We Mark the Occasion with a `55

CLASSIC HEARTBEAT
NEWS OF ’55, ’56 AND ’57 CHEVYS IN NORTH TEXAS AND BEYOND
March 2006
Volume 30, Issue 3
We Mark the Occasion with a '55-'57 Chevy Display
This Saturday 2PM at Reliable Chevrolet!
PO Box 814642
Dallas, TX 75381
www.DallasClassicChevy.com
membership - 99
BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
President – David Graves
214 738-5231 term expires 12/07
Vice Pres – Marvin Johnson
214 352-9132 term expires 12/06
Treasurer – Dean Schmidt
972 867-3255 term expires 12/06
Secretary – Greg Hedum
Some of the things 1976 can be remembered for - the first Concorde Flight - Apple
Computer Company is formed - Johnny Rutherford wins the Indy 500 - Jimmy Carter
elected US President - Howard Hughes dies - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest takes
Best Picture Oscar ….
Another thing happened in 1976, Greg Easley from Sherman, Texas displayed his '55
Chevy in the January 1976 Dallas Autorama. He noticed all the people admiring his
car and they shared stories about their '55, '56 and '57 Chevys with him. Greg was
already involved as a Representative in the NSRA Street Machine organization but
there was a new national '55-'57 Chevy group forming and local chapters were
popping up all over. Greg took the opportunity of the Autorama to jot names and
addresses down and spread the word about a new 'Classic Chevy' club for the DFW
area. It was that effort in 1976 that started the Dallas Area Classic Chevys.
th
We will recognize and celebrate this 30 Anniversary of the club this weekend at
Reliable Chevrolet when we hold our Spring Classic Chevy Show and Meeting.
Please join us Saturday as we display our cars in Richardson in support of our
sponsor Reliable Chevrolet and …. have a little of our own Birthday Cake!
OPEN to any '55, '56 and '57 Chevy car, truck and corvette!
972 960-1408 term expires 12/06
Non judged display, Reliable Chevrolet staff will chose their favorite from each year car,
favorite truck and favorite corvette!
From 2PM - 4PM at Reliable located at Central Expressway and Arapaho in Richardson!
This is one of our best attended events each year so plan to join us with YOUR CAR!
Board Member - Bill Preston
BIRTHDAY CAKE FOR EVERYONE!
972 539-9886 term expires 12/07
Board Member - Larry Rollow
972 691-4968 term expires 12/07
Board Member - John Rush
April 9th Sunday
972 517-4247 term expires 12/06
Appointed Positions
Tech Advisor - Larry Rollow
972-960-1408
Tech Advisor - Marvin Johnson
214 352-9132
Membership Chairman
Bill Preston
972 691-4968
Get your Tri Five Chevy out and join us as
we cruise to Athens in the East Texas piney
woods for a lunch at the Lake Athens Marina
Restaurant. We will leave at 12 noon Sunday
April 9th from the Town East Mall parking lot
in Mesquite!
Inside Highlights:
Tri Five Corvettes
2
Member’s Pride
3
Autorama recap
4
Ft Worth Show recap
5
Past DACC Presidents
5
This Month in DACC
5
Classic Heartbeat
Page 2 of 5
The Story Behind the
Entering the 1950s, no corporation even
came close to General Motors in its size,
the scope of its enterprise or its profits. GM
was twice the size of the second biggest
company in the world — Standard Oil of
New Jersey (forefather of today's
ExxonMobil),
and
had
a
vast
conglomeration of businesses ranging from
home appliances to providing insurance
and building Chevrolets, GMCs, Pontiacs,
Oldsmobiles,
Buicks,
Cadillacs
and
locomotives. It was so big that it made more
than half the cars sold in the United States
and the U.S. Department of Justice's
antitrust division was threatening to break it
up. In the vast 21st century, it's almost hard
to imagine how overwhelmingly large GM
was
back
then.
But it didn't make a sports car. The idea of
a car coming from stodgy GM that could
compete with Jaguar, MG or Triumph was
almost
absurd.
Still, there was room inside GM for dreams
even if there wasn't any room for whimsy.
