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Pro Street 1955 Chevy Bel Air

By Shawn Brereton   –   Photography by the Author

How many of us knew what kind of car we wanted in sixth grade? Sure, we all dreamed of whatever car was in the magazine or poster we tacked on our wall, but how many stuck with it and built it? We’re sure, not many. However, Louis Jackson, of St. Charles, Missouri, fell in love with ’55 Chevys back then and never gave up on his dream of owning one.

009 Orange 1955 Chevy Bel Air from a low angle highlighting rear and side chrome trim

Louis was a car guy from the get-go. Some kids like sports, he liked cars and envisioned building an orange ’55 when he was 16. You could say Louis got a little distracted along the way, however. He traded between muscle cars and 4x4s before discovering the wild world of offshore boating for several years at Lake of the Ozarks in his early thirties. In 2003, Louis settled down and decided to sell his triple-engine, 42-foot boat when this naturally aspirated turquoise and white big-block 502ci Pro Street ’55 Bel Air popped up on a consignment website in Minnesota.

003 1955 Chevy Bel Air performing a burnout at a drag strip with smoke and spectators in the background

Check it out: 1957 Chevy Bel Air LS Engine Install

He drove the ’55 as purchased for about a year but found it wasn’t to his liking and decided to gut it down to a bare shell to start over. It took three years to complete the initial build before it went on the World of Wheels indoor car show circuit for a couple of years. If the car looks familiar, you may have seen it in a few magazines or calendars during those early years, however, it’s morphed since then.

019 Polished chrome supercharger on a 1955 Chevy Bel Air engine reflecting the surroundings

Outwardly, the Bel Air hasn’t changed much. Roger Ferris of Show Car Specialist in Greenville, Illinois, bodyworked and painted it to last using Axalta Hot Hues Orange and Gold Pearl. The ghost flames adorning every panel still gleam in the sunlight, as does the chrome trim from Precision Plating in Quincy, Illinois. Custom touches include an aftermarket cowl hood, filled gas tank door and cowl panel, halogen headlights, LED taillights, and the lower fender extensions were welded and smoothed.

015 Interior view of a 1955 Chevy Bel Air highlighting the custom orange dashboard and modern features

The plush-looking interior is just as beautiful as the outside, with Recaro bucket seats, factory bench rear seat, and door panels wrapped in light brown and cream leather by Hytech of Columbia, Illinois. A factory dash sacrificed its gauge hood to become a color-matched, custom-fabricated steel console to house the power window controls, B&M quarter-stick shifter, Holley EFI screen, and rare factory air vents for the Vintage Air system.

016 Close up of the dashboard in a 1955 Chevy Bel Air showcasing modern gauges and chrome accents

The dash is all orange and chrome, featuring a Hampton Engineering cluster filled with Auto Meter gauges and a Custom Autosound head unit. Driver controls include Lokar pedals, an ididit steering column, and a cut down 15-inch wheel. A color-matched 10-point ’cage and five-point RCI harnesses keep the occupants secure.

020 Close up of a wheel and brake system on a 1955 Chevy Bel Air with RC Comp rims

Supporting that beautiful Tri-Five body is a custom-made chassis crafted from 4×5-inch square tube up front and 3×5-inch square tube in the rear. A narrowed Ford 9-inch is stuffed with a Detroit Locker, 3.89:1 gear, and 35-spline axles. The suspension setup is ladder bars with Strange double-adjustable coilovers that plant the big bead-locked 31×14 Hoosier slicks on 15-inch Weld Magnum 2.0 wheels.

017 Gear shifter with a black knob in a custom orange interior of a 1955 Chevy Bel Air

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Meanwhile, the front features a power rack-and-pinion with custom A-arms suspended by Afco double-adjustable coilovers. The front skinnies are 28×6 Mickey Thompson Sportsman SR on 17×4.5 RC Comp Torx wheels. A Hydratech HydraBoost system pushes fluid through the lines to Wilwood Dynalite four-piston calipers on each corner.

008 Orange 1955 Chevy Bel Air rear view

Despite the beauty possessed by Louis’ ’55, he’s not your usual sit-in-a-lawn-chair, show car kind of guy (think back to those days on the water). After winning many awards, it was time to drive it — and he’s driven it hard ever since — including some passes down the quarter-mile and a few “trips to Mexico.” This Bel Air is not just a pretty face. Louis likes horsepower, and he’s not afraid to use it — all of it — sometimes to his detriment.

010 Engine bay of a 1955 Chevy Bel Air with a detailed view of the supercharged V8 engine

The Bel Air morphed, mainly in the powerplant department, from Louis’ quest for more power over the past 21 years. Initially, the engine was a stock carbureted 502, but then Louis went crazy trying to go faster. He’s now on his second block and fourth supercharger, and his fastest recorded time so far was 9.43 at 147 mph in 2018 at the Tri-Five Nationals (TFN) in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

012 Detailed view of the fuel injection system on the 1955 Chevy Bel Air's supercharger

With a new quest to see an 8-second pass from a nearly 4,000-pound car, he changed the entire setup again. The engine is now a 548ci Dart block machined and assembled by Todd Gilliam at TMS in Bridgeton, Missouri, with an 8.3L Whipple screw supercharger and two 1,000-cfm Holley throttle bodies fed by eight Bosch 210 injectors running E85. The drivetrain consists of a Neil Chance 3,600-stall converter with a reverse valvebody Turbo 400 and trans-brake, set up by Transmissions To Go in Arnold, Missouri.

