have sold for more. But the bottom-of-the-range 265 cid/162 hp is a mere $59,700 and the 283 cid/185 hp just $63,100. Four-door Townsman station wagons are cheaper still, even when fitted with the hotter engines.
#2 value: $43,200-$68,000
Like the first Nomad, the first Impala was a Bel Air-based affair. Introduced as something of a 50th anniversary celebration for GM along with top models for each of the General’s brands, the ’58 Impala was the range-topping Bel Air before becoming its own separate model line in 1959.
First-year Impalas are still expensive things today, but some are a better deal than others. Convertibles in #2 condition stretch past 100 grand for the most part. Coupes are mixed, with both the 283 cid/290 hp fuelie and the 348 cid/315 hp well past our budget. Much cheaper is the 283 cid/185 hp two-barrel at $43,200, and even the 348 cid/280 hp with Tri-Power carbs is $68,000.
#2 value: $39,700-$60,200
When it comes to car-based pickups in America, Ford beat GM to the punch with its 1957 Ranchero. But Chevrolet responded two years later with the original El Camino. More flamboyantly styled than its Ford rival, the El Camino handily outsold the Ranchero in its debut ’59 model year. But sales sharply fell off in 1960. At roughly $2500 (about $27K today), the El Camino was stylish but pricey, and Ford regained the sales lead when it downsized the Ranchero on the Falcon platform. Chevy, meanwhile, shelved the whole car/truck idea until 1964, when it introduced the Chevelle-based second-gen El Camino.
Early El Camino prices shot up during the early 2020s, but all versions still provide a unique mix of ’50s GM design and V-8 power without the need to spend a fortune. Whether it’s the inaugural ’59 model or the slightly more conservatively styled ’60, and from the standard 283 cid/170 hp ($39,700) to the range-topping 348 cid/335 hp Tri-Power ($59,500), all come in below $70K.
#2 value: $43,700-$67,400
In 1961, the Impala was entering its third generation and really hitting its stride. Chevrolet downsized its best-selling model, ditching the fins and giving it an overall boxier, cleaner appearance. Body styles included two-doors and four-doors, convertibles and wagons, while engine options ranged from small sixes to 409 cid V-8s and, in a small number of special “Z11s” built for drag racing, 427 V-8s. The 1961 Impala was also the first to be available with the “Super Sport” (SS) package, which was mostly trim.
It’s desirable trim, though, and as classics, many third-gen Impala SSs in excellent condition stretch past our $70K budget. All the convertibles do, and so do Sport Coupes fitted with the 409 or 358 cid/350hp engines, but the rest of the range with 283, 327, or 348 engines come in under it.
#2 value: $65,000
Corvairs are fun, interesting, easy to work on, and affordable classic cars. Even the king of the Corvair Hill—the Yenko Stinger—isn’t crazy-expensive.
Pennsylvania Chevy dealer Don Yenko is most famous for stuffing big-blocks into Camaros and Novas, but a few years before that, he focused on Chevrolet’s humble air-cooled commuter car, the Corvair. He set his sights on the Sports Car Club of America’s (SCCA) D-Production category and ordered 100 units of the Corvair Corsa model to convert them into Stingers and homologate them for the 1966 season. Compared to stock, the Stinger was lightened, the suspension stiffened, and the brakes upgraded. Several stages of engine outputs were available—160 hp, 190 hp, 220 hp, or 240 hp in the full-on race cars. A Stinger won a National Championship in 1967, but Yenko soon set his sights on the new Camaro.
Sources vary on how many Stingers were built, and there were customer-modified Stingers in addition to the ones converted at Yenko, but the likely number is fewer than 200. Despite the rarity, the racing connection, and the weight of the Yenko name, they’re less expensive than you might think. Although a concours-restored car with the hotter 220-hp engine sold for $220K back in 2019, that sale proved something of an outlier, and most Stingers that do pop up sell for close to our current Price Guide values.
#2 value: $62,000
Chevrolet significantly restyled the compact Nova for its third generation in 1968, while the Super Sport (SS) option went from a trim package to a performance one. And, following the tried-and-true small-car-big-engine formula, a well-equipped Nova SS made a potent muscle car for ’60s speed freaks on a budget. The standard-issue engine for the Nova SS was a 350, but a 396 making 325, 350, or 375 hp was also available.
Just like when they were new, Novas offer affordable muscle today. Some of the 350-cid versions are worth down into the $30K range in #2 condition, and the emissions-hampered 1973-74 models are even cheaper. Meanwhile, the 396 cid/375 hp L78 stretches a bit past $70K at $75,700 in #2 condition, and the super-rare and super-fast Yenko Novas are worth well into six figures. The 396 cid/350 hp L34, though, is a good value at $62,000.
#2 value: $38,600-$66,300
You haven’t been able to buy a new Chevelle in nearly five decades, and you haven’t been able to buy a fast one for even longer, but it’s still one of the most recognizable names in American performance. The ’70 model was arguably peak Chevelle in terms of both looks and speed, so naturally many ’70 models are quite expensive. You’d be hard-pressed to find a nice 454-powered car for under $70K, for example, and many of the convertibles are pricey, too.
But that doesn’t mean you have to settle. The SS 396 models still offer big-block power for much less, with the 350-hp L34 model coming in at $66,300.
All cool cars but the new C8 is just much more car for the same money. Add to this a low mile used C8 is even much cheaper.
Some of these cars are just over priced. Auctions have really distorted the market price wise.
If I had the money I’d have one of each if I had to take one it would be the nova
The Corvair Yenko Stinger and the Chevelle SS would be my favorite from this list but I agree the C8 is a tremendous value as is the C7 and C6 in comparison..