Harley J. Earl, GM's chief designer (formally
the head of the Art and Color Section) and
the man who invented the "concept car"
with the 1938 Buick Y-Job, was in charge of
the corporation's ambitious musings. In the
fall of 1951, Earl began ruminating about an
open sports car that would sell for around
the price of a mainstream American sedan
— about $2,000. His ideas were rather
nebulous, but he handed those notions over
to Robert F. McLean, the concept came into
focus and a concept car emerged.
Determined to keep costs down, McLean
used off-the-shelf Chevy mechanical
components. The chassis and suspension
were for all intents and purposes the 1952
Chevy sedan's, with the drivetrain and
passenger compartment shoved rearward
to achieve a 53/47 front-to-rear weight
distribution over its 102-inch wheelbase.
The engine was essentially the same
dumpy inline six that powered all Chevys
but with a higher-compression ratio, triple
Carter side-draft carbs and a more
aggressive cam that hauled its output up to
150 horsepower. Fearful that no Chevy
manual transmission could handle such
extreme power (and there were no fourspeeds in GM's inventory), a two-speed
Powerglide automatic was bolted behind
the six cylinder engine. And to keep tooling
costs in line, the body was made out of
fiberglass
instead
of
steel.
While the car was conceived with rigorous
attention to the bottom line and production
feasibility in mind, it was still only intended
to be part of GM's Motorama exhibit at the
1953 New York Auto Show. That is until Ed
Cole, Chevy's then recently appointed chief
engineer, saw it. Cole, then immersed in
development of the world-changing 1955
"small-block" V8, is said to have literally
jumped up and down with enthusiasm for the
Motorama car. So before it even got to New
York, and after some corporate machinations,
the engineering to put it into production began.
But first Cole needed to name it. So he called
Myron Scott, founder of the All-American Soap
Box Derby and an assistant advertising
manager for Chevrolet, into a special meeting
of executives researching the name. Scott
suggested "Corvette," Cole loved it and the
rest
is
history.
The public at the New York show loved the
1953 Motorama Corvette almost as much as
Cole did. Thousands of potential buyers
wanted to know when they could buy one. Just
six months later, they could. The 1953
Corvette, virtually identical to the Motorama
prototype, went into production on June 30,
1953, in Flint, Mich. They've been making
them
ever
since.
C1:
Solid
Axle
Corvettes
(1953-1962)
While the 1953 Corvette was undeniably
gorgeous and, with its fiberglass body,
somewhat innovative, as a sports car it was
wholly pathetic. The chassis handled better
with the 'Vette's improved weight distribution,
but it was still pretty much a '52 Chevy sedan
suspension down there. That meant the front
end was suspended by a primitive
independent system and the rear held up with
leaf springs. A quicker steering gear gave
some reflexes to the car, but quicker isn't the
same as quick. And of course, the 150horsepower, 235-cubic-inch six and two-speed
automatic Powerglide transmission was far
less
than
athletic.
It wasn't cheap either. At $3,498 the '53
Corvette sticker ran almost 75 percent more
than Earl had initially hoped, $1,225 more
expensive than the second most expensive '53
Chevrolet, the eight-passenger Deluxe 210
four-door station wagon, and $272 more
expensive than two Special 150 two-door
sedans — then the division's cheapest car.
For comparison's sake, the basic 2003
Corvette coupe, at $44,535, is $705 more
expensive than three of Chevy's current
cheapest
car,
the
Cavalier
coupe.
Motor Trend tested one of the first Corvettes
and found it traipsing from zero to 60 mph in a
lackadaisical 11.5 seconds. But the publication
was not completely unimpressed with the car.
"Probably one of the biggest surprises I got
with the car was when I took it through some
sharp corners at fairly good speeds," its writer
reported. "I'd heard that Chevrolet had
designed the suspension so that it would stay
flat and stick in corners, but I took it with
several grains of salt. It sticks better than
some foreign sports cars I've driven."
The late start and makeshift nature of the
Corvette's Flint, Mich., assembly line meant
that only 300 Polo White examples were built
of the '53 before it was time to introduce the
1954 model. Not surprisingly, the '54 (now
produced in an old millwork building in St.
Louis) barely changed from the '53 with the
notable exception that it could now be ordered
in Pennant Blue, Sportsman Red and Black in
addition to Polo White. A total of 3,640 were
built this model year and many wound up
casting their shadows across Chevy dealers'
lots for months — even years — waiting for
buyers. As good-looking as the Corvette was,
unless it had performance to match its
appearance, buyers weren't that interested in
it.
The year 1955 brought the single most
important development in the history of the
Corvette: Chevrolet's brilliant small-block V8.
Originally displacing 265 cubic inches, the first
small-block was rated at 195 horsepower in
the otherwise almost unchanged '55 Corvette
(the most notable tweak was the oversize "V"
in the lettering along the front fenders). Still
saddled with the Powerglide transmission,
performance was still less than scintillating
(Road & Track had a '55 getting to 60 mph in
8.5 seconds), but the potential was obvious.
With many '54 Corvettes still clogging dealer
lots, GM restricted production of the '55 model
to just 700 cars — all but maybe a half dozen
of them being powered by the new V8.
It was the 1956 Corvette that established the
two-seater as a legitimate performance
machine and as an American icon. While the
chassis was very much a carryover from
previous Corvettes, the '56's new body was
simply gorgeous from the chrome teeth filling
its mouth, down along its scalloped flanks and
back to its round rump of a trunk. Inside, the
cockpit was styled like, well, a cockpit with the
bucket seats surrounded by a body-colored
frame that divided the passenger space. And a
removable hardtop was offered as an option
for the first time. To many, the '56 and barely
changed '57 remain the most beautiful
Corvettes
of
all
time.
As lovely as the '56 Corvette was (and still is)
what really ignited the legend that year was
that GM began racing it. The only engine
offered in the '56 Corvette was the 265-cubicinch V8, now rated at 210 horsepower and it
could be backed, for the first time, by a three-
Continued on page 4 …
Classic Heartbeat
When David Graves asked me to do a story
on my car for the monthly newsletter, I was
surprised and thankful he gave me the
opportunity to showcase my ’55. I haven’t
had to write a story like this since the 10th
grade. Even back then, in the early ‘70’s,
people were nostalgic about eras gone by.
For young guys, cars, hot rods, show
cars…anything with wheels was always a
dream. We all have a love and memory of
our first car, and wish we still had it. Some
of us do, but many of us don’t. I am one
that doesn’t. But, I have always wanted a
’55 Chevy, because I thought it was the best
car to make a fast hot rod with a big motor.
Some in my generation have said that the
Tri-Fives were big and boxy. I feel the same
way, but these cars have more character
than anything before or after them. It is the
era that these cars represent as much as it
is the cars themselves. We all like to hold
onto the past and dream of the future.
Some of us just like to hold onto the past
longer than others...
Remember when?
Remember when 50 cents was a
decent allowance? When you didn’t
have to pay for air at the gas station,
you got your windshield cleaned, your
gas pumped, and your oil checked,
every time, without asking? Remember
when 30 weight oil was about your only
choice? When you went out cruisin’
and took your favorite girl to watch the
submarine races? When decisions
were made by going “eeny-meenyminey-moe”? When war was a card
game? When taking drugs meant
orange-flavored chewable aspirin?
When candy was a nickel and they
used real sugar? When you cut the
Page 3 of 5
front forks off your sister’s bicycle to
make your bike a chopper? When
putting baseball cards in the spokes
made that fluttering motor sound?
I certainly don’t hang onto the past, but I
love having a piece of it in my ’55. It’s
fun to be a part of a club that has plenty of
guys and gals out there that share the same
passion for the Tri-Fives, no matter whether
they are showroom original, daily drivers,
resto-rods, drag cars, or a car in progress.
My car fits in several of these categories. I
bought it after I finished one that really
didn’t move me. I had been looking for a
big block ’55 that I could turn into what I
thought would be one of the fastest ’55’s
around. With a little help from my friends,
especially Wayne ‘Lucky’ Killebrew, a club
member and a ’55 aficionado who knew
where one was that probably hadn’t been
driven 100 miles in ten years, I went to look
at it one afternoon. When I arrived at the
house, I went around back and dodged car
parts and old projects, making my way to
the back. Behind the garage, under a torn
up cover, there it was, the perfect ’55.
When I was discussing the car with the
owner, he said it didn’t run well and
overheated and that it hadn’t been driven
much. So we made a deal, and off I was
with the car of my dreams on a trailer with
no brakes. Once again, I had a project that
I knew would take at least a year, but I was
looking forward to this one. The car was
already in good shape; paint, interior, front
end, chassis. I wanted to put in the biggest,
baddest motor I could dream up, which I did
with help from a few old timers who know
blower motors.
I had to come up with a motor, transmission
and drivetrain combination that would hold
up under heavy street use, but I never
intended to run this car at the drag strip. I
felt it was easier to order the block and
internals from Speed-O-Motive out of
California, who have been building hot rod
motors since the ‘40’s. Some of things I
decided to go with were….the big Pro-Mod
632 cubic inch dart block, custom made
Ross pistons, Total Seal piston rings, 47504340 Enduro crank shaft, custom made oil
pan for clearance, Comp hydraulic roller
cam shaft, hydraulic roller lifters, forged
steel piston rods, all the best bearings, push
rods, retainers, nuts, bolts, gaskets, etc. I
used the original rectangular port Chevy,
high performance heads from the other
motor and had them redone, which are
probably the only Chevy parts on the entire
motor. What sits on top is a Wieand
manifold, 871 BDS blower, with dual Barry
Grant carburetors, complete with MSD
ignition set up for the blower. The
transmission is a turbo 400, which the jury is
still out on for its durability due to the
horsepower of the engine. It is built with all
heavy duty parts and clutches including a
Hughes torque converter and reverse valve
body. It has a B & M shifter, 12 bolt Chevy
rear end with 3:42 gears , it needs 2:90’s in
a Ford 9 inch. Hoosiers in the back, BF
Goodrich in the front.
Maybe I’ll run it down the track during our
LONE STAR CONVENTION drag night in
Denton, it sounds like we are going to have
a great time.
I hope everybody is as
excited as I am about this event,
especially since the Club is turning 30
YEARS OLD!!! It has been a pleasure
being in the Club and meeting everybody, I
hope to get to know everyone better so we
can share our passion of the past and
present with the TRI-FIVES ! ! !
Classic Heartbeat
Page 4 of 5
Tri Five Vettes continued from page 2 -
Autorama 2006 = BIG SUCCESS!
DACC had an impressive display of 1956 Chevys in the 50th
Anniversary DACC Display at the Dallas Autorama last month.
Members manned our information table all weekend, passing out
souvenir flyers featuring all the club cars in the display on the front
and ads for the Lone Star XXIV Convention, Stoked Out Specialties
and Reliable Chevrolet on the back. David Graves arranged media
coverage of our display on Channel 8's "Why Guy" segment Friday
morning and on KXEB 910 AM radio Sunday afternoon. ESPN's
Mother's Polish Car Show series program also did a feature Joe
Gaikoski's '56 that will be shown later this year. In addition to the
seven '56 Chevys in the club display, nine other members had cars in
individual displays. When it came time for awards, Robert Vaughan's
freshly restored red and white '57 Hardtop was outstanding. He won
1st in a 15-car class and also won the Street Achievement Award for
his engine. This fantastic car came straight from restoration at Stoked
Out Specialties. Richard Stokes was on hand to help Robert carry
home the "goods". Winning 1st in their classes were Bill Preston's '56
Nomad, Rodney Nevil's '56 Corvette, and new member Jim Gary's '55
hardtop. Chuck Rader's '57 Hardtop and John Rush's '56 Sedan won
2nd place in their respective classes. Joe Gaikoski's '56 convertible
won a 3rd place.
Class awards were taken home by: Dennis
Gormley's '56 Sedan, James Sparrow's '56 Hardtop, Nick Ropollo's '56
Sedan, Dean Schmidt's '57 Hardtop, Larry Rollow's '57 Sedan with his
teardrop trailer, Debbie Guido's '57 Sedan and new member Mike
Reeves' '55 Hardtop. Richard Stokes showed a 1962 Oldsmobile and
won 1st in class plus a Street Achievement Award. Ernie Guido won a
class award with his 1969 Camaro. I hope I didn't miss anyone and
congrats to all who participated!
Best of the entire club was
represented well and we spoke to many Tri Five enthusiasts about the
club and the upcoming Lone Star event. Thanks to ALL who showed
and especially the '56 Chevy group!
Reported by Diane Preston
PHOTOS SOON ON THE CLUB WEBSITE
Welcome New Members
718
Bob and Tracy Caruth
6700 Caruth Ranch Road
Lone Oak, TX 75453
56 2dr Hdtp
719
Doyle and Nancy Irick
5428 New Hope Road
Aubrey, TX 76227
57 Cameo Pickup
720
Dan and Joy Porter
2700 Pecan Leaf Ln
Flower Mound, TX 75022
56 Sedan Delivery
721
Rico Padilla
9807 Walnut Hill
Dallas, TX 75238
57 2dr Hdtp
722
Robert and Barbara Senn
9410 Shearer Street
Rowlett, TX 75088
57 2dr Hdtp
723
Kenneth and Ann Burton
409 Roberts Drive
Saginaw, TX 76179
56 Chevy
724
Frank & Diane Makarauskas
5816 Lennox Hill Dr
Plano, TX 75093
57 2dr Sedan
725
David & Redonna McBroom
1000 West Travis St
Leonard, TX 75452
56 Nomad
57 2dr Sedan
speed manual transmission. That was a solid enough start
for Zora Arkus-Duntov, now the Corvette's chief engineer,
to
begin
going
fast.
At Florida's Daytona Speedweeks in February, 1956,
Duntov appeared with new 'Vettes for John Fitch and Betty
Skelton. Reworked cylinder heads, a compression ratio
increase to 10.3 to 1, and a few other emerging speed
parts for the small-block had the V8s making 255
horsepower. Fitch's '56 went 145.5 mph and Skelton sped
past at 137.8 mph. During that same competition, the best
a Ford Thunderbird could do was just 134.404 mph.
After the Speedweeks experience came even more
Corvettes for that year's 12 Hours of Sebring and then the
more exuberantly styled SR-2 racer. And with the racing
came a change in Corvette advertising that now heralded
the car's performance and competition credentials. In a
real way, the '53 to '55 Corvettes were only foreshadows
of
the
"real"
Corvette
that
arrived
in
'56.
Visually, the 1957 edition was virtually identical to the '56,
but inside, a four-speed manual transmission (the great T10) was available for the first time. The standard Corvette
engine grew to 283 cubic inches and 220 horsepower,
breathing through a single four-barrel carburetor. Best of
all, for the first time, Chevrolet offered performanceupgraded engines as options. In addition to the base
configuration, the 283 could be had with dual-quad carbs
rated at either 245 or 270 horsepower or, best of all, with
Rochester
mechanical
fuel
injection.
Fuel injection on top of the 283 increased its output to
either 250 or 283 horsepower — one horsepower per
cubic inch. The top engine probably made more than that,
but the ad agency loved that one cube/one pony hook.
Suddenly, the Corvette was one of the world's truly quick
cars and it drove beautifully. "The function of the fuel
injection system was notable," wrote Motor Trend's Walt
Woron at the time. "Starts were quick. Pumping the throttle
didn't pump raw gas to the cylinders, so you can't flood it.
Throttle response is instantaneous. No maneuver could
flood or starve the engine (and I tried with violent cornering
and hard braking)." Road & Track had one '57 "Fuelie"
catapulting to 60 mph in just 5.7 seconds. Still, though
Chevy built 6,339 Corvettes during the '57 model year,
only 1,040 of them had the fuel-injected engine.
Source - Edmonds.com
Classic Heartbeat
DACC Celebrates 30 years!
1976 - 2006
It Happened
In March in DACC History
1977 - DACC's Ray Trevathan's restored '57
Nomad is the cover car of Classic Chevy World
1983 - It is announced that Lone Star I will be
held in June in Austin, Texas
1990 - It is confirmed that DACC will host the
week long 1991 International Classic Chevy
Club Convention
1998 - Showing at the Ft Worth Rod and
Custom Show in the DACC display is Ron
Homire's '55, Herb Miller's '55, George Caruth's
'57, Frank Collins' '57 and Lorenzo Castillo's '55
MEMBERSHIP DUES
are $25 per year and can be mailed to
DACC, PO Box 814642, Dallas, TX 75381
Lone Star XXIV NOTES
Pre-Registration is now open for Lone Star, you
can print off the form from the website or better
simply complete the online registration and make
your payment via credit card and your done!
st
April 1 is the DEADLINE so do it NOW! By preregistering for Lone Star you will receive a free
event T-shirt and you will be entered into a
drawing for a free nights stay at the Sheraton
Grand DFW during the event. The price will
st
increase $15 after April 1 so don't hesitate to get
your registration in now to take advantage of the
benefits!
Lone Star XXIV has picked us an associate
sponsor in Classic Auto Air of Ft Worth, TX and
Tampa FL. This is a great place to get
ac/heat/defrost units for our tri five Chevys and
they install at their shop. You can reach them at
(817) 284-5811.
Registrations for the Lone Star XXIV have been
coming in daily through the mail and online. This
event is on it's way to be one of the most
successful Lone Star events to date. Don't miss it
or you will miss the largest tri five gathering in
North Texas in 15 years!
www.LoneStarChevys.com
MAY 5,6,7 - MAKE YOUR PLANS NOW!
Page 5 of 5
Past Presidents of DACC
It's not a walk in the park to be a President of any
organization and our club is no exception. Over the past 30
years these gentlemen have given and donated to this club
by serving as Presidents of DACC, and their efforts
contributed to the successes and longevity of the Dallas
Area Classic Chevys. In this 30th Anniversary year of
DACC, we recognize and thank the following who
have served
BEFORE
as Presidents of DACC
1976 Greg Easley
1977 Gene Jones
1978 - 79 Richard Taylor
1980 - 81 David Graves
1982 David Grimm
1983 - 85 Earnest Lander
1986 - 88 Danny Fisher
1989 - 91 Mike Russell
1992 - 93 Howard Bale (passed away while in office)
1993 - 95 Raymond Livezey
1996 - 97 Bill Beverley
1998 - 99 Ron Richardson
2000 - 02 CM Strawn
2003 Eric Chausse
2004 - 06 David Graves
Ft Worth Rod and Custom Show Results
Club Displayed at March 3-5 Show
DACC had a wide variety of '55-'57 Chevys in the club display at
this great show. All were winners and included Debbie Guido who
won 1st in Semi-Custom Sedan with her Red '57 2-door sedan.
Doyle Irick won 1st in Semi custom Post-War Pickup with his red
'56 Cameo Pickup. Rodney Nevils won 1st in Competition Coupe &
Sedan with his black '56 blown Corvette. Robert Vaughn won 1st in
Full Custom Hardtop with his red '57 2-door hardtop. Sharkey
Nelson won 2nd with his turquoise Semi-Custom '55 Hardtop. And
George Caruth won 2nd with his red '57 Sedan Delivery in Custom
Station Wagon. Several other DACC members displayed separately
and carried away trophies. Carl Mitcham's beautifully prepared black
'57 Convertible won 1st in Post-War Convertible and also was
selected as the Most Outstanding Convertible of the entire show.
Phil Haynes won his class and was selected as the Most Outstanding
Antique (We'll try to be proud even if he was showing his '34 Ford).
Bill Preston's ivory '56 Nomad won 1st in Custom Station Wagon.
And Mike Reeves won 1st with his '55 coral and grey Semi-Custom
Hardtop. You will have a chance to see many of these outstanding
Classic Chevys at the Lone Star Classic Chevy Convention on May
5-7. Thank you to all of the DACC members who manned our booth
all weekend and promoted the club and club events.
Reported by Diane Preston
PO Box 814642
Dallas, TX 75381
Name
Address
City, State Zip
1st Class Mail
Contact Sales Manager Jeff
Power at Reliable for the special
DACC members deal on a new
or used Chevy!
Need parts? Your contact is
Jerry Lewis, Part Manager. He
will get you the DACC deal on all
parts available from Chevrolet,
from glass cleaner to engines!
RELIABLE CHEVROLET
Sponsor
of the
The North Texas Chevy Store
800 North Central Expressway
Richardson 75080
972-952-1500
www.ReliableChevrolet.com
Stoked Out Specialties
777 Riding Club Rd.
Rockwall, Texas 75087
972.772.0146
www.StokedOutSpecialties.com
Sponsor of the
Dallas Area Classic Chevys
and
Lone Star XXIV