1958 Chevrolet Exterior Trim Variations by Model

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A common automobile industry practice is to have exterior trim variations for brand models that share the same basic body.  This is to allow viewers to distinguish entry-level, top-level and any intermediate level models from one another.  (A glance at interiors usually makes these distinctions obvious -- cloth-covered versus leather-covered seats, for instance.)

Exterior differentiations have ranged from subtle to glaringly obvious.  For a subtle example, aside from the types of wheels, Toyota RAV4 SUVs of the 2013-2018 generation had just small chrome lettering on their rear doors: LE, LXE and Limited -- in increasing price rank.

Towards the other extreme, the 1956 Ford line had distinct trim differences that I wrote about here.

The current post deals with 1958 exterior rank variations for General Motors' Chevrolet brand, America's largest seller that model year.  Chevrolets were given redesigned bodies for 1958.  In addition, the two lowest ranking models were given new names to add to the hoped-for excitement: the One-Fifty line became the Delray, and the Two-Ten line was renamed Biscayne.

Gallery

1958 Chevrolet Delray, Mecum Auctions photo
The two-door model shown here is pretty much Chevrolet's entry car.  Little in the way of chrome trim aside from the piece extending along the side.  Compare it to the side trim shown next.

1958 Chevrolet Biscayne
Biscaynes used the trim from the Delray and were given an additional strip positioned slightly below the forward section and in effect extending the after Delray segment forwards.  Photo of a for-sale car.

1958 Chevrolet Bel Air, "for sale" photo
Top-of-the-line Bel Airs got entirely different side trim that was bolder, more elaborate.  The leading part of the front fender has four decorative hash marks, as does the side sculpting abaft of the rear wheel opening.  No mistaking Bel Airs from lowly Biscayne or Delrays.

1958 Chevrolet Impala, Mecum photo
The apex of the Chevrolet lineup was the Impala.  Besides having a different basic body (compare the thickness of the top with the other Chevys), Impalas received a fake air vent forward of the real wheel opening.  There were other differences, but here we limit the discussion to side views of the various models.

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