Don't know about the body but it had virtually the same 6 cyl
engine and transmission as my uncle's 1955 Chevy Bel Aire.
Chevy introduced the V8 (350 in^3?) in 1956 and that's when
it went into the Corvette and into all those Chevys that broke
all the records that year.
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp

The 327 was not offered tuil the 1962 modle came out. The 350 engine was
still later. I think it was the 1967 or 68 when the 350 engine was offered
in anything. In 1955 it came out with a small V8, the 265 which was the
basis of all the small block engines of that series. Also I think that was
the first year they got away from the 2 speed auto transmission and offered
a manual transmission. The six cylinder was basically the same as in the
other cars but it was setup to produce more horespower than most other
modles of that era.