Hot Cool ‘55

By Ken Mann

Ken Mann #10124285 • Columbia Station, OH

This story starts in 1978, Norfolk, Virginia. I was fresh gas turbine technician on board the USS Comte De Grasse (DD-974 a Spruance class destroyer). Chief Giedeon had a cool, black on black ’57 two door sedan. It had a hot 327 with a Carter AFB and a 2-speed Powerglide . I had to have it! However, the chief would not take less than $600. for it. I gave him $200. in cash and finally took possession after three months of payments.

Six months later, rather than put my “baby” in long term storage while on a six month Mediterranean cruise, I sold the ’57 to a friend under the condition I could buy it back when I returned. When our ship got to our first port of call in Rota, Spain, there was a letter waiting for me, explaining that the night we left Virginia, he got drunk and hit a tree. I never saw the car again.

Fast forward to 1995. I had cash burning a hole in my pocket from the sale of a 1956 Triumph TR3, and felt the need for another classic shoebox. My first choice was a ’57, but a ’55, two-door sedan showed up in the local sports muscle and classic’s classified ads. It was located in Rochester, NY, but still had it’s title from New Mexico. Other than sand in every nook and cranny and a trailer hitch cut in above the rear bumper, the car was very sound and would make a great driver. The VIN number showed that this car was made in early November, 1954 in Kansas City.

The plan was to repair the oil leaks on the 327, remove the massive amounts of grease, oil and sand that had made a thick layer of undercoating on the firewall and undercarriage, fix some electrical problems and then just drive the wheels off the car and have fun.

Well, my buddy, Dave Givens, had just finished a rebuild on the 396ci big block for his ’68 Chevelle and had decided that 430 HP was just not enough. He wanted to build a killer 454, needed some seed money and needed to sell his fresh built 396. Somehow, magically, the 396 found it’s way between the fenders of my ’55, mated to a Muncie four-speed.

Then it happened. One thing led to another, that led to another…Well, ten years later and a project each winter brought me to the point where the only thing left to do was take this now mechanically done car apart and get it painted.

She was a red and white two-tone car for 10 years and I was getting tired of people asking me which red and white ’55 was mine. I still had not made up my mind what color it was going to be, even after I had disassembled the car and had the shell sitting in the paint shop. I wanted something different. This color combo is definitely not going to get lost in the crowd. The pearl tangerine turns almost gold when the sun hits it, and gets darker as the light fades in the evening. Everyone seems to be drawn toward the ghost flames. I guess they’re hot – cool!

Future plans call for chroming a one piece, California front bumper I picked up at a swap meet last year, installing rack and pinion steering and, of course, more road time! Special thanks go to the Erie Coast Customs in Columbia Station, Ohio for the killer paint. Bill Webner at Der WagonWerks in Elyria, Ohio for the cool interior work. Dave Givens for his wrench work, and of course my lovely wife, Eileen (a.k.a. The Finance Minister) for putting up with this never ending “little” project.