Features tri five chevys lets see em"

I'd drive it, lol.

 

Nose bleed altitude....

 

Dang skippy.
some headlights and those magnetic towing tail lamps.

zoom zoom

 

It was WAAAAAAAYYYYYY cooler with the slots on the front!!! Those Spoked wheels make me wanna puke!!!

 

Somebody should slap the mother of the designer of those wheel's... Just for making him SOOOOO Fucking Stoopid!!!

 

Right on!
Running neck and neck are those hideous Mr Gasket wannabe Enderle injector hats used on carburetors.

 

So Cal Tastee Freeze owner’s teenage era hot rod…
Lion's Dragstrip 1959

Hello,
The aspect of building a fast Chevy sedan works in any era. This turquoise/white 56 Chevy was one of the fastest Chevy sedans in the Long Beach Bixby Knolls area. When Tom McEwen moved on to racing other hot rods and competitive race cars, this one was the faster Chevy sedans. We all know the ruling Chevy sedans in the late 50s was the series of 55, 56, 57 Chevy sedans from the McEwen camp. He wanted everyone to think those sedans were “stock!”

With the built-in location ready at a moment's notice, it was a vast playground for all teenage hot rod folks.
Bixby Knolls Cherry Avenue acceleration location:


But, once he got to Lion’s Dragstrip to race, there were enough protests to make sure those Chevy sedans went into the Gas Coupe and Sedan classes. This was the era of fast sedans left in a stock height or lowered to showcase the power built into the motor/transmission.

56 Chevy Bel Air at Lions Dragstrip


In the case of the two toned 56 Chevy sedan, the win record was pretty impressive with whatever motor was supposedly in the engine compartment. But, what does a 30 something guy do after his hot rod/drag race days are coming to a close? Why open up a Tastee Freeze? One of the most popular places in in Orange County location of Seal Beach was the Tastee Freeze built on the Coast Highway intersection with Main Street. A 327 powered 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery could be found there on Saturday lunch hour most of the time. Their stuff was the best in the whole area and close to our apartment.

When the owner was a teenager, he was a frequent visitor to our Westside of Long Beach house. The teen gathering purpose was to laugh, have fun talking hot rods, see a film showing of the Lion’s Dragstrip that I took, and eat our mom’s fabulous cooking meals. That was when I was given the job of the young kid doing maintenance jobs on the various old cars and fixed up hot rods of my brother’s teenage friends.

Jnaki

The 1956 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop he drove daily to school and work back then, sounded fast with a rumble. It was fast, according to my brother, and stories about the build flew like hotcakes in the teenage circles. A 265 with a 4 barrel and cam, to a 283 with dual quads, a 301 with a cam, head work and headers, to a possible ½ inch stroker motor from Reath Automotive that looked like all of the SBC motors he had in the engine compartment. For some reason, no one knew what was in the engine build, except for the original 265 with a 4 barrel.

It was on a lowered rake, looked mean and was fast with the vast array of unknown modifications after the 265 with a four barrel motor... yikes!

1959
As to the Tastee Freeze location in Seal Beach, it was a gathering place for the local hot rod folks and at the time, the food was the main attraction. Old friendships and new ones met at the Tastee Freeze were the fun part as the word spread about the quality of the food served here. Hot dogs, burgers and fries plus a bevy of hot rods on the weekends was a common sight.

My wife and I could eat there morning, noon, and night, as the food was so good. Actually, one week, we did, to see if we could eat at dinners along the coast line for ALL meals. It was an experiment to see if we did not have to do any cooking and enjoy the excellent coastal So Cal diners and food. It was fun and we had some excellent meals, but our bank account took a big hit… at being 20 somethings, crazier things did happen… HA!

Note:
The Tastee Freeze is now gone replace by a giant drug store chain. The Standard Gas Station on the corner of PCH and Main Street is also gone. But, Harbour Surfboards is still located in the same place as during the 60s. Long live surfing and So Cal’s Orange County history…

 

I kinda dig the fin insert trim on the black Belair above. Are those old accessory pieces, or just something someone dreamed up?

 

Looks made up.

 

Some serious weight to these spring packs (due to the number of leaves).

 

Thank God I'm not the only one left who has some standard of traditional quality. 10 spokes are magnesium spindle mount ONLY. Better not say that too loud or the google image copy n paste crowd's gonna get offended.

 

Can only imagine what's in the back. LOL

 

Someone sure beat you to it!

 

@40ragtopdown posted this on another thread. Super smooth mild custom. Check the chrome reverse with factory caps, tires, the stance, tag on the bumper and the very tasteful stripes. Just to show it's a serious machine, traction bars, too! Love it.

 

This should have a warning about "Consult a doctor if erection lasts more than four hours".

 

Hello,

This is how my friend’s 57 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop would have looked to many local hot rod teenagers if this photo were taken in 1960-63. If it were on Cherry Avenue, taillights were common to see if an encounter happened. Dual quads, 283, 4 speed, 4:11-4:56 Positraction, headers, Traction Masters bars and mild head work. The lowered rake was popular in most hot rods and customs at the time. It just looked right and gave off an intense look to the already cool 57 Chevy sedan. Bel Air Hardtop or post version... the lowered rake was the look.

Jump up 56 years and cruising down a major OC street, comes this cool Chevy sedan with some attitude. The color was different, but the stance was there for all to see the style. My wife sighted the 57 Chevy in her outside rear view mirror. But, I used my digital camera to shoot across her forward vision out of her window.

But, the worry of nearby cars and impending doom for our own car in traffic caused my wife to take the digital camera. She then proceeded to shoot out of her window into the rear view mirror. One shot was all she wanted to take and then gave me the camera. It came out as good as any pro photographer doing a moving shot.

Photo by VNak

Jnaki

For most hot rods, the standard height is fine. But, for some other old cars, the lowered rake look just gives the extra look of being fast without having to go fast. The one problem we encountered as teenagers was that if more than two people were inside of the 57 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop on the lowered rake, some bumps had to do the “slow crawl dance.” While other times, if a CHP or local police had their choice or attitude, we got stopped for being too low in the lowered rake stance. So, there is that!!!

In modern times, the lowered rake stance still looks the best! YRMV

 

Nor-Cal / June 3