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1981-82: Hot Rod heaven My first inkling that I was in for something special was when traffic started backing up as we neared the Indiana State Fairgrounds. We were on 38th Street, still blocks from the fairgrounds, and spread as far as you could see in front and behind me were lines of street machines of all colors, years, makes and model. Thank heaven traffic had slowed to a crawl because I could barely keep my eyes on the road. I was surrounded by the sights and sounds of horsepower, the flash of polished aluminum and the glint and brilliance of chrome. Like a kid in a candy store, I couldn't take it all in fast enough (my Street Machine Nationals experiences are better documented elsewhere on this Web site). Suffice it to say that if there could be a religious experience for gearheads, the Car Craft Street Machine Nationals was it. Before my girlfriend and I left the fairgrounds that day, I vowed we would return in my '55 the next year. I had a lot of work in the year ahead. On our return home, I immediately started work on the Chevy. I was only home on weekends since my job was 120 miles away in Indiana, so I had to make hay while the sun shined. I documented my work with photos as I went along (click here to see some of them). I kept a detailed record of my expenses, though I have yet to find the right box that holds that ledger (it's probably just as well, as quickly as it added up, my wife would probably have a hemmorage knowing what I spent). My search started with a hunt for better sheet metal. I'm not ragging on any previous owner, but the Chevy's bodywork and rust repairs were hastily done (metal repair panels and the reproductions of today just weren't available then).. Both doors had rust in the bottom door skins, and each had been repaired by brazing galvanized metal over the existing door skin and wrapping it over the bottom lip of the door.. As you might imagine, this made the bottom of each door thicker. The white paint helped hide the bodywork. I replaced both doors with two used ones I found. I also started hunting parts for a complete doghouse. One of the first things I discovered when I started getting estimates for paint and bodywork is that no one wanted to guarantee the paint on the fiberglass doghouse. The existing paint was cracked all over due to flexing (years later I learned additives were available to make the paint flexible. It was used to keep paint from cracking when body shops painted vinyl bumper covers). By early July 1981 I had the doors on and had removed much of the interior so I could access the chrome and stainless trim. The white paint on the car was cracked in various areas, indicating a very thick paint film. The body shops wouldn't guarantee their paint wouldn't crack too, and nearly all shops suggested stripping the car down to metal. It was a step I didn't want to do, but decided it was the only way to get a quality finish. With the help of Chevy guru Jay Wimpsett of New Haven, I got my various and sundry doghouse parts installed (fortunately everything bolted together relatively easily once the fiberglass doghouse was gone). One interesting note is that the main mounting bolt at the top of each fender had been chiseled clean off sometime years earlier. The bracket remained and became a mount for the top hood pins. Anyway, the mounting bolts had to be welded back in place, so I had to drive the car -- without a doghouse -- to Joe Hill's Automotive on the north side of town. The car looked like a wreck waiting to happen, missing the entire doghouse and bumper, with only the radiator and supports surrounding the motor. I drove her through town like nothing was out of the ordinary; fortunately the local law didn't go after me for any number of safety violations. I used several gallons of paint stripper to remove the many, many layers of paint.I lost count of the number of coats, but it was substantial. The film thickness was incredible! The colors included a heavy metallic purple, a metallic dark green, as well a couple of layers of white, primer and of course, the original gypsy red and shoreline beige (one of the toughest layers of paint). My dad soon took an interest in the project, and began helping me. He polished all the chrome and stainless steel trim on the car, and did the final paint stripping (he took some ribbing from neighbors who teased him about driving a hot rod 55 Chevy). Work on it stopped in the winter (I was working on it outside since I had no garage). I took the bumpers to Louisville Bumper for rechroming. By spring 1982 it was time to get it painted. I selected Marshall Burkhead and Burkhead's Body Shop to massage and paint the body, as well as install new rocker panels, a new lower quarter on the driver's side and front lower quarter on the passenger's side. Since this wasn't a job that would make them lots of profit, they said they would hold the car in the shop and work on it as time allowed. |
