I have been searching for information about what happened to this car. A fraternity brother's car at GMI in the mid-60s. We lost touch and I have often wondered about the unique approach to the class that Fred took. He was from Cincinnati I believe. What I recall was a tilt front end, 221 c.i. SB Chevy V-8, Hydromatic, and lots of revs.
Never heard of this one either, and it sounds interesting to say the least. I'll be watching this thread. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
In the years since posting this request, I was actually able to find my old friend. Along the way I found some photos I took. Here we are leaving our fraternity house at GMI in Flint, MI, August 1964. We were headed to Detroit Dragway. What a day, famous names, and cars.
@gnuse Can you tell us any stories about the car? I have never heard of such a low cubic inch V8. Was it a destroked 265?
I have to ask. . . How AND why would anyone build a 221ci. SBC in the mid sixties? There must be a story behind this
1964 C/G was 10.5-11.49 lbs. per cubic inch, on the heavy side of the weight break the car had to weigh 2540#. It must have been hard to get a ‘56 Chevy that light.
Ford put them in fairly light cars in the early 60's, don't see how a 221 cubic inch sbc would be competitive in C/gas, what combo engine would one build, doesn't even make sense.
After almost 60 years, and making contact with Fred, he set me straight on the engine. It was around 265 C.I., but size was about all that was stock for a '56. Remember, we were GMI engineering students and had access to some very cool technology for the day. Some of us were even sponsored by Chevrolet and Pontiac Engineering.......where a lot of magic happened.
The Jalopy Journal
