VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1955-1957 55 CHEVY Trailer Queen

This may be controvertial. I just bought a 55 that had a ground off 7 years ago. It has only been driven 500 miles. The under side is as clean as the top side. My quandry is I have never owned a show car. I had planed to buy a driver and this one just sort of got in the way. I will need to pick it up 500 miles away. My first thought was to drive it home. The previous owner says no . He had always trailered it.
I HAVE NOT SEEN IT .. only pictures , it has some paint problems but mechanics are fine.
Do you drive are trailer? Do the shows count off a lot for driving? Thanks pAUl

The part that scares me the most is that you have never seen it.Also the owner may be afraid that if you attempt to drive it that you will discover a bunch of mechanical problems.Some of these cars set up for show only were never mechanicaly restored.Hope I'm wrong on all points but proceed with caution.

Chev Nut: That's some great advice since many dudes have been fooled about the mechanical restoration of a car until they trailered it home and then took it for a long drive.....only to get the shock of their life about the mechanics of the car. Trailering the car home is fine, but after buying it sight unseen, I would spend a few hours checking out the car mechanically, and also driving it before I paid the remainder of the money and took delivery. Remember...."let the buyer beware!". :eek: :eek:

Yes,JYD....Every time you go to a meet you see the owners of the trailerd cars having problems with them when taken on a short tour.WE all can have problems but many of these cars are never test driven to get the bugs out.I have always done as MrMack suggested,Going on local jaunts to see if all is well befor finding out when all my friends are around

Ha ha! Ya, I know what you mean....especially when you have car that you just purchased and it breaks down on its maiden voyage right in front of your friends. Another thing.....and that is to also make sure that the dudes that rebuilt Donald's engine, didn't do the engine in your new acquisition too! ha ha!

I have seen this several times, where the money was spent on the paint and chrome, and held back with the mechaincals. I also have seen owners of trailer queens who refused to sell thier car to a new owner who wished to drive it every day. Just because they did not want to see the restoration deteriorate. Using a "show car" as a driver creates a lot of work for the owner to keep the car in the same shape, the miles do have an affect. I drove my car to every meet and tour The furthest was to Springfield IL last summer. But now I am going to buy a trailer, not to save the wear and tear on the car, buton me! I would take a trip and look at it real close and make sure the car is restored to more than just a killer paint job. Unless the car is real cheap, and a steal I would look at it or contact someone to do so
John348/340HP

Woah! what happened !

Please be sure to keep us informed hope every thing works out well for you

Since I'm not an expert on motors, I would hire or find someone who has all of the diagnostic tools and expertise to check the car out from stem to stern.

I would not drive it until I was "bonded" somewhat with the car. A little thing like windshield wiper blades could make your trip very difficult. :cool2:

thanks guys you are all correct in what you said. I will post as soon as i get my hands on the car. And I had thought it best to trailer it
home. But was more interested in thoughts about the need to trailer for show Points? Or not.. pAUL
The motor ,trans, and rear end were all rebuilt
500 miles back. But the pictures from under side show that it has not been driven much. his wife said she had seen him caught in a rain shower Dry the car and even use a straw to blow water out of tight spots. I can't wait...

Paul, I have driven my car to every meet and show, and the car is begining to show some wear. Some of the detail work is starting to let go in some spots under the car and in the engine compartment. This has been maintained involving a lot of work to keep it in good shape. Getting caught in the rain is no big deal, after all they are not made of suger, to be honest with you some owners are a little strange when it comes to dirt and water. I can only say as far as National VCCA Judging goes. The judges are instructed to look beyond any dirt the looks like it accumulated recently, but deduct for long term neglect. The reason for this is that we are a touring club also, and it debris from touring is expected. If we were to have a zero tolerance to recent dirt from a tour then we deter members from either participating in tours, or with the judging portion of the meet. It is also not to put owners of non trailed vehicles at a severe disadvantage. With a tough class like 55's (S1) most cars are detailed very well and trailered, and a driven car will show some wear, thus not scoring as well. But again if the owner does the work and keeps after the car it is very possible to compeate with trailered cars. YOU HAVE TO DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT. If you want to collect trophies, then leave it in a box. If you want just a driver, then maybe this car is a little to nice for that. Like I said earlier, I drove my car everywhere, it has been in 16 states, but now I am at a point that I am tired of dodging tractor trailers, and a lack of A/C is starting to cause my family not to participate, plus I need the A/C for me! I am thinking of buying a trailer real soon, it will be an open one just for the wieght factor. Driving has done more to me as far as wear and tear than the car. Are you planning on going long distances? or are talking about local shows? If it is a local show most of these events are nothing more than a beauty pagent anyway, cars are awarded more for cleanliness than correct detail. Another thing to consider even though we both own cars from the "modern era" or eieght cylinder era things do break, and most of the parts for our cars are no longer on the shelf. So a minor breakdown can be a day or so in a motel waiting for the parts needed. Or you have to travel with everything like I do. 20 years ago we were on the same field with the other cars on the road, now we are not! We don't have it as bad as the guy trying to drive a 36 down the interstate, but we are still not equall to the cars around us, and in high speed traffic, it can be very stressfull.
John 348/340HP Mahoney

One more thing Paul, my son John summed up the trip home from the All Cylinder Tour, the drive home sucked all of the fun out of it. He was right! We had so much fun driving the back roads, but we were done playing after 500 miles.
John

I got three blank messages. Whats up?

