Just about everyone has a cool Christmas story about finding a shiny new bike next to the Christmas tree or maybe a new car with a bow on top out in the driveway. For Allen and Shelly Smith, their story is a little different. It involves a worn and weary 1955 Chevy under a tarp at a relative’s house.
“It was Christmas Eve 2003 at Aunt Kathy and Uncle Larry’s house,” Allen remembers. “Shelly and I were watching the rain pouring down outside the kitchen window when I saw an easily recognizable silhouette under a blue tarp in the back yard. Later that evening we asked Uncle Larry what was under that blue tarp. ‘It’s just an old Chevy,’ he said. ‘Do you want it?’ Of course, I said yes.”
Allen and Uncle Larry struck a deal on the Chevy—including the agreement that Aunt Kathy could drive it when it was done. Soon after trailering it home to Santee, California, Allen had the 210 Post’s 283 engine breathing and the car driving again, but the project didn’t take off for several years. In 2012, Allen was getting restless while recovering from shoulder surgery and started looking toward the Chevy. His doctors agreed that he could get busy with hand tools. The initial teardown was done carefully with help from his friend Matt Funkhouser, owner of Funkhouser Racecars, who strengthened the frame, added back-half crossmembers, and installed a Chris Alston’s Chassisworks Pro Street four-link system. Front and rear QA1 Pro Coil adjustable coilovers were added to help achieve the desired low posture. The frontend includes tubular control arms and Heidts 2-inch drop spindles, along with an antiroll bar and steering box from Classic Performance Products. The rear four-link locates the rearend, with a Chris Alston’s g-Bar Suspension FAB9 housing, 3.70 gears, Eaton Detroit Truetrac differential, and Strange Pro HD aluminum case. A Chris Alston’s rear antiroll bar and Panhard bar further improve the handling characteristics of the street performance–oriented chassis.
Billet Specialties SLD89 five-spoke wheels match the Chevy’s overall nostalgic styling, but the dimensions are not exactly retro. Funkhouser installed mini-tubs and reconfigured the trunk tin to clear the 18×12 rear wheels wrapped in fat 345/35R18 Mickey Thompson ET Street SS tires. The front 17x7s roll on 205/50ZR17 Falken Azenis rubber. Wilwood Dynalite 12-inch front and rear brakes slow things down, aided by Wilwood tandem master cylinders and proportioning valve. A line-lock on the TCI Outlaw pistol-grip shifter controls the front brakes (for when Aunt Kathy gets to drive, no doubt).
As the chassis was under construction, the exterior sheetmetal was delivered to ACM Body & Paint in Escondido, California, to be media-blasted, repaired, primered, and sealed. Allen and Shelly wanted to keep a stock outer appearance, so brightwork, hardware, and proportions were retained; the filled fuel door is a mild custom departure from original. Restoration parts include a reproduction grille, headlights, taillights, side mirrors, and handles, all from Danchuk. Replacement glass is from Eckler’s Automotive Parts. D&R Chrome supplied the custom smooth bumpers.
Ramon Gonzalez at ACM shot the Axalta paint. The two-tone color scheme is a combination of GM White Diamond with gold pearl and dark gray (Allen calls it Gunmetal or Graphite) with blue metallic and pearl to add a Navy blue tone.
By now it had occurred to Allen that the Chevy would need more power than what the 283 could provide. Greg Grosset at Total Performance Machine & Fabrication in Santee located a DART all-aluminum 427 and rebuilt it for the Chevy, using Ross forged pistons and Oliver billet connecting rods with a Callies Magnum crankshaft, plus a Howards cam and Crower rockers, springs, and valves. The aluminum heads are topped with custom valve covers. Allen’s friend Paul Garrett at Rod’s by PG built the air filter housing that tops a Holley 850-cfm carb and Edelbrock Victor Jr. manifold. An MSD Digital 6-Plus ignition fires the 427, a Mattson aluminum crossflow radiator with dual SPAL fans keeps it cool, and a Vintage Air Front Runner system drives accessories and dresses up the front. Bob Butler fabricated the custom headers. Ed Hanson’s Muffler Service built the 3-inch pipes feeding exhaust to MagnaFlow SS mufflers or through Quick Time Performance remote-control cutouts. Certified Transmission Santee considered vehicle weight, tire size, 638hp rating, rear gears, and intended use to custom build a 700-R4 transmission specifically for Allen’s street performance 210. East County Driveshaft supplied the custom driveshaft.
Allen wanted an interior that “respected the car’s character but tuned it up a bit,” and discussed his ideas with George Torres of Armando’s Custom Upholstery in San Jacinto. Those ideas were carried out with dark graphite and off-white leather upholstery, stitched in a retro style, over the door panels and modified factory seat (redone as a split-back bench). Billet Specialties door handles and steering wheel (on an ididit tilt column) are a contemporary complement to the retro-themed upholstery. A Danchuk insert dresses up the factory dash and a Classic Instruments Bel Era III Package combines Tri-Five style and modern instrument technology. The factory-style radio is a Custom Autosound Slidebar radio, installed by Allen and wired to Pioneer speakers. Vents for the Vintage Air A/C were mounted in the lower dash and a custom console was fabricated for the TCI shifter. Allen used an American Autowire harness to wire the Chevy.
The Chevy was completed in early 2018, after six years of on-again-off-again progress. Work had stalled temporarily by another shoulder injury in 2016, but Allen found ways to continue the build one-handed. Paul Garrett, Shelly, and other friends helped out when two or more hands were required. Allen said that those six years paid off when he saw the look on Shelly’s face as she drove out of 2018 Goodguys Meguiar’s Del Mar Nationals in April.
“We began building the car just wanting to make it driveable,” he says, “then decided that it was worth doing right and committed to investing the time, effort, and money needed to honor, respect, and appreciate this 1955 Chevrolet. We are now waiting for Aunt Kathy to come back down from Oregon to drive it!”
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