History My Dad's '55 Chevy- Circa '57-'58

I thought some of you guys might enjoy seeing this. This was my dad's first car (in 1957). It started off as a light green (not sure if it was 2-toned or not) 1955 210 sedan, with a 265 and a 3 speed manual, and was pretty beat when he got it from what I remember (had been a travelling salesman's car). He swapped in a '57 dual quad 283. The car was painted candy apple red, which wasn't very common in NC in the late '50s. The side trim and I beleive taillights are '55 Pontiac; the grille is from a '54 Chevy, with extra teeth. I'm pretty sure the front markers and headlights were frenched, and the doors were shaved (starter solenoids for activation, with a button in the fenderwell). The gas filler was also shaved, and it had a wagon bumper that relocated the rear tag off the decklid.
The car was wrecked before it could have the interior redone, but it was on its way to being a very nice custom. Unlike most customs, though, he was into peformance and used to drag race it (at Piedmont Dragstrip in NC).
My dad is sending more pics...has three or four more, I think, and a few of his white '60 Impala.

 

Now that is cool! The side trim looks great. 283 dual-quad, presumably a 270hp. Tough to beat that combo.

 

I love the car, and have threatened to re-create it (he still has a '55, but not this one...flipped it at above mentioned dragstrip)...though I would lose the skirts. He loves them, and I know a lot of you guys who grew up then do also, but they're not for me.

 

BTW, my grandfather was the manager of a large cotton mill, and since the mills used chrome plating for quite a bit of their machinery, my dad got his parts plated much cheaper (free?) than most. Just about everything on the engine was chromed, including the ram horn manifolds.

 

Cool!...Now get those other pics up for us!

 

An earlier pic...with the 283, but before most of the chroming. Only one I have unfortunately. I noticed it still has the 265 manifolds at this point.

 

Great looking car, hope you don't mind but I ran the photo through photoshop. Looks like it could have been taken today.

 

Not sure if I'll have more of the '55...many of them are framed, and he's having a hard time getting them un-mounted (taped in). Here is one of the '60 Impala. This is shortly after he got it. 348/ 4 speed car. He later rebuilt the engine with 12.5:1 jahns pistons, and some other upgrades. Ronnie Sox widened a set of stock rear wheels for him not long after this was taken (his shop was nearby...my dad grew up in Gastonia, NC, and Ronnie's shop was in Burlington I think). The trophies are from Piedmont Dragstrip (he still has them). He and my uncle used to change out his street gears for strip gears every weekend.

Notice pics were taken May 1961-pretty sure the location is a boarding house he lived in at UNC in Chapel Hill.

 

Wow, thanks!!! Looks much better!!!

 

Sooooo cool !!!

 

My dad used to race his turquiose and ivory 55 Chevy at Shuffletown and Pumpkin Center back then. I'm going to get him in front of the computer to see if he remembers your dad's 55.

 

THE '55 WAS run at Shuffletown...my Dad mentioned you had to have good brakes, because there wasn't much room!
I know the trophies in the pics with the '60 are all from Piedmont. BTW we're probably about the same age...you remember Jimmy Killian? He's from Hickory, and drove a baby blue 71 4-4-2 W-30. He's a good friend of mine.

 

Thanks for this picture. I saved it. Aside from the rams horns I had, it looks just like the engine compartment of my 55 back in the mid-sixties. I never took any pictures of it.

 

Glad you liked it. Here are 3 more of the '55.

 

Great pics, thanks for sharing, like the trim and tails. I need to get my dad`s posted.

 

Got a few more details from my Dad...

-Electric doors and trunk-50 ford starter buttons under front fenders.trunk under dash,chevy solenoids

-Louvered hood
-All seams in front valance welded
-Grille surround molded in (fiberglass)
-Corvette shifter in floor
-Chrome reverse wheels-57 "cookie pans" with Corvette spinners
-Candy Apple Red/Gold underbase--4 coats clear lacquer
-Chrome valve covers, exhaust manifolds, aluminum polished intake
(note: all chrome on engine and wheels was "industrial" chrome done through the mill...my dad polished, and they chromed for free-wasn't copper nickel though, just chrome)
-'49 Chevy license plate frame (rear)
-1956 Chevy front bumper guards

 

The tail lights in that '55 are from a '55 Pontiac wagon. They're a bolt-in to the Chevy since the Pontiac wagons used the Chevy quarters. Neat pics.

 

Hey Bulldawg, the only Killian's I know have a tire store and are into Fords. I can't remember a Jimmy Killian right off hand. Ask your dad if he knows Tony Young in Charlotte as he use to do some custom paint back then and hung around the same places. Back then Shuffletown was a dirt dragstrip. Still got to get my dad up here to see the pics.

 

Damn cool car. Would be a neat tribute car to build.

 

Jimmy graduated from Hickory High in '87. I don't think he was connected to the tire store. He's a big Ford guy now (worked with him at Year One and Mustangs Unlimited), but wasn't then at all. I'll see if my dad knew Tony. The '55 was rolled at Shuffletown...they had wet down the track to keep the dust down. I can't even imagine a dirt dragstrip!

On the '60: it was a 320 HP 348, with a 3 speed (Hurst shifted), not 4 like I thought. An email from my Dad said it was an east coast NHRA B-Stock champion in 1962. I had no idea, though I knew he dragged it a LOT.

 

I stand corrected...now that you mention it, he did say they were from a wagon. I don't think I have ever seen a '55 Pontiac wagon, so it didn't register to me that they were different from other '55 Pontiacs.

 

The side trim looks cool.

 

That is really cool, Thanks for sharing.

 

Actually, 55 AND 56 Pontiacs had those tail lights. It was more common to swap the 55 Chevrolet tail lights into the Pontiac wagons than the other way around, so that's definitely different. The side trim makes the quarters look like an Oldsmobile, around 53 I believe. Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

that's cool......

 

Great looking car!

 

Thanks for all the comments guys! My dad and I really appreciate it.

 

Nice car & storie !

 

Nice '55. Very sanitary.

 

Hey Bulldawg, my dad said he didn't remember your dad's car, theres some other people I would like to show it too, so who knows? I don't think my dad paid that close attention to customs back then. His car had the same motor, 270 horse 2-4's and had 2 inch lowering blocks , but thats it. His name was John Vaughn and used to work at Duke Power at the time. I love to hear about Charlotte area cars. I've heard a millon stories about Shuffletown and the drive-ins back then from my dad and his friends. I can just see that thing going down Freedom Drive right now.