Vehicle Description
1955 Chevrolet 210 2-Door Sedan
We've often wondered how a certain type of vehicle was selected to
represent the car culture in different car movies. Who decided that
an AMC Pacer would be the car of choice for the main character in
Wayne's World? As far as car selection for Two Lane Blacktop goes,
the often retold story goes something like this: In 1970, movie
producer Gary Kurtz (American Graffiti, Star Wars, Two-Lane
Blacktop) was preparing for Two-lane Blacktop and spent some time
with car builder Richard Ruth doing a little street racing in
Ruth's recent creation. Ruth's big block '55 Chevy street racer
became the pattern that he used to build Kurtz two cars that the
producer ordered for the upcoming film. Once filming of the movie
was done, the three 55s sat on Universal Studios prop car storage
lot. One of the studio's mechanics spotted the camera car and it's
big block. Pulling the engine out for use in a boat, the car ended
up with the mechanic's son who repainted it, dropped in another 454
and drove it to school as a daily driver. In preparation for
American Graffiti, Henry Travers (Transportation Supervisor)
retrieved the remaining two '55 Chevys from the studio storage lot.
Both cars were painted black and a third car was brought in as a
"burn" car for the scene where Harrison Ford's car rolls over and
burns. Thx to Bobby Kimbrough @ Chevyhardcore.com
As the old saying goes here at Classic Auto Mall, "You never know
what's going to roll through the door next.". All eyes turned when
this latest consignment rolled in, a 1955 Chevrolet 210 2-Door
sedan. More Ford, Harrison that is, than Taylor and Wilson, but
with styling cues from both movie star cars. Yes, we all know that
the movie cars were indeed 150 series cars but what's a little
extra trim between friends? The beneficiary of a frame off
restoration, drenched in menacing black paint, a spartan interior,
powerful V8 engine and just the right stance all harken back to the
days when back road drag races separated the men from the boys.
Tighten your belt up boys, the arm is about to drop...
Exterior
The 55 look of the Bel Air has been carefully maintained with the
only differences being the lack of a grille, front bumper and
removal of all side trim. Starting with a rust and rot free body
and the addition of a new pair of factory Chevrolet front fenders
this car was then bathed in the deep end of the pool gloss black.
Up front the Chevrolet cloisonne badges are beautiful red and white
flourishes and compliments the added-on hood scoop nicely. Ultra
clean taillights, a lack of any fins and wonderfully done stainless
trimmings around the windows all add to the aura with the
wonderfully deep paint. A better than new chrome rear bumper hangs
in the back and just below are a pair of chrome exhaust tips.
Chrome steel wheels have been bolted to the 4 corners and are
wearing 185/65R15 and L60-15 on the front and rear
respectively.
Interior
Swinging open the door and we are met with an interior that screams
all business, stripped down to the bare essentials and ready to
raise some hell. Dynamat covers the inside of the doors and rear
side panels with the only remaining factory parts being the window
cranks and door releases. The dash retains its iconic dual fan
design, driver's side housing the gauge cluster filled with
AutoMeter gauges, and passenger side the Chevrolet badged speaker
fan in your grandmother's script. Mini bowties stamped onto the
central trim strip house the AM radio and just below is the
glovebox signed by Paul Lemat, "Milner" for those in the know, and
a Vintage Air heater and A/C control. A factory white vinyl split
bench seat in the front provides enough space for three and the
rear seat has been removed in the name of weight savings. A sea of
black carpet is on the floor which is protected by a faded full
length rubber mat and has a chrome handled Hurst shifter growing
from the hump and well within the driver's reach. This car is sans
headliner but has had some dynamat installed in a few spots,
otherwise it's just factory steel above.
Drivetrain
Replacing the original engine is an orange/red painted 350ci V8.
This is topped with an Edelbrock intake and single Holley 4-barrel
Edelbrock carburetor. On the back is a Tremec T5 5-speed manual
transmission, and the rear axle comes in with a 3.73 ratio and
postitraction. A very nicely presenting power plant if I must say
so myself!
Undercarriage
Starting with a seamless California frame that was put in a jig and
checked for factory specs, then acid dipped, and powder coated
black give the backbone for the clean rust free undercarriage.
Solid black floor pans frame the way for leaf sprung with Caltrac
traction bar suspension on the rear and independent coil sprung
suspension on the front with the latter being recently rebuilt.
Drum brakes courtesy of a 1957 Chevy are all around and we note
power steering has been added. Dual exhaust, fed from snake-like
headers expelling spent fossils through Turbo mufflers that appear
to have had a run in with something immovable.
Drive-Ability
A great driver, with nice acceleration from the 350 cuber.
Transmission was smooth, and brakes worked as they should, stopping
us on a dime. All functions were working just fine save for the AC
as it hasn't been fully installed. In all my laps around the test
track I never was able to find that yellow deuce coupe.
A very well-done tribute to an iconic movie car that will easily be
recognized almost everywhere. Classic Tri-Five lines mixed with
attention to detail during the restoration and a few liberties
taken in the build give us this boulevard bruiser. "Hey, you know a
guy around here with a piss yellow deuce coupe, supposed to be hot
stuff?"
VIN DECODE
B55B109875
B-2100 Series 210
55-1955
B-Baltimore, MD Assy Plant
109875-Sequential Unit Number
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 650 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.
