September 2015 Feature Car
I was
looking through an auto trader on a Sunday afternoon and came across a ‘56 Chevy
for sale or trade for a Harley. I just so happened to have a Harley for sale so
I made a call. I told the gentleman what I had an then he began to tell me
about the ‘56.
It had a 350 with a cam and headers, turbo 350, power brakes, Weld Mold wheels
and a gray interior. The clutch pedal was up under the carpet next to the fire
wall. It was also a 3 on the tree car at one time. I told him that was what I
was looking for and he also said my Harley was the type of Harley he was looking
for. So the next weekend I loaded up the bike on the trailer and headed to the
outskirts of Ft. Worth.
We made the trade and I became a very proud owner of a 1956 Chevy! This was my
second car, as my first was a Chevelle SS 1970 with a 454. I was going to let
my oldest son have that and I take the ‘56. My wife and I have owned the car
now for 7 years.
We were caught in a hail storm coming back from a show in Broken Bow, Oklahoma
with nowhere to pull in for cover so I slowly kept driving, hearing the big
chunks of ice beating the car up. After about 15 minutes the storm stopped and I
pulled over to view the damages. To my surprise it did not have as much
dings on it as I had expected. Older cars are made better than todays as for as
the metal. So I called the insurance company, they came out in 2 days and wrote
me a check on the spot. With that I took a big step and had the car totally
redone. Soon my ’56 had new paint, interior and wheels. But along the way I
had already put in a 700 R transmission with a 383 stroker small block. It is a
driver, very very seldom do I trailer it, only if we take the motorhome. We
have other classic cars in the family but my Tri-Five is my favorite!
Ronnie Ruyle
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