A purple 1957 Chevrolet panel van, once a barn recluse, surprises restorers with personality, history, and a second chance at life.
Barn finds often arrive rusted, forgotten and far from road-ready. But a recently unearthed 1957 Chevrolet panel van proved an exception, firing up with ease and revealing a colorful history that stretches beyond its utilitarian origins.
The purple panel van was discovered by Jeff, a barn find enthusiast who previously rescued a Pontiac Trans Am. This time, his prize was a Chevrolet 3100 van, one of the last built in the Tri-Five era. He delivered it to YouTuber Dane Shemwell, host of the Detail Dane channel, who called it the “coolest vehicle” ever to pass through his shop.
The van had been painstakingly restored years earlier by its now-deceased owner, who stripped it to bare bones in a nut-and-bolt restoration. Over time, however, it sat idle, collecting dust, animal hair and even a rodent skeleton on the passenger floor. Despite the neglect, it retained eccentric touches: recliner chairs in the rear, wood paneling throughout, Pioneer speakers, and a bold decal reading “Beers and Tears.”
Mechanically, the van proved sound. Its small-block Chevy V8—likely a 350—turned over cleanly once Shemwell and Jeff prepped the cylinders and carburetor. When it roared to life, it did so without knocks or hesitation, defying decades of dormancy.
By 1957, Chevrolet’s 3100 lineup was already a staple of American light-duty trucking. That year marked the final run of the Tri-Five series, with engines ranging from the rugged 235 inline-six to the more powerful 283 V8. Out of more than 350,000 trucks built, relatively few were panel vans, making survivors like this one especially rare.
Unlike the glamorous Bel Air or Corvette, the panel van carried America’s daily load—groceries, tools, deliveries. That this one returns, eccentric and intact, highlights the resilience of Chevrolet’s most humble hauler.