013 Close up of the supercharger pulley system in the 1955 Chevy Bel Air engine bay

The latest change has been “a nightmare” for the past three years as Louis hurt the engine multiple times trying to find someone to tune it properly. Thankfully, he found “the guy” in friend and self-taught tuner Kyle McCarthy of McCarthy Motorsports. Once they finally had it tuned perfectly, Louis decided to make a fun-run pass at the 2022 Tri-Five Nationals, and demons struck again.

018 Safety harness with the Chevy Bel Air logo on a cream seat

Louis was on that 8-second pass when they had a freak and dramatic-looking intake implosion right after these photos were taken. Surprisingly, the bottom end was OK—or so they thought. In September 2023, he broke the crank. Luckily, the electronics worked to his advantage as the crank trigger moved away from the sensor — there was no damage other than the crank itself and two bearings. Both issues were believed to have been caused by the earlier tuning issues, and the engine should be back together with new bearings and rings by the time this goes to print. Maybe we’ll see it again at TFN!

006 Orange 1955 Chevy Bel Air parked on a road showing side and front details

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Louis would like to give a special thanks to his best friends Matt McQuaid and Jeff Buzzetta for helping him through all the trials and tribulations, and Kyle McCarthy for making it a pleasure to race and drive again. We’re sure all three will be called upon again; hopefully, this time, it will only be to take up space in the passenger seat. Louis has made plenty of memories in his ’55 Bel Air, some good and some bad, but he believes the best is yet to come.

Some people are always optimistic!

007 Rear three quarter view of an orange 1955 Chevy Bel Air parked on a driveway

TECH CHECK
Owner: Louis Jackson, St. Charles, Missouri
Vehicle: ’55 Pro Street Chevrolet Bel Air

Engine
Type: Chevy Dart big-block
Displacement: 548 ci
Compression Ratio: 10.2:1
Bore: 4.530 inches
Stroke: 4.250 inches
Cylinder Heads: Brodix “Big Brodie” aluminum
Rotating Assembly: Crower crankshaft (4-7 swap), Molnar 6.385-inch connecting rods, Diamond custom pistons, ACL bearings, Total Seal rings
Valvetrain: Manley/Erson valvesprings, Crower shaft rockers, Black Mamba solid roller lifters
Camshaft: Billet Erson (4-7 Swap) (0.450/0.430-inch lift, 280/296 deg. duration)
Induction: 8.3L Whipple screw supercharger with BDS intake
Injection: Holley Dominator with twin 1,000-cfm throttle bodies fed by eight Bosch 210 injectors
Ignition: Holley coil-on-plug, Firewire plug wires
Assembly: TMS (Bridgeton, MO), Todd Gilliam
Exhaust: Custom fenderwell 2.5-inch primaries, 4-inch collector, 4-inch stainless pipe, Spintech mufflers
Ancillaries: Street & Performance serpentine assembly, Meziere water pump, twin SPAL electric fans, custom-built aluminum radiator, Powermaster alternator, Eddie Motorsports Marine valve covers, BDS chromed scoop with K&N air filters
Output: Over 1,000 rwhp

Drivetrain
Transmission: Chevrolet reverse valvebody Turbo 400 with transbrake, built by Transmissions To Go (Arnold, MO)
Torque Converter: Neil Chance Bolt-Together, 3,600 stall
Shifter: B&M Quarter-Stick
Rear Axle: Ford 9-inch with Detroit Locker, 3.89:1 gear ratio, 35-spline axles

Chassis
Chassis: Custom 4×5-inch square tube front, 3×5-inch square tube back half
Front Suspension: Custom-built A-arms, power rack-and-pinion, Afco double-adjustable coilovers
Rear Suspension: Ladder bar with Panhard bar, Strange double-adjustable coilovers
Brakes: Wilwood Dynalite four-piston disc, Hydratech Hydraboost master cylinder
Fuel Tank: 20-gallon E85 main fuel cell with 15-gallon reserve

Wheels/Tires:
Front: RC Comp Torx, 17×4.5; Mickey Thompson Sportsman SR, 28x6R17
Rear: Weld Magnum Beadlock 15×15, Hoosier slicks, 31x14R15

Interior
Upholstery: Light brown and cream leather by Hytech (Columbia, IL)
Seats: Recaro front buckets, factory rear bench
Steering: Ididit steering column, original wheel cut down to 15 inches
Shifter/Console: Custom-made steel console with B&M Quarter-Stick shifter
Dash: Factory steel, Hampton Engineering cluster
Instrumentation: Auto Meter gauges, Holley EFI
Wiring: American Autowire
Stereo: Custom Autosound, 6-inch front speakers, 6×9-inch rear speakers
HVAC: Vintage Air, rare factory vents
Rollcage: 10-point steel
Seatbelts: RCI five-point harnesses

Exterior
Bodywork and Paint: Roger Ferris of Show Car Specialist (Greenville, IL)
Paint: Axalta Hot Hues Orange with Gold Pearl
Hood: Pete’s Fabrication fiberglass cowl hood
Bumpers: Stock one-piece front with corner and grille guards, stock rear bumper with corner guards, plating by Precision Plating (Quincy, IL)
Other: Filled gas door, welded lower fender extensions, filled cowl panel, every panel flamed except the trunk

Click on this issue’s cover to see the enhanced digital version of Pro Street 1955 Chevy Bel Air.

acp june 2024

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