First published in the June 2008 issue of Street Machine

Some guys just have an eye for stance, colour and lines. Mark Cassar is one of those guys. The Sydney-based panel beater spent eight years transforming this ’55 Chevrolet — known as ERUPTS — into something sweet enough to claim Top Custom Classic and Top Bodywork in the street car judging at Summernats 18.

Not satisfied with that, Mark tricked it up further and made it into the Elite Top 20 at Summernats 20, winning the Elite Top Custom Classic gong as well.

Unlike many elite cars, this Chev manages to be hugely lust-worthy, while still looking approachable and totally useable.

The ’55 is a Fisher body two-door sedan, bathed in Fiat metallic paint and set off by its minimal factory chrome. To fit the 20in rolling stock, Mark added a four-link rear end and mini-tubs but retained the factory swage lines in the process for a way better than average result. He went for airbag suspension to get the car sitting low and fitted large Falcon-based disc brakes all around.

Under the hood he chose a mild 454 Chev crate motor, the block deburred and painted body colour, the accessories chromed and polished to within an inch of their lives. The engine bay is smooth and clutter-free, with only a neat aftermarket dual-circuit master cylinder on the firewall — twin boosters are hidden under the front guards. Steering was upgraded to a power rack and pinion set-up, using a VH rack and VL ancillaries.

Inside, Mark had the Chev tastefully re-trimmed in cream leather and fitted an equally restrained Billet Specialties tiller. The stereo install was a stealth job, dropping the head unit into the centrally located glovebox and making sure the speaker grilles were the same colour as the rest of the trim.

When the time came to put the Chev up for sale, Mark called Harry Christian at Australian Muscle Car Sales. Harry went out to inspect the car and says he simply fell in love with it.

“Green’s my colour,” he says, “but what first struck me about the ’55 were the clean lines of the car. Mark’s build philosophy was to keep it simple and I think it really worked. The Bel Air has more bling but this is so sweet and clean. I really couldn’t afford to buy another toy but I just had to have it.”

It‘s a good thing that green is Harry’s favourite hue because he must see a lot of it with his jealousy-inducing toy collection. A Phase III GTHO, a nine-second Capri (below) and a Grabber Green Boss 302 replica sounds alright, doesn’t it?

With the HO too valuable to use regularly and the Capri and Mustang too angry, the Chev makes the perfect weekend cruiser. And Harry didn’t need to do much to get the car performing to his liking.

“The workmanship throughout the car is a real credit to Mark. The only thing I didn’t like was the airbag system. It was computer-controlled and you needed a PhD to operate it,” he laughs.

The Chop Shop in West Gosford fitted a manually controlled system, with an extra compressor (one mounted under each rear guard), a larger tank, bigger lines and new bags. Harry also replaced the annular discharge Holley with a more street-friendly 750 double pumper and fitted his own KRUUUZ plates but the rest was left as Mark intended.

Since then, Harry and his family have been cruising in style, come rain or come shine.

“We were invited to take the car to the NSW All Chev Day at Camden last year,” Harry says, “so I took my 10-year-old son Nicholas out for a cruise. We got a spot in the Top 10 and Nicholas marched up to collect the trophy, as pleased as punch.”

Harry has a few plans in mind now but won’t stray far from the original concept: “I’m going to do-over the interior in a dark green colour, similar to the green-on-green thing in an early-model Holden,” he says. “I’d also like to fit some Wilwood six-pot calipers and maybe do something with the wheels. I don’t want to do too much to it, though; I’m having too much fun driving it to take it off the road for long.”

HARRY CHRISTIAN
1955 CHEV TWO-DOOR SEDAN

THANKS
Mark Cassar; Australian Muscle Car Sales; The Chop Shop.