On Oct 22, 2011, at 11:21 AM, Ken Waller wrote: > Paul, your '55 looks pretty as I rember them looking - other than > consumerables - brakes, tires batteries etc, how much of it is original?
Hi Ken, It's product correct but probably wouldn't qualify as fully numbers matching. Although there's no way to be certain on Chevies of that era as many parts didn't have date codes. the powertrain appears to be original. When I bought it, it was titled in Texas by engine number rather than VIN -- that was standard in that state in the mid fifties. So since the engine number matched the title number, I would think it's original. The engine does have a date code and it precedes the date code for the build, as does the date code on the third member. The trans is product correct, but I don't think it has a date code. I know the floor, trunk floor and the piece of metal below the trunk were replace when the car was restored in the mid nineties. Most 55s, even those in good climates, rusted in those areas. When I bought it, it had the wrong carburetor. It was a Rochester 2GC, but it was from a later model car. I was able to buy a restored carb of the right part number for a 55 265 from a guy in St. Louis. It was re-bronzed and flawlessly rebuilt. Expensive, but nice. It was equipped with a later model power brake booster and master as well. I trashed that and reinstalled the original 55 manual brake master, along with new brake lines, wheel cylinder, linings and drums. I had the top replace and reupholstered the front seat. I also had the body lifted off the frame and remounted with the correct shims. All the bodies of that era were shimmed during assembly to correct gaps and optimize fit. Whoever restored it in the nineties could have done a better job, and of course it may have settled a bit. Gaps are quite good now. I had trouble with shorts in the original 55 distributor and replaced it with the Delco replacement part, which is actually a '57 style distributor. I've fixed the shorts -- I think -- and I'm going to reinstall the original distributor. Other than that distributor, the only non-correct parts I can think of are the radio/cd player mounted under the dash and two JBL speakers mounted in the rear seat side panels. Paul > > Kenneth Waller > http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/kennethwaller > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jack Davis" <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: GESO: My Chevy for the Times > > > Well done articles and photos, Paul. Especially the "tongue in cheek" recount > of your acquiring the '55 convertible. > I owned a blue and white two tone '56 Bell Air "hard top" back in the early > '60's and imagine it's still running somewhere today. > > Jack > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Paul Stenquist <[email protected]> > To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List <[email protected]> > Cc: > Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 4:56 PM > Subject: GESO: My Chevy for the Times > > A couple of weeks back I mentioned that I had shot a car at the GM Design > Center. The car was my ''55 Chevy BelAir Convertible, and i shot it for this > Sunday's NY Times. The article that the pics accompany is a test drive of my > car and a tribute to '55 Chevies by Car & Driver editor, Tony Swan. It's all > part of a Chey 100th anniversary package. Here's a gallery of some of the > pics I shot and jpegs of the Times pagea: > http://photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=1018508 > > I had to do a lot of backlight work to get the GM Design Center in the pics, > because the only place to shoot was on the north side of the building. But it > worked out well with some reflectors and flash fill. > > The article is on the web as well if anyone is interested. Swan did a nice > job: > http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/automobiles/autoreviews/a-fabulously-fifties-way-to-see-the-usa.html?_r=1 > > > > I also wrote a short and somewhat tongue-in-cheek piece about buying the car > eleven years ago: > http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/road-trip-returning-a-55-chevy-bel-air-to-its-detroit-roots/ > > > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
