Traditional Hot Rod
We scream out of the driveway (or was that me screaming?) and careen across the road sideways, bias-plies searching for grip. First gear loses steam almost instantly, and sometime between gears one and two things don’t mesh. Everything seems to lock up and we slide crossways onto a side road, making an unplanned turn and none too soon of a stop.
Building a vintage hot rod wrapped around a modern chassis and body is a popular segment of the hobby today. Over 10 years of parts collecting went into the construction of this hot rod. The finishes on this car all look 50 years old, but in reality, the car has only been built for 5 years. It is a masterful blend of the old and the new.
Simplicity is the key here, as this ’55 Chevy perfectly embodies the sleeper theme with a no-frills look and monster power. It doesn’t even feature all the stainless Bel Air or 210 trim you normally find on most tri-5 models; but even though this is a plain-Jane 150 devoid of trim, Ernie Lankford’s all-black ’55 certainly doesn’t get overlooked.
