Stunning fresh build with fewer than 200 miles. 355 Chevy, 700R4
4-speed automatic, power steering, disc brakes. Spectacular custom
interior by Johnny Miller with cold A/C, Bluetooth, and more. Looks
nasty, drives nice! We fell in love with this gorgeous 1955
Chevrolet Bel Air hardtop the moment we saw it in photos. The color
combination is iconic-black over red-and that stance is perfect.
Add in the superior build quality, the show-quality paint and
interior, and the general easy-going nature of the car that's built
to be driven, and, well, you get the best Tri-Five Chevy we've ever
seen. Seriously. This car checks all the boxes. The great thing is
that the builder took his time and got the little details right.
It's still unquestionably a '55 Chevy, so the body modifications
were minimal: some shaved emblems and that's about it. What that
does is let the incredible bodywork speak for itself and this
sucker is STRAIGHT. You can't phone it in with black paint and this
car has ripple-free flanks that you could use to shave your face in
the morning. There's a huge amount of time invested in block
sanding, buffing, and polishing that final finish to make it look
like it does. All the chrome and stainless trim is new or restored
to show standards, and it glitters against the black paint to make
this car look razor-sharp. Panel gaps are exacting and you should
hear the way these doors sound when you (gently) slam them. We
don't know how many hours were invested here, but it was more than
most of us could spare. It's just gorgeous. You've heard us sing
the praises of ace upholsterer Johnny Miller before, and his work
here shows you why he's one of the best in the business. Like the
exterior, it's still very much 1955 inside, complete with the
original bench seat, but the attention to detail is outstanding.
Look at those beautifully crafted door panels, the custom carpets
with matching floor mats, and the beautiful headliner with chrome
bows. Like stock, only better. The seat is all-day comfortable and
thanks to lots of sound deadening, it's quiet at speed with the
windows up and the A/C cranking. Other neat details include the
OEM-looking steering wheel that's a little smaller than stock, the
custom satin-finished steering column and dash, and the beautifully
integrated A/C vents that look like they were born there. The
gauges are a very trick setup from Dakota Digital which replicate
the original look with a big speedometer in the middle and
auxiliary gauges around the top edge. But there's also an LCD
display in the center that's configurable and includes modern
touches like a compass, temperature display, clock, and in an
especially cool move, digital odometers that are animated to look
like original rollover-style digits. That's slick! There's also a
digital stereo with Bluetooth, so it integrates with your phone yet
looks like an original Wonderbar AM unit. The controls for the
Vintage Air heat and A/C mimic the original levers and the rest of
the controls are standard 1955 Chevy, further blurring the line
between resto and mod. The big trunk was finished to the same
levels using matching carpets and door panels as side panels to
continue the theme. Like we said, the attention to detail in this
car is extremely impressive.A lot of guys go crazy in the
horsepower department, creating cars that look impressive on paper
but are less so in the real world. This car takes the right
approach, building a very streetable and comfortable cruiser with a
street brawler look. The 355 cubic inch Chevy V8 goes the
traditional route with a 4-barrel carburetor, polished ram's horn
exhaust manifolds, and finned valve covers that were painted black
and then had their fins polished for a subtle look. In fact,
everything was either painted gloss black or polished so the engine
bay is as finely finished as the body. Power steering and power
disc brakes are part of the package, so it's easy to handle, and
the big radiator up front has no problems keeping the muscular
small block cool even on warm nights. And it goes without saying
that everything under the hood is new and dialed-in, so this car is
100% ready to cruise. A 700R4 4-speed automatic with overdrive is a
big part of why this Chevy is so easy to live with. Shifts are
crisp but not harsh and that overdrive works with 3.55 gears out
back to make this a peerless highway cruiser that'll eat up
pavement effortlessly. The lowered stance looks killer but actually
rides quite well, although you do have to be aware that sharp turns
can cause the tires to rub-such is the price of high fashion. A
stainless exhaust system features Flowmaster mufflers for a mellow
tone that never gets annoying on the road and the underbody has
been treated to a light dusting of undercoating for
protection-remember, this car was built to cruise, not to be
displayed with mirrors under it. Obviously this was never a rusty
car as there are no patches or other signs of previous trauma, so
they must have started with good quality base stock. Like the
engine bay, everything under the car is new, including the gas
tank, lines, hoses, shocks, brakes, body mounts, and, well,
everything else. It just drives right and thanks to those staggered
6.70R15 front and 10.00R15 rear Diamondback Auburn radials, it has
an awesome period look with a modern feel. And those simple black
wheels without hubcaps were absolutely the right choice. You can
probably tell we're in love with this car. After having several
thousand cars pass through our doors, it's REALLY hard to impress
us, but this Chevy had us all gaping at its beauty and attention to
detail from the moment it arrived. The blood, sweat, and tears (not
to mention cubic dollars) that went into the build is apparent in
every single nut and bolt, and we have rarely seen a car built to
this level that's so user-friendly. This car is ready to drive or
to collect trophies, depending on how you prefer to spend your
time, but the bottom line is that there are no disappointments
here, just the coolest Tri-Five Chevy we've ever seen. Call today!
Harwood Motors always recommends and welcomes personal or
professional inspections of any vehicle in our inventory prior to
purchase.
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