Projects Got my 55 chevy Gasser on the road

Very nice!

 

Looks like a fun machine to me! Congratulations. Good times ahead.

 

Hi there gasoline Junkie, glad you liked the scoop, the used front end had a snorkle type tunnelram scoop, late 70's early 80's I think. Anyway I was kinda looking for something more shorter and a little taller. More gasser era correct and I was down at the Pomona swap meet in the rain,(Call me rainman in so cal when I go) and this guy had a stack of these for like $12.00 ea/ He said they were for those Ford Cobra Kit cars. I liked them for one reason they weren'ttoo big and they were a little long and covered the big ugly hole I has from the previous tunnelram. I put a couple of nutz and bolts into it so I remove it when the 8-71 goes in. Hey one can dream can't they. If not I wouldn't have gotten this far. The rest is just nuts and bolts stuff.lol. Doug yruhot

 

That was a well spent $12 haha it fits the look of your car perfectly. I love this car, I like to pretend my small block 4 door is as nasty

 

Scares me in a good way also , and I built it.lol.yruhot.doug

 

ok let me try this one more time tonight. ONe preaccident photo and several at the scene of the accident. I read the directions just in case this works. I hate when that happens.lol. sorry didn't happen this time either sorry.

 

Congrats .......one very cool ride brother.

 

onemore time Hey it worked this time, car in garage was before wreck,rest is what i had to work with afterwards. Thanks to lots of my friend help,talents, and support I got her to the point she is at today. i'll post some others of in progress photos. Not lets hope for the best and see if it'll go. yruhot.doug

 

Thanks Gasser Louie for the nice comments, I've stared longingley many a night at your car for inspiration as to howto finish mine ........thankyou so much. My wife is leaving me now.lol. Just kidding but your is one of many of the nicer ones I stole,eh got ideas for my build, thanks much. yruhot.Doug

 

Im sure your 55 will be far nicer and faster than my 55 when its done! I drive mine everywhere and have an absolute BLAST with it. Lots of things I would like to change, but have another 55 thats going very slow and needs more $ thrown at it first. Of all the rods I have ever had over the last 30 years, this one far and away is the one that brings back those good feelings I had in high school as a beginning gearhead! It feels like the first car should have and always wanted to have when I was 16 and thought a sbf 302 was pretty fast! Ive got a pretty fast 69 SS396, but I only drive it once a year because its not near as much fun as driving the 55.I know once you get the 55 all done youll never get that grin off your face when driving it!

 

Holy crap! Awesome job on bringing that one back to life. I like it better now.

 

Thats BAD ASS!

 

2nd that!

 

WOW... maybe i missed something but did you own car when it got wrecked? if so glad you are alright and happy the 55 can breath again..

 

Amazing transformation from totaled to gasser! You really nailed it on the build and stance.
I call it the "more smiles per mile" look. Seems that once you've got them on the road these old gasser style cars just make everyone look and smile. Sometimes because they bring back memories, and sometimes becasue people just don't know what to make of them.

 

you saved that one nice job

 

Louie, you sure have much higher hopes than I do for my car, yours looks awesum. I figured if I put a geardrive on the cam and a blower through the hood maybe nobody will notice the bad body work and some of the crazy body gaps.lol Funny I had a 69 ss chevelle. 4.11/muncie/ car was brutal. Had it in the early 70's/got it for like$1500.00 mint shape. Broke a couple of muncies but who cared, you had a couple up under the work bench in the garage and if you needed another they were like $150.00 all day long. Ahh those were the good old days. But it had to go I still couldn't afford gas for it at like .42 cents a gallon. I started building a 56 gasser in the late 60's with a bunch of hand me down speed parts the older guys sold me Had it just about rolling and did some dumb things like got girlfriend pregnant got married had a great son and you can guess where the gasser went. Sold it to an young Airman who came by when it was running and showed to me. AnywayI think I always had some unfinished business in my sic pshyie to build.finish and enjoy a gasser.lol.Pretty deep huh? Well Last Sunday I sure enjoyed it and it felt damn good to get her on the road and in a weird way finish what I started about 40 years ago. Anyway thanks for the kind words from you all. I was a little apprehensive about posting my car, I've seen some of you guys in action and it can be brutal.lol. thanks Doug YRUHOT

