t takes a brave soul to purchase a hot rod sight unseen. Yet when it’s from a friend you trust you willingly take the leap. Steve Spang of Minnesota had been looking for a ’55 or ’56 Chevy Bel Air convertible for some time when he found a ’66 Nova and couldn’t pass it up. Fast-forward a few years when a church friend told him of a stalled project that had been in the works for 15 years and it looked like it wouldn’t get finished. It was a ’55 Chevy Bel Air convertible that had been in storage and showed 54,000 miles on the odometer. It was almost too good to be true. Steve tells us, “One thing led to another and a week later Kevin Bowman of Bowman Real Hot Rods was picking it up.”

As it turns out it was true with one itsy-bitsy hiccup. The ’55 Chevy at one time was hit hard in the rear. The trunk, decklid, and rear quarters sustained a great deal of damage. Steve solved this problem by taking the Bel Air to Bowman Real Hot Rods in South Dakota. From here the sheetmetal was either replaced with Danchuk panels or straightened. In the end, the quarters, tail pan, decklid, and trunk floor were replaced or refurbished. New mini-tubs from Real Deal Steel were added to accommodate the oversized wheel and rubber combo. In the meantime, the freshly addressed body was dropped onto a Precision Hot Rods chassis.

The body is fundamentally a ’55 Chevy Bel Air convertible with a handful of modifications to “clean” the lines up a bit. The grille crossbars were modified, as were the inner fender panels, to accommodate the Billet Specialties hinges, firewall, and other engine compartment sheetmetal. Another subtle body mod is the reconfiguring of the front turn signals. Look closely as they are redone and now smaller than the original design. While in the front, also look at the hood as it too was smoothed over and emblems were removed. The rear decklid was also “warmed” over with a frenched license plate holder and a three-sided surround to add a design element to the rear plate. Note the gas filler was removed from the normal driver side rear quarter-panel location and now hidden within the driver side taillight. This is reminiscent of what would be considered stock for a ’56. Gaven Bowman, son of Kevin, took the lead at Bowman’s in handling the body- and paintwork. Speaking of paint, it is a custom mix from PPG Deltron 2000 Basecoat (DBC1) in a Candy Mocha applied by Gaven over his bodywork. From here all the brightwork was handled by Dan’s Polishing.

The custom chassis comes by way of Danny Tesar and Larry Brunkala at Precision Hot Rods. The custom chassis shows off a raised front crossmember, which allows Bowman’s to get the ride even lower. The front and rear are equipped with Heidts’ Superide independent suspensions. The fully polished IFS features 2-inch drop spindles and polished Viking dual-adjustable coilover shocks (550-pound springs). From here a polished 3/4-inch front sway bar, Flaming River power rack-and-pinion steering, and Wilwood 13-inch drilled-and-slotted rotors with polished Dynalite calipers are used. In back the IRS is based on a fully polished Heidts unit packed with 3.73 gears and a Richmond limited-slip differential. Then Wilwood inboard disc brakes (11-inch drilled-and-slotted rotors and polished Dynalite calipers) and more polished Viking double-adjustable coilovers with 450-pound springs complete the IRS. The brakes are actuated by a Wilwood master cylinder and a Kugel Komponents underdash pedal assembly.

The one-off wheels were designed by Eric Brockmeyer and machined by EVOD. The fronts are 18×7 wrapped with Kumho 255/45R18 rubber while the rears are 20×10 and wrapped with Michelin 275/50R20 rubber.

TPiS oversaw all the engine machining, assembly, and tuning (dyno) of the all-aluminum polished LS3 (427 inches) pumping out 600-plus hp. The balanced internals are based on a CompStar crank and rods, Mahle forged pistons, and a TPiS custom ground cam and rockers. Capping the V-8 are polished LS3 aluminum heads held in position with ARP studs. PJ Motorsports fabricated the LS3 EFI side draft screen covers while Aeromotive supplied the fuel filters and regulator. The custom valve covers, air cleaner, and all badgework was machined by G.W. Taylor of Taylor Design. The exhaust system is based on Ultimate Headers in 1-3/4-inch primary tubes made from polished stainless steel. The remainder of the exhaust system is ceramic coated and includes SpinTech Performance mufflers. Other engine accessories include a Vintage Air Front Runner, polished water pump, SPAL electric fan, a Tough Stuff alternator, a Powermaster starter, and an Optima battery. Matched to the LS3 is a Legend Gear & Transmission LGT700 five-speed manual box with a McCloud Street & Strip flywheel, clutch, and pressure plate. There is also a Lakewood bellhousing and a Bowman-fabricated shifter.

Once inside there is more to behold. Let us start with the Bowman-fabricated dash that is now outfitted with Dakota Digital HDX-2017 instrument system with unique colors. The wiring is based on a Centech harness that was positioned into place by Neil Erickson of Bowman Real Hot Rods. This wiring also links up the Vintage Air A/C, power door locks and power trunk from Dakota Digital, and a system from Nu-Relics Power Windows. The A/C registers as well as the A/C controller bezel were fabricated by Taylor Design.