The last thee messages from MrMack were blank and now John348-340HP came thru blank also....................Lets hear about the '55....What body style,color engine,etc.

I don't know Gene I was looking here this morning and I lost my connection, when I got back ??????, Yes by all means, fill us in, sounds like a peculiar owner, and he must have been proud of the 55.
I guess there is no doubt you are sold?

Well she is Yellow and White Belair 2 dr. Ht.
power glide. Wide white walls bias ply. 265 2 barrel.
And I think this is incorrect. It has twin pipes.
I think only the 4 barrel had twins. Any one Know??
The people seem great and I believe every thing they have told me. But you guys AND EVERYONE I know have convince me that I must SEE the car before I pay for it. So I told them that last night. It would be The 9th before I can see it . I gave them the opportunity to back out if that is not expectable to them SO I MAY NOT GET IT.
I should know their answer today..

Single exhaust for a two barrel engine.

Has the car won any National Awards? AACA, VCCA, CCI, or any other? If so ask the owner to send you copies of the judging forms, this can be a great way of seeing how correct the car is and give you a good idea of how well the restoration was done.
John 348/340HP

Hi Paul,

I would second John's advice on judging results.

So many people "show their pride and joy" - but the shows really have no pedigree. A few have judges - but the results are "political" at best.

If this is the case, then I would look very closely at your new purchase.

Also, if you need to transport the car home....

www.horselesscarriage.com

I highly recommend them - I have used them three times - with excellent, ON TIME results.

Paul, Dual exhausts are OK for your 2 bbl. carb. engine.The 4 bbl. carb 180 HP engine came from the factory with duals but Chevrolet offered a dealer installed dual exhaust kit for 2 bbl installation.It not only came with the necessary exhaust parts but also a brake line kit (and possibly fuel line)to move the front to rear line on the right to the outside of the frame away from the exhaust heat as the 4 bbl. cars had.It also came with a pair of the normal accessory 55 tail pipe extentions(the cast type with Chev. emblem on top) where as the factory dual cars had the stamped stainless steel extensions.

No , I’m sure there were no nationals in her past. I have never even been to a JUDGED event
and I have seen things about her that are not correct. She looks super nice but not ALL correct. It came turquoise and is now yellow. Interior is not 100% correct. But I started out looking for a driver so she can make me happy.
I asked the original question so that I could learn more about SHOWING. And if she is so nice that the owner will not drive her then I want to be sure not to devalue the car.
Thanks for the update about the dual s. Maybe she is not so incorrect. Thanks again pAUl
ps I have my ticket I will she her on the 9th.

Good luck! keep us up to speed!
John

I'm gonna add my .02 cents worth here too.

It sounds like you're getting a real sound car here. If it was a real sound virgin original car I would trailor it to every show. Your future car is a restored example. If I were in your shoes I'd show it for a year or two and then I would drive it and enjoy it. That's what they were made for. I know a few of you may disagree with me here but once a car has been redone you can never go back to original because it's gone as soon as it was torn down so you might as well enjoy it. It can always be redone again.

Good luck with your new baby. :)

chev nut, if the dealer installed option (duel exhaust) doesn't show up on the cowl tag wouldn't that take points off? :confused:

What you would need to be safe is documentation.Thats is why I mentioned that it was not shown in the early 1955 parts book.They brought out the kit in spring so a later parts book (later in the year) or it should still be listed in a 1956 parts book.It was not an accessory such as a radio,etc.so it was never shown in the accy. lists but will be in the exhaust section of the parts book.It would qualify as "legal" because the dealer could have installed it on a car before delivery.If it is a crude after market job with incorrect hangers and home made looking parts you could loose points for that reason.

the original kit came with a plug so you cut off the crossover pipe (the extention to the right side) and pounded the plug in the hole to plug it up.The original left muffler was retained and they gave you a new muffler fo the right side.You wound up with a long single exhaust muffler on the left side and the shorter dual exhaust muffler on the right side.I'm sure none of these parts exsist on cars anymore as they would have long rusted away and been replaced with stock parts.This would not be a problem in judging as I'm sure no judges remember what it should look like unless they are real '''55 experts

First be sure to read info. on gators topic.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Cowl tag should read as follows,paint #631...Ivory & Harvest gold 2 tone......Trim # T520 ,Biege cloth& Green fake leather.Serial # on left front door post V(indicates 8 cyl.,C indicates BelAir,55 for year.next is a letter that identifys assembly plant.The serial numbers.....Engine number stamped in front of right cyl. head on block .First is serial number of engine then F or T for plant that made engine.then 55 for year and last F which indicates 2 Bbl. P.G.These numbers can be restamped so ???.A '55 265 will have either NO oil filter or a orange & blue AC mounted on top front of engine.All later V8's had filter hanging in lower left rear corner of block. Just about everything on engine has an identifing number and date code so to check all items you would need a number book and about two days.
if you want a car with just the correct year parts it would keep
most people happy if the price is right.If you pay a premium price just to get matching numbers be sure they really match.My '57 has all correct '57 parts but not matching numbers,its a VCCA preservation car but would not do well in Classic Chev. competition..... :p :)