1956 Classic Cars for Sale
The Corvette gets a proper manual gearbox, Chrysler Forward Look styling arrives in force, and Lincoln wins the Mexican Road Race outright
1956 is the year the Corvette became a real sports car. Chevrolet finally gave it a manual transmission option, added exterior door handles, roll-up windows, and offered a 225-horsepower dual-quad version of the 265. The changes sound minor listed like that. On the road, they were transformative. Zora Arkus-Duntov had pushed hard for every one of them, and the car responded.
Chrysler's styling department under Virgil Exner was running at full speed. The Forward Look cars, with their tall tail fins, contrasting roof colors, and wraparound glass, looked like something that had landed from another decade. The DeSoto Adventurer, the Dodge D-500, and the Chrysler 300-B were not just stylistically aggressive, they were mechanically serious. The 300-B made 340 horsepower standard and 355 horsepower with the optional camshaft.
Ford and Lincoln were doing serious racing work. Lincoln won the 1956 Pan American Road Race class outright, which was real motorsport on public roads through Mexico, not an oval. That win mattered for the Lincoln brand in ways that dealership advertising never could.
- The Corvette received a three-speed manual transmission option for 1956, the first time buyers could order one, along with a power-operated soft top and a 225-horsepower dual-carburetor engine option.
- Chrysler's 300-B offered a factory-optional camshaft that raised output to 355 horsepower, making it the highest-horsepower American production car of the year by a significant margin.
- The final true Packards rolled out of East Grand Boulevard in Detroit in 1956, with the 1957 models being rebadged Studebakers. The 1956 Caribbean was the last proper Packard built on its own platform.
Showing 179 listings
Dealer
United States
1956 Pontiac Handyman Wagon
Dealer
United States
1956 Chevrolet 210
Dealer
United States
1956 Lincoln Capri
Dealer
United States
1956 Ford Thunderbird
Dealer
United States
1956 Chevrolet Bel Air
Dealer
United States
1956 Chevrolet Bel Air
Dealer
United States
1956 GMC 100
Dealer
United States
1956 Chevrolet Delray
Dealer
United States
1956 Ford Ranch Wagon
Dealer
United States
1956 Ford Thunderbird
Dealer
United States
1956 Ford Thunderbird
Dealer
United States
1956 Ford Thunderbird
Dealer
United States
1956 Pontiac Chieftain
Dealer
United States
1956 Chevrolet 210
Dealer
United States
1956 Ford Thunderbird
Dealer
United States
1956 Ford Customline
Dealer
United States
1956 Chevrolet Bel Air
Dealer
United States
1956 Chevrolet Bel Air
Dealer
United States
1956 Chevrolet Bel Air
Dealer
United States
1956 Ford Fairlane
Dealer
United States
1956 Ford Thunderbird
Dealer
United States
1956 Chevrolet 5700
Dealer
United States
1956 Buick Special
Dealer
United States
1956 Chevrolet CC6500
Market: A 1956 Corvette with the dual-quad engine and manual transmission commands a strong premium over automatic cars, with nice examples trading from $55,000 into the $90,000 range depending on color combination and documentation. The Chrysler 300-B is a serious appreciating asset, with well-documented cars regularly selling above $100,000 at auction.
Buyer's note: On 1956 Corvettes, confirm the transmission is a genuine factory three-speed unit rather than a later conversion, since the manual cars carry a 20 to 30 percent premium and the gearbox tunnel modification required no body changes, making swaps relatively easy to fake.