Time to Fire Up the ‘55 Chevy
Written by admin on April 27, 2010 – 5:19 pm -It has been a long cold winter here in Pennsylvania, and it’s time to get the Old ‘55 Chevy fired-up and inspected for the road. I hope you’ve had a chance to start your Chevy up over the winter; I was able to take mine out for a few short road trips thanks to some of the occasional nice days we had. I am also hoping you followed some of the recommendations from my previous article on prepping the Chevy for its winter or cruise season hibernation. The primary focus of good storage techniques is to have minimal problems now in fire-up season. There is nothing like giving the battery a good full charge, to get the old juices flowing during your critical start-up. In preparation for start-up let’s go back to the basics: Check... more
Tags: 1955 Chevy, 1955 Chevy Bel Air
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1955 Chevy Bel Air Engine History
Written by admin on July 15, 2009 – 12:22 am -To read the previous post in the 55 Chevy Bel Air history series, click here. When Cole set up shop as Chevy’s new division chief engineer in 1952, he already had the type of engine in mind that he would place in the 1955 Bel Air. He wanted to revitalize the Bel Air series with a V-8 engine that would provide the high performance he was looking for. Cole hoped this would help shed Chevy’s image of only making trustworthy, tepid cars. Initially, a 230-cubic inch V-8 version based on the overhead valve design of the 1949 Cadillac was selected, but Cole later dropped this design for being too expensive for Chevy’s budget at the time. With the help of his friend Barr though, who was the new assistant cheif engineer at Chevrolet,... more
Tags: 1955 Chevy Bel Air, Chevy V-8 Engine, Turbo Fire
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1955 Chevy Bel Air Maintenance Tips
Written by admin on June 7, 2009 – 6:10 pm -Keeping the classic 1955 Chevy Bel Air in operating condition requires a few basic inspection and maintenance guidelines. I approach this topic on the concept; ” Put it together, get it running safe, keep it running and enjoy, the rest will follow”. The first must in keeping your old Chevy running is “exercise”, you must start and road test occasionally to check and maintain the condition of oil/transmission seals, cooling system, fuel and carburetion, brakes and exhaust systems. I find that “firing’ the Chevy up and taking the car for a cruise twice a month is good practice weather permitting. Be sure you get the engine up to operating temperature to purge residual moisture out of the exhaust system,... more
Tags: 1955 Chevy Bel Air, Chevy Maintenance
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1955 Chevy Bel Air Engine Restoration
Written by admin on May 29, 2009 – 2:31 pm -The original engine rebuild in my 1955 Chevy Bel Air took place some 38 years ago, and it has withstood the test of time, without any major repairs over the years. My approach was very basic; Maximize performance without stressing the base design of the Chevy small block. The project started with a used short-block 1963 Chevy 283 small block, which was stripped and cleaned, cylinder configuration was checked and a simple honing on the cylinder walls was all that was necessary. The most important aspect of rebuilding a high-revving engine such as the 283 is to build and balance the “bottom” half of the engine. Therefore, the crankshaft was re-honed to .010 under and fitted with new main and rod bearings, fit with a new oil pump... more
Tags: 1955 Chevy Bel Air, 283 Small block, Bel Air Parts, Engine Restoration
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The Story of the 1955 Chevy Bel Air Part 1
Written by admin on May 27, 2009 – 11:29 pm -This is the first post in a series of posts entitled, The Story of the 1955 Chevy Bel Air. In 1955, Chevrolet rolled out a completely redesigned Bel Air, fitted with attractive new stylings and an aggressive V8 Engine. At the time, Chevy was GM’s largest and most profitable division, and they showed no hesitation introducing the new 1955 lineup of cars. The Bel Air stood out as one of the most re-vamped Chevys since the end of the war, and car enthusiasts of the day revered it as one of the most exciting models to ever sport the infamous Chevy bow tie logo. The rest of America was also taking notice of the 1955 Chevy Bel Air. In 1983, an article in Life magazine placed the Bel Air on the “10 Best American Cars” list. This... more
Tags: 1955 Chevy, 1955 Chevy Bel Air, Bel Air
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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... more
Tags: 1955 Chevy Bel Air, Bel Air, Chevy, Classic Car
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