well here goes , I bought my 55 out of fresno ca . ebay queen ...much worse looking when I went to pickup...but the car was born in tarrytown NY in 1955 . and was originaly black body with gray interior . 150 series with 6 and manual trans . I believe it was a buisness coupe . (very cool) anyway Im gonna post pics as i go starting with the pics from ebay listing.. here is the build sheet... 508 bbc (yes no 508 in 60s) with tunnel ram and 660 holleys with magneto setup. m22 rockcrusher muncie with v gate shifter 57 olds rear with 456 posi gasser frame w full lenth ladder bars, straight axel ( built by guy from blairs speed shop from the 60s_70s) . body will be black with radius wheel wells and tilt nose . interior diamond tuck with old style buckets and 10 point cage. much more but stay tuned ....... <!-- / message --><!-- attachments -->
fast track a week ahead.... started with new body bushings and floor pans the floor was solid except were water was laying in a few spots at lowest level...due to gravity...lol...here is pic of front floor pan i did , came out good i think for a repop ebay floor pan... also replaced some of the trans tunnel ..looked like someone used the jaws of life to make a shifter hole... also have pic of rims i scored from friend ..15x10 rear and 15x4 front (front is magnesium)
two months aheah...now we are updated ...lol we switch the frames over the other day . this frame was built by a guy who worked at blairs speed shop in the early days ..cool piece ...has mas straight axel , 57 olds rear with 456 gears , ladder bars and strenthining about the frame ...also i replaced the speedway hurst style engine mount with a real hurst mount from the early days ...(not shown) ..
thanks , i built an old style 32 roadster ..had lots of fun with that but i think this will be a real fun project ...
i really scored on the wheels ...except ....former owner painted the front rims... so i guess i have to get them stripped of the paint and hopefully the patina is there otherwise i hear vinager poured on them gives it the look back...we shall see ... last few days i got the body all bolted down and ready to remove the quarters and start the body resto... Im keeping the original steal nose and welding it together and doing tilt nose for that ...
Looks like a good one. and I too love those wheels that should be one bad 55. Big block and a 4 speed and a olds will be killer Good luck....
thanks guys! I cant wait till i can at least run the car ...my pipe dream is to have it drivable for the hotrod reunion in bakersfield in late oct...may look like sh*t but at least it will attend...
Cool, another Tri 5 gasser coming to life, what other parts do you need, I'm sure plenty of guys on here have stuff to sell or swap.
Very Cool Project-Thanks for pics-if you need a back up car there is new ad on craigslist sacramento auto parts for sale: '55 Chevy 210 Gasser Project-$4000
i was real happy to find the front wheels for this for price i paid...i can use the money but wouldnt sell them...
well got something done in the two nites i worked this week . the package tray in pic one is how it came...all cut up and bent down ..wondering if car was dirt car in its past life... anyway i purchased a rear package tray and support from the grim reeper up the hill from me..(tri five dismantler) ..got old one cut out and pieced my new donor one in...came out good and that section is very sturdy again...
got tail and quarter cut off car in last few nites . i also hung the new quarter on but have some fitting left to do . alot of work to make this work out . cutting little at a time ...
good stuff man! looks killer, i'm really thinking of building a gasser again, but with my 53' chevy this time. keep the updates coming!
got alot done , 2nd quarter is clamped and reaady to weld just gotta kill the rust inside quarter area. then weld up // but i want to get a better trunk lid before i do this so i fit it to the one im gonna use . anyone local in the socal area have a deck lid for sale?..here are some pics today...looks like a 55!
I like your thoughts on your build... Only thing I'd change is the 4 speed. With that kind of power... I'd go with something that can handle the power. I had an Auto Gear M22... is was sufficient for my SBC. But I wish I had gone with a Gerico... Keep us posted, I'm a sucker for a '55. Sam
The Jalopy Journal