 

Thanks Mr. Dreamweaver, I'm sure our paths have crossed at one time or another at the car shows. Doug YRUHOT

 

I'll give you another big ole Thumbs Up here!!!
You're on a roll.
Great Save from the smasher. Makes think there is a chance for the guy who wanted to pull the 57 out of the canyon on another post here on the HAMB.

 

Hello Mr Ottos, no i didn't own the car it belonged to a good friend of mine at the time of the wreck and it was sitting at his house after the wreck. HE kept all the nice stuff and was looking for a another car to redo with all his nice parts. I was looking for maybe a roller bracket car to go out and make some noise and smoke with some of my older friends and that when I thought about the 55 he had and to see how bad it was. He took the parts and I got the shell 2 dented doors/1-dented decklid/1-bent frame, right front wheel was pushed up into the firewall. And all the glass which some how survived except the front windshield. a Semi retired body man I knew said no problem straightening it out, he said these old chevies got lots of steel in 'em. He proceeded to pull the roof straight with a backhoe in like 3 seconds. Me I was having a major pucker moment. But it worked and with a little shrink file work I think it's called it don't think it turned out to bad.He pulled the top of the drivers a post back and we used a angle indicatior to mimick the postd on my 56 chev. My buddy was in his 50 chevrolet truck and trailer headed to the drivline shop and this drunk in a Issus cab over truck hit him in the rear at about 100 mph. drove up on the trailer snapped the nylon tydowns,jackniffed the truck and trailer and then the car whipped of the trailer. He said doug I was ridding along my son was driving 50 mph in the slow lane minding my own business and the next thing I know we are perpindicular to 5 lanes of traffic and I glanced out my window and saw the 55 rolling down the freeway. I think the drunk was glad the Nev. Highway patrol showed up and took him off to jail where he wreould have been safer. So thats the story of my little project.whew.My friend said becareful of what you ask for in life you might just get it.lol And I got it.Later doug YRUHOT

 

That is crazy, i didnt want to ask what happened but what crazy story. I woulda had a pucker moment with a backhoe pullin my roof as well , thanks for the cool insite on this. Im building a gasser too if u look me up on here you will see i rescued a 55 as well but yours is another story..congrats on the first trip with it..i cant wait to do the same...

 

Getting in a wreck like that scares most of us! Good that you were able to save it. Looks great!!!

 

Doing a great job good that you saved it. I like the stance not all straight axle gasser style cars have to nose high.

 

thanks CHeapCat for the imput. Funny my first car was a 56 pontiac 2 door post/ Was a pretty cool car to me. Then came the 56 chevy and I was hooked. In fact it was that light blue like on your car.Doug yruhot

 

hey Roughneck424 I read that story about the car in the gorge. Sounded a lot worse than mine if thats possible, but that would make a cool Hammer project as long as nobody got hurt. maybe at least there could be some parts to salvage. Thanks Doug at yruhot

 

yruhot the avatar is from a photo when I pickup the car up. I'm working on the mechanical and body just trying to get on the road before winter just to drive it. I have had it all most 2 years now and have never driven it yet startin to get to me ya know.

 

Here are a couple of photos of getting ready to straighten the roof out. I didn't get any of the actual job beingdone cause I was so busy runnung around supervising things ( getting in the way,lol) ok doug

 

Looking good, enjoy

 

Otto, I found some of your other posts on your 55 and you've quite an undertaking yourself. Whew. I'm gona follow it farther. I don't know how I missed it in the past. I was looking for all sorts of info. A smart man learns from his mistakes.........But a wise man will learn from others mistakes also.lol. I try anyway.Later Doug YRUHOT

 

DAMN DUDE! You've got some talent!