July 2010
Tropic Treasure
Nelson and Kathy Andrews • Tallahassee, FL
It was 1961 and I was a senior in high school. I was bagging groceries and had a paper route and had saved up $800. to pay for a 1958 Chevy Impala. My father died when I was 12 and although my mother had co-signed the bank loan, buying a car was my responsibility. The 1958 Chevy’s weren’t the most popular at the time, losing out to the 1957. I loved them anyway. My Impala was a solid black 2-door hardtop. It had a 348 with 3x2-barrels and stick shift on the column. My favorite Sunday afternoon activity was taking her to the Bainbridge, Georgia drag strip. I also remember sitting at the local drive-in restaurant, Mutt and Jeff’s, watching the girls and waxing my car. After getting married can you believe that I traded this car in for a 1963 Corvair? It took only 2 months for me to realize I wanted a '58 again. This time I bought a 1958 4-door sedan which I kept for several years.
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“PURE GOLD” Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the 1957
Dale and Denise Bourgeois #10348025• Schriever, LA
As a young man, I owned a 1957 Chevy Bel Air. My uncle signed a note for me with his promise that if I missed a payment, the car was his. I promised to make every payment. I really did not appreciate the car at the time yet later I longed to own another 1957. I was encouraged by my wife to begin searching for my 1957 dream. We purchased the car in August, 1999 from Tony Dupuis in Raceland, LA. The car was a good driver with a straight body, and no obvious rust. The car was a pearl white with black interior.
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1955-57 OFFSET LEAF SPRING INSTALLATION
By Randy Irwin
The rear wheel openings on a 1955 passenger car are pretty much a
rectangular cut-out in the quarter panel for the rear tires. If you look close
enough at a 1955, you will notice the front of the rear tire is closer to the
front of the wheel opening than it is to the rear of the wheel opening. With
the installation of taller or shorter rear tires, it can be even more noticeable
that the rear end is not centered in the wheel opening. On a 1956 or ’57,
the rear of the wheel openings are sloped to the rear of the car so it is not
as noticeable as the 1955. However, when taller tires are installed on a
1956 or ’57, the tires still crowd the front of the wheel opening. The front
of the tire too close to the front of the wheel opening combined with the
sloping of the rear wheel opening can give the car an odd look - almost
like an altered wheelbase car. We will fix that issue in this article.
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