History 1955 chevy in 1965 ??

Gene Moody's '55 D/G 4-time US Nationals winner.

 

Thanks brother.

I had the same thoughts as you Cut55.....get out for a good fall run over to my buddies place who has a cool vintage shop. Great thread!

 

My grandpa and great uncle have described to me how Hot Rods were in their youth here in Kentucky from 58-67.

• Pull the bumpers first
• Lower the rear end however they could if it was a cruiser.
• Duals on everything. Out the back. Chrome turndowns were hot.
• Painted steel wheels. They would do a Red/White/Blue tri-bar scheme. Sometimes chrome if they could find them.
• Plastic seat covers.
• Spot primer, Primer, then Paint. Never any rusted metal. If it was rusty, you painted over it.
• Floor shifters, usually with the shifter left on the column.
• Random motor swaps. Y-blocks in Dodges and ford six's in chevies. Whatever worked.
• No top-chops, channel jobs, or anything like that. Doors were leaded together, shaved handles and trim, and tube grills.
• The car's nickname brushed on the 1/4's in small script. Something like "White Lightning" or "Black Beauty".

My Uncle's car was a '55 Chevy with a built 283 and Chevy truck axle up front. It was stripped and painted black with steel wheels. He ran this set-up all through the 60's.

 

Abomb, Looks good. I'll agree with the others, just put on a set of period wheels and you are good to go. That yellow paint is perfect for the times. I thought they looked best in yellow or bright orange. That was very popular back then.

 

Heres a picture of my uncles '55 in '67. Had a 327, 4 speed and the seats were out of an impala SS. Every day driver, street racer and the occasional trip to Somerset (KY) Drag Strip. First hot rod I rode in. Its the one that started it all for me.

 

The two bottom pic's are @ San Fernando.

 

Here's a scan of the car built by my father inlaw, eventually owned by my uncle.

 

I'd love to see some '55 interiors in '65... About the same time line I'm looking at for my Five.. Been looking in all my old mags but haven't found anything "thats it"... Sorry hope I'm not highjacking... Probably should start that in a separate post...

 

looks like one of dem donk cars.

 

Here's the interior in mine. My car was built in the '60s, revised in the '70s and then left alone. The seats are '67-'68 Camaro/Firebird buckets with leather tuck-and-roll and are mounted on wooden blocks. (Yeah, I know.) The kid who did the car originally (in Long Beach) cut and fit the aluminum panels, including the dash insert with SW gauges. Glove box guts removed. The Super Shifter 3 is new since I replaced the aging M-21, shifter, rear end, and clutch/pp/flywheel/scattershield recently to make the car more driveable. Steering wheel is an old Superior 500 and the tach is a vintage Sun 10K unit.

 

Got this pic from a buddy and it shows Karl Orr standing beside a 427-powered '55 back in about 1969.



Another pic from same buddy. Stock-appearing Delray with Milner wheels and Hurst slicks out back.



Or you can do the high-dollar look c1965 like Jim Zakia's old race car, seen here restored in a recent photo (swiped somewhere on the HAMB).

 

Shot this one at Puyallup '06:

 

Speaking of '55s in '65:



Flame Red, Halibrands out back, chrome steelies up front, "409" springs and probably ball joint spacers to raise the front end. Roll bar too.

 

A few more racecars:





Black wheels and whitewalls always look good:

 

Here's afew more pic's .

 

Here's another vintage '55, owned by a friend of a friend. From what I've been told, it was a barn find ex-gasser.

 

Rick's primered one above is the cats meow!! I still have two original copies of that issue, "the body issue", i got one in the mail and then when i saw that i ran out and bought one. The green one on page 3 is sick and gasser55's flip front is what i always vowed mine to be set up like if i stick the axle under it. Oh yeah then there is my favorite of all time, mine in my avatar, and it is early 60s dead on cause i got all the old pics from the drag strip during that time on my wall around my house. Cant wait to get my faded laquer red 57 150 on the road.

 

Cool convertible! Note the Crown Vic in the background.

 

Lots of sweet cars, lets see some more.

 

hey ABOMB...you got the right 1 to start with. man a hardtop, u luckey dawg. do it the way u like it man. hell it's ur hard work and money. look at the way some people harpooned the C/GASSER. there is a small fortune in that hotrod...POP.

 

Here are a few taken at Somerset (Ky.) Drag Strip in '65.

 

Classifieds from 1960s Hot Rod mags. Go ahead and cry.







More like a '55 in '60 but still cool:



My buddy Brad's with a 650hp Rat:



Butch Thuney's in about 1969:



Nats winner:

 

First pic is Bakersfield '63, second pic is San Fernando '67ish, the third is today.

 

Believe it or not this car is a Canadian 55 Pontiac with Chevy clip and the taillight sections added to it...if you look closely at the dash in the bottom pic and the non existant dash humps in the first pic, you can tell it still has the 55 Pontiac dash.

 

This convert 55 was a car our car club (Piston Pushers) ran at Kolher Dragway back in the early to mid 60's....here's another 55 Chevy that fellow club brothers ran and were Canadian Champs with in E Gass in the day.

 

now i want another 55. thanks