Cade Christensen’s ‘57 Chevy Road Trip to Bowling Green

Cade Christensen of rural Houston has been into cars since he was a 6-month-old baby, when the 1957 Chevy Bel Air station wagon joined the family. The car had been purchased in South Dakota by Cade’s uncle; when he chose to sell it, Cade’s dad Alan bought it.

When Cade was 13, he started working on the ‘57 Chevy. The Christensens chose to do a “frame off” restoration in which the entire body of the car was removed. Young Cade did all the bodywork on his car; his uncle Nathan Christensen, who painted trucks for Remlinger Auctions, handled the painting with the very involved Cade observing. Cade now wishes he’d been able to paint the car himself. Cade currently works as a painter at Lewiston Auto. He worked at Remlinger Collector Car Auctions when he was 15 and later at Nesler Auto Repair in Houston. He started painting cars in 2016.

The ‘57 was originally a salmon red color; an electric blue color was chosen for the renovation. The interior upholstery has been redone with a custom material designed to look like an original upholstery print of the time period.

The ‘57 now has a small block Chevy 350 with a Ford 9” rear differential and a TH400 automatic transmission. Cade is also working on another motor for the car in his basement.

This summer Cade took two weeks off from his job before leaving for the 11th annual Tri-Five Nationals at Bowling Green, Kentucky. At that time, the ‘57 Chevy had only been driven 100 miles since restoration. Cade didn’t actually drive the car until the day before leaving on the road trip. He’d spent his time adding final touches to the car.

Cade and his dad Alan met up with a group of 38 cars in Winona at Remlinger Collector Car Auctions. The road trip to Bowling Green took the group three days. The ‘57’s only problem during the trip was when they blew an airline for the car’s rear suspension. Cade and Alan spent about an hour finding a part locally and modifying it a bit to fit the car.

The Tri-Five Nationals featured Chevys from ‘55, ‘56 and ‘57. 1955 was the year the first V8 passenger Chevy came out; these cars’ fins reflect the influence of aerospace design.

Over 2,500 cars attended the 2026 event. According to Cade, there were “some really nice cars there.” He declared that there were a lot of six-figure cars there. Cade shared the story of a man who had spent $100,000 on a car at auction and then tore it all apart to renovate it. At the event, a car is raffled away each year to a lucky winner; the entire previous year is spent renovating the car for the occasion.

While Cade was at Bowling Green, he drag raced the ‘57 in a time test. The car did not do as well as he’d hoped; it ran 14.6 seconds for the quarter mile, about 93 mph.

Cade’s mom Karen had said the first year the Christensens attended the Tri-Five that they could go every year and they have! Cade plans to make the trip again next year. So far he’s been to the Tri-Five eight times, but 2026 was his first year of entering a car. Now 20, Cade was the youngest to enter a car; the average age of participants was 50 to 60.

Cade enjoyed just walking around and talking to other owners. “It’s shared trauma,” Cade chuckled. Getting parts for the old cars is difficult; other owners have tips for the best replacements depending on their own experiences.

“It was good to see the creativity — everyone’s car is different; this makes them unique!” Cade enthused. He himself wants all his projects to be a little different each time.

Cade plans to update the ‘57’s transmission with the goal of improving the gas mileage. This year Cade showed the car during HoeDown Days and the Houston County Fair.

In the future, Cade would like to own his own shop at some point. He has a hoist out in the middle of a field near his home and all the computer tuning tools as well. For now he can do any needed painting after hours at his job at Lewiston Auto.

Alan, Cade’s dad, also has a black ‘57 waiting for its own restoration. It’s been in the making for 45 years or so.

When Cade was five, his mom got a 1969 GTX which he got to work on. Cade called it a great driving car; he shared that he simply loves to drive cars. In addition to his mom’s car, he has worked on his sister April’s Camaro and his sister Karalee’s ‘70s pickup. Currently, he’s working with his friend Mason Laumb on Mason’s 1977 Mustang. He plans to swap the motor with one of the Chevy LS motors he has.

Cade Christensen has found his passion; whatever the future holds for Cade, cars will certainly be a part of it! Cade is looking forward with anticipation to his  trip to Bowling Green next summer!