Growing up, Tony King and his older brother were always hanging out with their pop in the garage. Their dad would tinker with old cars and teach his sons to become gear heads themselves, while building cars and dune buggies in the latter 1950s and into the '60s.
Fast learners, by the time Tony and his bro were just nine or 10, they could already drive stick shift dune buggies! How many little boys and girls know how to drive manual shift cars these days? Right - not many!
As high schoolers, the King brothers drove '55 Chevys. Tony's big bro had a '55 (see below) that was "really cool and fast too."
Above: Tony built his 1955 Bel Air four-door to honor his big brother and his fast and ferocious 1955 Chevy two-door post. His brother's untimely passing was in 1970. The black over blue paint scheme of Tony's '55 Bel Air was selected to commemorate his brother's '55 Chevy.
Now a fully grown adult male with a wife and two boys to feed, having an old hobby car to restore and enjoy at the same time isn't always a possibility. But when Tony was finally able to retire, he purchased and toiled away on a 1955 four-door Chevy Bel Air that already had a GM LS engine it.
Upon taking the car apart one day to have the body and paint work accomplished, he realized that the front fenders were repaired haphazardly with chicken wire, newspaper, and bondo. Considering the amount of time and money he'd have to spend just to mend the fenders, he began a search for some salvage yard front fenders (or wings as they say in the U.K.). A scant 40 minutes away from his home in Moreno Valley, CA, Tony found a complete 1955 Chevy four-door body without its drivetrain that was in much better nick ('er condition) than his '55 Chevy.
Tony was still toying with the idea of renewing the first '55 that he had purchased, but Tim talked him out of it. The elder King had always said, "You'll never catch me doing a frame-off restoration." Yet, he negotiated with his son Tim that he could have the first '55, complete with its LS engine, if Tim helped him restore/restomod the more solid-bodied, second purchased Bel Air four-door.
No self-respecting gear head or more specifically '55 Bow Tie fan would turn down such a great offer as that. So, the father, son, and son King family, including Tim's brother Jeff got to work!
Above and below: These deconstruction photos, cleaning with a steam cleaning power washer, sandblasting, primering, and painting of the 1955 Chevy Bel Air frame in satin black demonstrate the hard and meticulous work that took place on the renewal of the Bel Air's formidable foundation. These build photos were of course provided by the owner. If you've ever undertaken a frame-off restoration or restomod project, these pictures will bring back fond memories of a job very well done. The pictures with the Classic Industries' watermark were taken by CI's Vicente Diaz.
Above: The selected rolling stock are Rocket Racing Fuel Chrome five-spoke mag wheels, 17x7 inches in the front and 17x8 inches wide in the rear. The owner sandblasted the body inside and out with 40/70 recycled glass and then sprayed the body with epoxy primer before sending it to the painter.
Above: Tony's son Tim sourced a 2002 Chevy Silverado LM7, 5.3-liter V8 LS engine close to his Fort Worth, TX home, which he cleaned, rebuilt, and prepped before shipping the mill and a stock GM 4L60E automatic transmission supplied from a 2000 Camaro to Tony's Southern California home.
Above: From back to front, a second generation Camaro 10-bolt P051 posi rear end with a final drive ratio of 3:23 to one is now attached to an aluminum driveshaft from Inland Empire Drive Line. The '55 chassis sports four-wheel Baer disc brakes with drilled and slotted 11-inch rotors and four-piston SS4 Blue Ice calipers. There are two-inch lowering multi-leaf Classic Performance Parts springs and a hollow CPP anti-roll sway bar and Panhard bar for the caboose with Viking Performance shocks. CPP tubular control arms are paired with CPP's two-inch drop spindles and Viking Performance coilover shocks for the front suspension. A CPP high clearance hollow front anti-roll sway bar also helps achieve excellent handling performance for the modernized and optimized '55 GM chassis.
Above: Tuned by Andrew Borodin, also known as Dr. EFI, the Holley Terminator X Max EFI system tops the Holley 4150 style, #300-317 aluminum intake manifold and has Accel fuel injectors with Holley fuel rails feeding the mill just the right mix of fuel and air to make the V8 sing strong in every key, and as smooth as a symphony in all eight cylinders. CPP engine and transmission dipsticks enable accurate fluid checks. A Champion radiator and fan system keeps the engine running at its most effective operating temperature. The alternator in the foreground is a Powermaster unit. Painless Performance Products supplied the Bel Air's wiring, battery relocation kit, and Classic Braid wiring cover. The spent fumes are handled melodiously with a complete Flowmaster exhaust system.
Above and below: Tony chose the two distressed brown hues of the leather interior and designed the stitching pattern of the cockpit before turning over the professional trimming craftwork to Magana's Auto Upholstery, in Moreno Valley, CA. Seat Belts Plus supplied the front three-point seat belts and the rear lap belts.
Above: The Bow Tie aluminum dash fascia came from Classic Industries. A Lecarra steering wheel, CPP-sourced steering column, and Lokar pedal pads replace the GM factory items in the cockpit. That's a Dakota Digital RTX instrument cluster and clock. A Classic Auto Air HVAC system keeps the cabin comfortable in all driving conditions. Tony also installed a Jensen MPR2121 stereo head unit with JBL Club five-channel amplifiers and Polk Audio six by nine-inch front and rear speakers, as well as a Kicker 10-inch subwoofer (model # 40TCWS102).
Above: Eddie Motorsports hood hinges hold the heavy, '55 Chevy coffin style hood in place with ease and industrial art efficiency.
Above and below: Toyo Tires Extensa HP II radial tires wrap the Rocket Racing wheels - 235/45/R17 in the front and 255/45/R17 in the rear.
Above: Tony's '55 Bel Air is painted the 2022 Chevy Silverado hues of Mosaic Black Metallic over Glacier Blue Metallic. The stock style taillights and the Holley Retrobright LED headlights were purchased at Classic Industries, as were the smoothie bumpers and the door handles. Brother's Polishing and Chrome polished all of the exterior chrome and stainless brightwork.
Tim's career brought him to Southern California once a month for six months. Each trip, he would extend his stay a day or two to work with his pop's and brother Jeff on the '55. Tony's good buddies, Ryan McKee and Johnny Angelo were also a big help throughout the five-year renovation.
Fresh from its five plus year renovation, Tony, his boys, and buddies premiered the Bel Air at Riverside, CA's Show and Go car show. Tony realized then and there that building a "memorial car" in honor of his brother was definitely worth all the hard work. Based upon how well the Bel Air turned out from the photos, seeing, and hearing, and watching the '55 run in real life, we would definitely agree. We're betting that Tony's brother has a big smile on his face!
Above: Cheech Marin's '55 Bel Air convertible - 'Nice Dreams'
Whether you're renewing, restomodding, or maintaining your Tri-Five Chevy, you'll find an abundance of great parts and accessories at Classic Industries. CI would love to help you find your restoration, performance parts, and accessories for your Tri-Five. Click the link below for a free Tri-Five Chevrolet Parts & Accessories catalog.