Dallas Area Classic Chevys
FEATURE CAR

Terry & Amy Louthan
1955 Bel Air Convertible
Bedford, Texas

In 1977 my family went to the Classic Chevy Club Convention in Columbus, Ohio where my dad purchased this 1955 Chevy convertible.  I was 14 at the time.  In 2013, after my Dad’s passing, I took ownership of this Tri Five Chevy.  Here is the story of this ’55 Chevy that has been a family treasure since 1977 and likely many more years in the future.  

The original color of the car was Turquoise and Indian Ivory according to the VIN tag.  It was painted a Chrysler color at the time my dad purchased the car called Russet Sunfire.  It stayed that same color over the years until I had it repainted in 2024.

The car actually had a 1957 283 CI engine with a power glide transmission.  The engine was refreshed and a 1955 accessory oil filter was added to give the appearance that it was a 265 CI.  Many people never knew the engine was not original.  He added cruise control, a Sony CD changer, under dash AC and lots of chrome accents and got his ‘MY 550’ license plate (yes, he had to add the 0 as My 55 was already taken).  He added ‘I’d Rather Go Topless’ to the trunk lid after I dropped a Honda Gold Wing on it which took a bit of paint off.

We went to many shows over the years and we always had a great time.  There were family vacations to some of the bigger shows and we all enjoyed them.  Back in the day the shows seemed like they had a lot more to offer than they do today.  One thing my dad liked was the judging on the 1000-point judging sheet.  He would always get his judge sheets and look at the different areas to see what he could improve upon and then check his score at the next show.   He received many awards over the years but what made him happy was that when he was judged that his improvements were noticed.

As a driver the car always looked fantastic, and sure it had some nicks and scratches and road rash but that was just part of driving.  I think he may have trailered it once or twice to a few long-distance shows. He loved that car and drove it all the time.  Living in Illinois he only disliked winter when there was snow and ice and he could not take the car out.

I can’t tell you how many times I helped my dad change the oil and grease the zerts but it was a lot!  Back then he used Trop Artic 10W40.  To me the best part of the shows we went to was getting the car ready for Show and Shine and then going to some of the technical seminars the shows used to put on.

In 1998 my dad decided to up the ante and he dropped in a 502 big block with a 700R4 transmission and a Ford 9” rear end.  (Fords are at least good for one thing)

As my dad’s health declined my brother kept the car going for my dad.  By this time, he was having some issue with the 502 running correctly.  No matter what issue came up my brother kept it going and took my dad out for drives which he loved to the end.

This was the start of my journey with my dad’s convertible.  My dad passed away in 2013 after a long battle with Myasthenia Gravis.  In 2014 my mom gifted me the car and I brought it down to Texas.

The convertible is my third Tri Five but hopefully not my last. (I see a truck in my future).  My first car was a 1956 Chevy 2 door sedan that my dad found for me. It was $600 at that time.  It was pretty rusty in all the normal places for an Illinois car.  My dad and I spent some time working on it and it had the original engine and a 3-speed transmission which ran well.  I drove this from Illinois to Texas and had it another 3 years before I decided to sell it.  A few years later I was able to find a 1955 4 door sedan and rebuilt it in my garage in Texas.  This was painted Neptune green and Indian Ivory and it had a 265 CI with overdrive, three on the tree.

My Brother came down and helped me rebuild the front end and a few other items.  When it was time for the motor I went back with the original engine.  My dad came down to instruct me on this task as I had never done that before.  He had many talents and it never ceased to amaze me on things he could accomplish.  Everything was done in my two-car garage except for the paint.  Like all things and bad decisions, I decided to sell the 4 door which I regret to this day.

The good news is in 2014 the journey began with my dad’s Convertible.  All electrical and mechanical was replaced.  An LS3 was dropped in with a 4L65 transmission.  The Ford 9” rear end remains and I added 2“ drop spindles and 1” drop leaf springs.

During this process I found there were parts that were still not being made for the Tri Five Chevy so I opened a business, Retro-Gear and now I make about 30 items for the Tri Fives with that number growing every day.  We try to make the parts better than the originals.  I guess working with my dad on the convertible when I was younger gave me a passion that seems like it will never go away.

After driving the car like this for about 6 months I decided I wanted to change the paint.  I grew up with the color and loved it but it was not me.  I decided on a few color choices, an original Glacier Blue and Indian Ivory or possibly the Shadow Gray and Indian Ivory.   My son wanted me to go back to the original color of Regal Turquoise and Indian Ivory, but that just happens to be my least favorite of the Tri-Five Colors.  Neither my wife or son liked the Glacier Blue so I decided to go with a Gray.  After a lot of looking at the original gray and many others I decided on Cement Gray and Iceberg White which is actually a Toyota color.

Off went the car to Advantage Auto Works in North Richland Hills for paint.  After a few weeks I received a call and went back to the shop.  After media blasting there was not much left from the dashboard back that could be reused.  It was decision time as I could purchase a new body or rebuild my dad’s.  So, I chose to rebuild.  (Now my brothers and sisters are glad my mom did not give them the car!)

This was a big task as many of you know and took a few years to get completed but it turned out beautiful.  My son loves the car also, and has already told me he is adding turbos and changing the cam after he gets the car.  I told him he can do anything he wants after it is his.  I just hope that is not for a long time.  For the interior I went with an original 1955 interior that I purchased from Cars Inc which is Ivory and Dark Gray vinyl.

After completion in 2024 I made arrangements to take it to a show my friend was putting on in Tennessee called the Smoky Mountain Tri Five Chevy Reunion, which takes place in May every year.  All my siblings came as it was the first big show since the car was done and none of them had yet seen it complete.  They all wanted to be there for me and remember the good times we all had with my dad growing up.  The car received a top 25 finish out of about 250 cars.  I say it was completed, but they are never finished.  There are things I need to correct that did not turn out exactly the way I wanted and replace a few things to make it looks even better.

Like when it was my Dad’s, the car is still a driver.  There is already some road rash on the car that will get fixed at some point down the road.  Last year I put about 3200 miles on the car and hope that mileage continues to grow.

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2013 Feature Cars

January Don Andre '57 Bel Air 2dr Hardtop	February Don Sebert '56 Corvette	March Mike Dodson '56 210 2dr Sedan	April Dennis Gormley '55 210 Sedan Drag Racer
May Sharkey Nelson '55 Bel Air Hardtop	June AJ Pilie '55 Bel Air Hardtop	July Joe Harrington '56 Pickup	August Jim Gary '55 Bel Air Hardtop
September Kenneth Taylor '55 Bel Air Hardtop	October Don Howard '56 210 2dr Sedan	November Tommy Sims '55 210 2 Dr Sedan	December Leroyce Jones '55 Bel Air Hardtop