Customs The Tri-5 Dork

[Ryan]

We have a traitor amongst us gentlemen. He was a diehard hot rod builder. You've probably read and followed many of his threads and learned from his seemingly endless talent. I'm not gonna give you his name. I don't want to force him out of his c...

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[Doc.]

As a fellow tri five owner I say stand up and be counted. The general knew what he was doing when he came out with this masterpiece. I like them just like they rolled off the line, but I don't mind them as a mild custom either. And just for the record, tell Mildred I prefer waffles in the morning.

Doc.

[Von Rigg Fink]

Heck..even chicks are better cutomised

there is a point of going over board..keep it clean and simple..dont blow it out of proportion and anything with a little extra care will look better than it did when it came out

[Dakota]

I hate 57 Chevys, but that 57 Nomad that was just recrated is one of my favorites... pretty stock, lowered with awesome paint.

[squirrel]

55s are strange, unlike most cars, the less you do to them, they better they look. Lower it, raise it, change the wheels, lose some of the trim, give it some power....

They work better as hot rods than as customs, though.

[gearheadbill]

Originally Posted by squirrel

55s are strange, unlike most cars, the less you do to them, they better they look. Lower it, raise it, change the wheels, lose some of the trim, give it some power....

They work better as hot rods than as customs, though.

Posts...yes! Hardtops...not so sure. I've seen a few killer 55 hardtop customs; mild and full, that are lookin' good.

[meatball]

Originally Posted by squirrel

55s are strange, unlike most cars, the less you do to them, they better they look. Lower it, raise it, change the wheels, lose some of the trim, give it some power....

They work better as hot rods than as customs, though.

Right on the money............

[Rich Rogers]

Originally Posted by squirrel

55s are strange, unlike most cars, the less you do to them, they better they look. Lower it, raise it, change the wheels, lose some of the trim, give it some power....

They work better as hot rods than as customs, though.

Totally right here. Left mine basically stock height (55-210- 2 door) added flat and alittle semi-gloss black on the upper half of the 1/4s, stuck a double tunnelram with a M-22 Muncie with an old Mr. Gasket V-Gate shifter, 15 in. smoothies on the rear and 5 spoke Rockets on the front. All hotrod without customizing

[Erixon]

My '56 is a four door, so I shaved the handles and removed the side chrome (it was all bent to hell, plus the side chrome just emphasizes its four-door-edness). A few other things here and there. Nothing too drastic.

I never liked the way the tri-5s looked all chopped up. Lowered can look good, but the roof is right where it needs to be, in my humble opinion.

[racemad55]

Originally Posted by Rich Rogers

Totally right here. Left mine basically stock height (55-210- 2 door) added flat and alittle semi-gloss black on the upper half of the 1/4s, stuck a double tunnelram with a M-22 Muncie with an old Mr. Gasket V-Gate shifter, 15 in. smoothies on the rear and 5 spoke Rockets on the front. All hotrod without customizing

Got that straight axle in yet !

[Rich Rogers]

Originally Posted by racemad55

Got that straight axle in yet !

haha, not yet but now it's on the planning board along with the new engine and cutting the wheel wells. Great front end , hell I'm surprised you remembered. Still have the Nomad?? That was killer to see it

[choprodinc]

NOTHIN' gives me wood like stickin a straight axle underneath a tubbed 210 and an 8-71 climbing out the hood... I'm with Ryan on this one!

LOOSERS C.G. FOREVER!!!!

[fordnutz]

Oh, the horror. Going over to the dark side. Of course I have had 8 55-6 chevs in my past. Still, a stock one? Did Aaron fall and hit his head at all? I am sure this can be explained. Pat.

[Stutz]

betty boop collection? haha... sometimes even inside jokes are funny.

[RoadFarmer]

Was he the kinda kid that got his ass kicked by the jocks or greasers? Driving a stock '55 is like driving mom's car! Like Buddy Hollly said, "You're so square"

[Django]

Hahaha, I couldn't wait to start doing some mods to mine, so it wouldn't look like every single other Tri-Five out there!

And I STILL think one of the greatest crimes against hot rodding was when Butt Reynolds/Sam F went from the copper, silver and turquoise seaweed flames back to stock red and white a couple years ago.

[squirrel]

If you want to customize a 55 hardtop, start with a Pontiac, it's longer an way more in need of getting it's looks improved! Same roof and doors, too.

[drjones96]

ducks as he says it..... Some things look better as they came from the factory.

Examples:
Tri-5 chevy's (Bel-Air, 210, 150...it don't matter)
'58, '62-'64 Chevy's
'63-'67 'vettes (My dad screwed up 5 '64-'66 vettes back in the day)

[Harrison]

The side chrome, front bumper, grille, & hubcaps on this just look weird to me. The taillight treatment was totally uncalled for.

I'm with Aaron.



I will admit though that this one from Brizio is amazing - wheels & all. Maybe even "especially the wheels".





JH

[froghawk]

Trouble with a lot of Tri-5 Dorks, perhaps not Aaron, is they like to load their cars with every gee-gaw outa the Chevy accessory book. Bumper guards on bumper guards, hockey stick rocker moldings, fingernail guards, 'n all that stuff. (Would somebody who ordered a fuelie '57 have really also wanted skirts and a continental spare?)

Tri-5s look great stock and even better cleaned up, mild custom, like the one Ryan's posted, but I think even milder...

Since I don't have the skills, tools, money, garage, ya da, ya da, to build a real one, gotta content myself building little plastic ones. If I had a real '55, it'd be mild, like this. One color, shaved, nosed, decked, lowered just a little, smoothed front bumper and wagon rear, with a dual-carb Corvette motor. Though maybe now it'd get '55 Lancer caps instead of the '53 'vettes...