Pro-Touring.com's '55 Bel Air Project

[Larry Callahan]

Well, I have had the car since late 2015 so I guess it's time I started posting updates on it.

It's a 1955 Bel Air 4 door sedan with a 235 inline six, three on the tree and factory overdrive.

I found it listed on the internet near Chicago where member Bob Chiluk went and looked at it for me. Things looked good and I picked it up for $7,790 and had it shipped my way.

It arrived as a bone stock all original car with 100,061 miles on it. The story I'm told is that it was just pulled from a dry barn where it had been under cover for about 29 years. The tires held air until about a week ago and it fired right up when it arrived after a squirt of oil on the starter solenoid and a rap with a hammer. With the exception of the bottom of the spare tire area in the truck all the rust is just surface rust.

Shortly after I picked it up I installed and HEI distributor because the original distributor had issues and the vacuum advance didn't work. Shortly after that I installed and rebuilt carb and all is well. I have been driving it on weekends and after I installed new brake shoes, 2 drums and wheel cylinders I am driving it to work.

Well, enough on this update. Here are some pictures of what I am starting with.