1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible

One step into what Ron Foster calls his man cave at his Independence home reveals his love for the turquoise and white 1957 Chevy.

As much as the eyes want to stare at his ’57 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible, it is impossible to stay focused on the car.

Much of Foster’s garage is a tribute to what he calls the iconic car of the 1950s. His memorabilia displayed throughout his garage are tributes to the turquoise and white Chevy.

Hanging just above his car is a replica of his Chevy. It has the same turquoise-and-white color scheme.

“We bought that up there at a rock and roll restaurant in Hamilton, Mo.,” said Foster, pointing to the replica. “I bought it two or three years ago, and it needed restoring.”

But the ’57 Chevy Bel Air Convertible that Foster bought five years ago from a man in Ohio really wasn’t a restoration project. When he saw it, he knew it needed some work.

“I bought it off the Internet. I got on an airplane, flew to Pittsburgh and they took me into Ohio,” Foster said. “I wanted to look at the car. I don’t buy anything until I look at it.

“I bought it and brought it home on a trailer. I’m very lucky I have some good friends who helped me. The wiring was bad, the brakes were bad, the exhaust system was bad. The engines had some problems. Now, nothing is wrong with it.”

Since he was 16 years old, Foster, now 69, has had a deep affection for the 1957 Chevy.

“I couldn’t afford anything when I was 16,” Foster said. “I was poor. I bought a ’39 Chevy, but I always loved the ’57 Chevy because I couldn’t afford it. I went into the Marine Corps. I got married. I still didn’t have any money.”

In 1977, Foster bought his first of five ’57 Chevys for $800.

“It was a piece of junk,” Foster said. “It had duct tape all over it, and it was yellow. I tore it all apart. That was when I was younger. I can’t do it now.”

Nearly everything in his current ’57 Chevy – the only one he still owns – is original. Foster said he did install a nice sound system.

“My son and I gutted the AM radio and hooked up my iPhone to it so I can listen to my music,” Foster said.

Foster drives his ’57 Chevy as much as possible.

“It is not a trailer queen,” he said. “I have them because I enjoy driving them. If you can’t drive it, I can’t imagine having it. I take it out, especially this past year. I am driving it as long as I can. It is getting hard for me to turn it because it doesn’t have power steering.”

Foster suffers from ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. There is not yet a cure or treatment that halts or reverses ALS. Foster accepts his fate and knows there will come a time when he will be unable to drive his dream car.

“I know what is going to happen to me,” Foster said. “I am enjoying life. I have good friends like David. I have a lot of good friends.”

Foster’s neighbor, Dave Magraw, is the friend who went to Hamilton, Mo., with Foster to bring back the replica of the ’57 Chevy. He has been on rides with Foster in the ’57 Chevy.

“The color, the whitewalls, the convertible,” Magraw said. “It is a head-turner. It stands out.

“I have been in it enough to know it is pretty cool. You get a lot of attention when you drive this car, especially when you come to a stoplight and people have an opportunity to talk and say something. You get a lot of thumbs up and honks.”

Foster could spend hours talking about the turquoise and white Chevy. To him, it is simply the best car ever made.

“I have had a lot of cars in my life, but the ’57 Chevy Bel Air Convertible is my favorite,” Foster said. “Look at it. Everybody loves it, and the young girls just fall in love with it. They say it is their dream car. It is a pretty popular car.”

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 6:09 PM with the headline "1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible."