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­PUTTING OUT FIRES AND STARTING NEW ONES

Little Setbacks Couldn’t Stop Louis Jackson or His ’55 Chevy

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Picture of Will Smith

Will Smith

Photography by Jim “Dito” Tovo

A Teenage Dream

Some decades ago, Louis Jackson was a lucky 15-year-old boy. He had his first car, and it was a ’55 Chevy, a car that was already a classic at the time. He was not lucky enough to have the funds or the skills to finish the car the way he really wanted—he was after a Pro Street-style car, but building a car like that is a tall order for someone still in high school. Though he couldn’t create his dream car that early in his life, he vowed that someday he’d have that Pro Street ’55.

The Search for the Perfect ’55

More than two decades later, Jackson was in a better position to make his dream come true. He had a good job and a family—but he also had a boat he was perfectly willing to sell in order to finance another ’55 Chevy. The car he found was hardly a wreck: it was a ’55 Bel Air hardtop already built in Pro Street style, with a 502 big block and a 400 automatic transmission. His plan was to drive the Chevy for five years before tearing it apart and rebuilding it to better suit his ideas. But it turned out that five years was just too long a wait, so after only one year he took the car apart in preparation for its new lease on life.

Building the Foundation: Chassis and Suspension

His first step was to have a chassis shop build him a new frame. Unfortunately, the initial shop he chose took a full year to cough up the frame, and when it did, Jackson found a list of things wrong with the car that had to be corrected. Those flaws have since been fixed, and the car now rides on a rectangular-tube chassis, with the front of the frame built from 2×3-inch box tubing.

The front suspension is a custom Mustang II-style arrangement with fabricated tubular upper and lower control arms. AFCO coilover springs and shocks support the car, while a Mustang II steering rack and spindles steer the ’55. At over 4,000 pounds, this ’55 fills the bill of the heavy Chevy, so the Wilwood front disc brakes are more of a necessity than a luxury. The car has big brakes, but in true Pro Street style, it has small front tires—Mickey Thompson Sportsman 28×7.5-15s mounted on 15×4-inch Weld Magnum 2.0 wheels.

Rear Suspension and Braking Setup

Larger 2×4-inch box tubing makes up the rear of the frame. Hanging from a set of ladder arms is a Currie 9-inch Ford rearend narrowed to make room for the huge rear tires. Inside the axle housing, 4.11 gears and a limited-slip differential turn a set of Mark Williams axle shafts. The rear coilovers, like those in front, are from AFCO. The rear and front discs are from Wilwood. Naturally, a Pro Street car must have a huge set of rear rubber, and Jackson’s ’55 doesn’t disappoint on this count, as each end of the axle is capped with a 15×15-inch Weld Magnum 2.0 wheel and a 31×18.5-15 Hoosier Quick Time tire.

The Heart of the Beast: Engine Evolution

The engine proved another frustrating aspect of this project. The initial engine build made it 30 miles before losing all oil pressure and destroying the crankshaft. The second try involved machine work from Buttons Machine Shop and assembly from Ron Conroy in O’Fallon, Missouri. Conroy built a nasty supercharged 502, but trouble struck again on Christmas Eve. Jackson was giving his father his first ride in the car, and in a situation that any son who’s ever tried to impress his father can appreciate, the younger Jackson promptly spit two rods out of the side of the block.

Power Upgraded: The Final Engine Build

So far, the third time is the charm—the new combination started with a Dart Big M block with a 4.5-inch bore and a 4.25-inch Scat stroker crank. Mix those numbers with pi and a little math and you end up with 540 ci of Chevy power, and the rest of the components only make it better. Scat rods and JE pistons complete the rotating assembly and bump up against a set of Dart Pro One aluminum heads. Comp 1.7 roller rockers and pushrods lead to the custom Iskenderian cam, and it doesn’t skimp on the lift, with 0.680 inch for intake and exhaust, along with intake and exhaust durations of 262 and 272 degrees. Up top you’ll find a scoop-style air intake feeding twin 650 carbs and a B&M 420 blower.

Keeping Cool: Accessory and Cooling Systems

Street & Performance designed and built the chrome serpentine accessory system, providing the bracketry, alternator, power steering pump and A/C compressor. A Be Cool radiator, paired with twin 13-inch fans, faces the tough challenge of keeping the hot engine cool, a job that’s a little easier since it doesn’t have to fight transmission heat as well. For that job, the Turbo 400 relies on a Perma-Cool assembly. Bob’s Transmissions in Maryland Heights, Missouri, built the 400, fitting it with a 3,400 stall converter and a Gear Vendors under/overdrive unit.

Exterior Details and Body Modifications

Modifications to the body were minimal, but body prep was exhausting, with more than 700 hours of bodywork involved. After the Gateway Company media-blasted the body and removed the car’s past three paint jobs, it was obvious the builders were starting with an excellent chunk of steel. That didn’t mean, however, that it was immediately time to prime and paint the car. The body went to Roger Ferris at Show Car Specialist in Hazelwood, Missouri. Jackson assisted Ferris on the body, and changes included filling the cowl panel, removing the gas filler door and welding up the front fender extensions. Pete’s Fabrications designed a fiberglass 2-inch cowl hood for the car, and the rest of the bodywork went into making sure that the car was absolutely as smooth as possible.

Interior Customizations

The interior of this ’55 is every bit as striking as the exterior. To enter it, Jackson has to negotiate his way past the eight-point rollcage that’s been painted to match the body, but having done so, he gets to sit in a Recaro bucket seat.

Hytec Upholstery restyled the interior, covering the front Recaro buckets and stock rear bench in a mix of simulated leather shades known as Almond and Buff. The same two colors cover the custom door panels and trunk, with the darker shade covering portions of the center console. The parts of the console that are not upholstered are painted to match the Hot Hues orange exterior paint, and the same holds true for the dash.

A Triumphant Finish

After a few snags along the way, Jackson’s ’55 Chevy was finally done in January 2006. It spent last year on the ISCA show circuit and ended the year as the Western Division Grand Champion. Other trophies came at Goodguys Kansas City and elsewhere, including numerous firsts and best of shows in many smaller events that it entered. With a full show season behind him, Jackson says he’s ready to give the car a real workout and see just what that blown 540 can do for the car in the quarter-mile.

Although the build may not have been the smoothest ever, one look at the car makes it clear that the results have made all of that effort worth it.

’55 CHEVY BUILDUP

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