1. Beginning your project with the best car you can find is always a good idea. This restored ’55 Bel Air hardtop was by no means a Concours restoration, but it was a solid start for a Pro Touring hot rod.

avid Goodwin is like most of our readers: he has been a car lover his entire life. His first new car was an SS 396 Chevelle, so you know he enjoys performance, too. Growing up in the ’60s Goodwin remembers several hot rod ’55 Chevrolets; he once owned a more traditional hot rod ’55 Chevy before he began scheming to build a Pro Touring Bel Air. So, he set about doing two things; first was finding a good car to modify. Goodwin knew there was no better money spent than on the original car. Paying a bit more up front for a good example saves you money in the end and leads to a better-finished product.

He located a restored ’55 Chevrolet Bel Air hardtop on eBay. It appears the car was subject to a “body-on” restoration in the past and was represented as an excellent car. As we all know, one man’s excellent is another man’s just average. Like many purchases based solely on photographs and descriptions, this purchase came with some surprises, but we would still classify the ’55 as a good start. While the car was far from perfect, it had good “bones,” making it an excellent candidate for the desired modifications. Keeping the body mostly original was the easy part. Going the Pro Touring route by adding four-wheel independent suspension, Detroit Speed power rack-and-pinion steering, big Wilwood disc brakes on all four corners, and modern LS9 horsepower underhood sounded a bit more involved.

This brings us to the second thing he set out to do: Finding the right shop for the build. After checking out MetalWorks Speed Shop in Eugene, Oregon, Goodwin knew he had found the perfect shop to perform the Pro Touring transformation. Before any work began there would be a detailed one-on-one consultation with shop owner Jon Mannila to be certain they were “on the same page.” Could the original chassis be modified? Certainly. However, there is a simpler, more cost-effective and far superior way to achieve the desired goal in one very clean rolling package from Art Morrison Enterprises (AME).

The Tri-Five chassis has long been a mainstay for AME, and it can be configured to your needs. It turns out AME has a package that embodies everything needed for the Pro Touring conversion. It was a simple matter of placing an order for a complete, new AME chassis.

While they were waiting for the new chassis to arrive, the body was separated from the original restored chassis and prepared for mounting on the new frame. During this disassembly process, the car was examined closely for rust, rot, and other defects. It turns out the car was in above-average condition but still requiring some rust repair. It was a good start.

Once the chassis arrived the car was mated with the new AME chassis. Because of the desired independent rear suspension, the trunk floor was removed and replaced, including the original spare tirewell. A reproduction floorpan was used in the trunk area, and it blends perfectly with the custom-formed panel that covers the new rear suspension. This custom floor panel then joins the original front floor area. New, larger inner wheelhouses were welded in place to facilitate the 20×12 Budnik rear wheels and Michelin tires.

Up front, the original transmission tunnel remains and the minimal rust on the floor was neatly repaired. Since the battery would be removed from the firewall, along with numerous other holes to be filled, it was determined a new firewall would be cleaner and provide the perfect backdrop for the Wegner Motorsports–built LS9 engine.

And so, with a bit of judicious cutting, grinding, and welding, the floor was now neatly shaped to fit the chassis. By using the original-style trunk floorpan the view from under the car might have you thinking the floor was never cut. There can be no higher compliment than making a major modification look like nothing has been touched. And just like that, we have a Pro Touring roller.

2. The days of modifying the original chassis are over. In today’s world, rolling a completely new chassis under the original body is the order of the day. This Art Morrison Enterprises (AME) chassis will transform the ’55 in every way.

5. The center of the chassis is equally as strong as the formed box tubing crossmembers. Large ports in the X-member allow for high-performance exhaust systems and note all factory body mounts are present.

7. Looking from the front you can see the IRS is contained in its subframe that mounts to the main chassis at four points. Bushing at the mounting points reduces noise and vibration from the rear suspension.

9. With the spare tirewell out of the car you can see this was a solid car. Note the step up in the original floorpan; this would not be enough to clear the new IRS.

11. Let the sparks fly! It’s time to remove the entire floor from the trunk area and up under the package tray.

13. Rolling the ’55 out into the daylight the Bel Air takes on a pronounced Pro Touring stance—performance, style, and function all in one modern package.

15. Looking from underneath at that AME IRS sure is impressive. Stance, handling, and exotic good looks all wrapped in one neat package.

17. The custom-formed panel that goes over the front of the IRS blends perfectly with the original floorpan. The completed floor has a real “factory-installed” look. Only the rearmost section of the driveshaft tunnel was modified.

18. We mentioned this was a good solid car. Those are original front floorpans and just a couple of rust areas were masterfully repaired by MetalWorks Speed Shop. The original transmission tunnel mates to a new firewall.

20. MetalWorks’ Nick McMath lays down a layer of Dynamat to keep noise and heat gain to a minimum. This material will mute noise and vibration from the interior of the car.