Engine Modification
When Jim Anderson builds a car, he really builds it. Other than paint and a few of the more intense aspects of the interior, he takes on the task of reconstructing the entire car into what he thinks it should be. And when asked what he thinks a vintage car should be, he responds that it should be fast and handle well.
Upon its introduction, the ’55 Chevy became an instant success, and over the years, it has remained a favorite of Chevy enthusiasts, with the ’55 Bel Air hardtop being one of the most popular.
“I started building this car a little over 15 years ago after completing a Pro Street ’70 Camaro RS for my then-16-year-old son, Brad,” says overhead door installation specialist Jim Meltzer of Ventura, California. “I always had the urge to build a ’59 Pro Street Chevrolet El Camino (hence the nickname “U.S. Pro-1”), having owned one of those cars when I was just 21 years old,” he says. “Forty years later, the ’60 came along, and I figured that was close enough. The El Camino project was a joint collaboration with my sons Brad and Rod, and it got off to a great start. We made plans for a big motor and even built a full rollcage for that huge hunk of steel with the intentions of actually racing it.”
We showed you how to build a small-block engine that could make over 500 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque on 87-octane gas. It was a motor that could be driven just about every day with a hydraulic-roller cam and a good carburetor, making acquisition and maintenance almost nonexistent. Like many things we do in the engine world, the results we enjoyed—while good—just weren’t satisfying anymore. We wanted more.
