Fine Fifty-Six

In the hot rod and custom car world, Tri-Five Chevys are a point of contention. Some love them, some hate them, and others couldn’t care less about them. To be honest, I don’t give them a whole lot of thought on a daily basis. Sure, I’d love a ’57 Nomad like Sam Hollingsworth’s, but those have never really been budget-friendly vehicles—especially when they were new.

When it comes to Tri-Fives, I usually think of ’55’s as Gasser/street machine fodder and ’57’s as more of customs. Sure, there are cars that don’t follow that model, like the Barris-built “Aztec” ’55 and Popular Hot Rodding’s “Project X.” So where do ’56’s fall?

Good question. Back when I was a kid, I remember obsessing over a street-machine style ’56 Chevy in Rod & Custom. The car was red with cream flames and a matching cream firewall. It sat low—but not slammed—on a pair of black steelies with whitewalls. I believe it had spider caps. It for sure had a Sun tach on the dash and a 2×4-fed smallblock with Stellings & Hellings-style air cleaners. The article stated that the owner would often cruise sans hood. They called the build style early-’60s high school hot rod. In my mind, it set the bar for ’56 Chevys.

Anyways, that car has stuck with me. While digging around online this week, I came across a shot of a ’56 convertible that reminded me of the aforementioned Chevy. In some ways, it was even better. Why? This car is the real deal from 1962—a pivotal period in our sport’s history that we work so hard to replicate. This ragtop makes it seem effortless.

Metallic gold paint. Medium white walls. Black steelies. Dog dish hubcaps. Slight rake. Black interior with a white top boot. This car checks all the boxes. I soon learned that it was owned by Scott Cisco. He took the photo on the banks of Lake Michigan in Racine, Wisconsin, nearly 60 years ago. Naturally, I had to ask what was underneath the hood.

“It had a bored out 348 Chev engine by the previous owner,” he said. “Trouble was it only had a three-speed transmission and they were too fragile for the torque it had. Never had the money for a four-speed Borg-Warner.”

Can you imagine driving this car on a warm summer night in ’62 with the top down? It’s the perfect blend of hot rod and street machine. I’m glad I stumbled across it, and I figure you all would appreciate it too.

—Joey Ukrop

 Photo by Scott Cisco