1955 Chevy Bel Air Blog

My 1955 Chevy Bel Air

Written by admin on May 24, 2009 – 2:41 pm -

Hi Everyone and welcome to 55Classic.com!

I’ve created this Blog to share my appreciation of  the 1955 Chevy Bel Air with the rest of the world, and seeing as how this is my first post, I’ve decided to give you all a background story on just how the ‘55 Chevy came to be a part of my life.

In 1970, the ‘55 Chevy Bel Air that I own today actually replaced a previous one that I had rolled in a wreck. As a word of caution, this type of car does not handle well when going around a corner at 90mph.

I came to own this car as a result of my Father’s auto salvage yard which he owned and operated. It just so happened that a local guy had recevied some used car parts off of my Dad on credit, and he had a ‘55 Chevy Bel Air sitting in his driveway which he had not been running. When he ended up not paying for the parts, I inquired if the ‘55 would be an even trade for the part money he owed my Father. It turned out it was, and the payment for the parts were made in full with the Chevy.

The ‘55 Chevy was my Hot Rod in my late High School years, and I striped off most of the chrome accessories and decided to paint it a Grey primer. All the parts I initially threw away had to be repurchased, but even in 1970 they were not in the best of shape. Most of the body accessories where base pot metal, like aluminum and were chromed over. After some time being exposed to the elements, the metal pitted. The door handles I have now are actually still the original ones, and they show first hand this pitting phenomena.

My first Chevy was actually a 1959 Chevy Impala, 4 Door Hardtop, which was bartered also through my Dads salvage yard.  What a car!  I blew the transmission one night, pulled the motor and sold it.  I purchased a 1960 Chevy 2 Door Biscayne, blew the 6 cylinder and put the Chevy Impala engine (283) in it and it ran like hell with a 3 speed stick, eventually I blew that engine also, this was back when I was a Senior in High School.

Life forced me to put the ‘55 into storage though when I left for the Army in 1971, and it stayed off the road for many years to come. It was in the Spring of 1987 that I made the decision to get the Bel Air up and running again. At the time, it was being stored in a barn on my wife’s family farm, so you can imagine it dealt with its fair share of the elements. It took me most of that Summer to get it up and running again, and after some extensive engine and body work, a brand new paint job was the final step in making it road worthy once again.

The renovation of the ‘55 did not stop there though. It has been an on-going labor of love throughout the years for myself, and it’s been a very rewarding experience. It is a great feeling to take my Chevy to car shows every summer and still have people get so excited over seeing the true “Hot One”.

 

Tags: 1955 Chevy Bel Air, Bel Air, Chevy, Classic Car
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