Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: Happy 70th Birthday, Small Block Chevy! Continue reading the Original Blog Post
Does seem like yesterday. My dad bought a new 1953 Chevrolet station wagon ....two tone tan and brown....was perfect for our family of 4 boys and 1 girl. I still remember in 1955, I went with my dad to the small town Iowa dealer for an oil change and "grease job". While we were waiting, the dealer took us out back into the parking lot. The GM Chevrolet Sales Rep was at the dealership that day. His company car was a 1955 Nomad two tone turquoise and white. The GM reps could turn in their old company cars to any dealer they chose. Our dealer tried to convince my dad to trade in his 1953 station wagon and upgrade to the Nomad. He shook his head and took me by the hand back into the dealership, paid for the service work and never looked back......but as you can tell....I sure did and still do !
One of the best universal engines ever made, interchangeable parts for decades and you can make them mild or wild using the same foundational parts. Long live the mouse !
Right. As if nobody ever built a flathead with two ‘97’s and some chromed acorn nut covers from Warshawsky.
Hello, Well, in 1955, we were sitting in a 49 Chevy sedan, pretending to drive on our many adventures. A there speed stick shift, clutch pedal and able to slam the stick into 2nd gear. That was a lot of fun. But wait, it was a 6 cylinder straight 6 motor. The local teens/20 somethings had different mufflers on them and the sound was distinctive. A “rappppping” sound with an eventual pop added in the show. 70 years ago, it was 1955 and the teens we knew just started to drive. The 49 chevy turned into a 56 chevy 4 door hardtop and when we visited their house, we sat in the open air feeling of rolled down 56 chevy hardtop cruising. We were bigger, now, but since we did not drive as yet, it was still sit in the Chevy and dream we were cruising around So Cal. Three years later, the 56 chevy still was used as a teenage cruiser for our friends. Describing the coastal cruising roadways of the Palos Verdes Peninsula highway circulating all around the land’s end was always a good memory. We described what we saw from the city confines, the harbor, to the curving roadway all around the huge peninsula point. Jnaki So, as we got to be our own teenage driving age, we had choices we made to have our own form of transportation. Including a handful of 55-56-57-58 Chevy Sedans for our high school activities. From a custom cruiser to a daily driver, to a fast 55 hardtop we saw visiting the Westcoast dragstrips, the 55 was a part of the development of our car fetish. YRMV There were even local So Cal Cam manufacturers trying to lure the masses with advertising of fast 1955 Chevrolet Sedans in 1959. But, we all started out sitting in whatever car that was available to sit, learn the controls and make our minds move the car to places we saw in magazines or when our dad took us on family road trips… During those high school times, the black and white 55 Chevy sedan was one of the more popular cars in the whole area. A lowered rake added to the "look," and we all had big hopes of modifying the car to make it fast and faster. Since the owner was one of the only guys with a good paying job, he could not spend time with his 55 Chevy sitting on stands getting more modifications as his car was needed for the job. So, the two door sedan did get started with Traction Master bars and chrome wheels before he got the job. YRMV
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