First published in the April 2008 issue of Street Machine

Most street machiners would agree that modern cars lack the style and soul of the classics. Sure, they may eat up the miles effortlessly and run on the smell of an oily rag but most modern machines look pretty similar.

What we need is for manufacturers to combine the cool design elements of old with modern suspension, engines and braking systems. Like Holden’s EFIJY — who wouldn’t want a cool ride like that?

“That’s the kind of style I was trying to achieve,” says Jason Petts. “I wasn’t trying to build a show car; I wanted something you could just jump in and drive.”

Some might say that Jason already had that when we featured this same ’55 Chev Sports Coupe back in 2000 (SM, Nov ’00). Back then it was turquoise and sported a 305-cube TPI small-block under its curved hood. Four-wheel disc brakes, a Dakota digital dash and Center Line billets completed a package which we described then as “retrotech at its most sublime”.

Most would be happy to leave it at that but even then Jason was planning a full rebuild to take the shoebox Chevy to the next level of cruising comfort.

Wanting something different but not willing to part with the ’55, Jason only had one choice: to rebuild rather than start afresh.

“I wanted to keep the car — I brought my oldest daughter home in it and they’re expensive to buy — so I decided to build it again.”

After pulling the Chevy down, Jason sold off all the gear that was getting the chop so he could finance the new build. Away went the TPI small-block, Turbo 700 auto, factory suspension and the billet rollers. Work began with the body lifted off the chassis so that Corvette suspension could be grafted on fore and aft. “I used a Corvette front sub-frame because the dimensions worked really well, plus the engine sits in it just right,” Jason says. “As for the rear end, the driveshafts are really thick and can handle some horsepower. I’d like to put twin turbos on it one day.”

So how difficult was it to fit Corvette gear? “Not really that hard,” Jason says. “It was just important to keep everything square. There was a bit of time spent on the chassis but it’s vital to get these things right.”

Extra work went into fitting a large X-shaped crossmember into the centre of the chassis, which the exhaust and tailshaft run through. At the back, the ’87 Corvette IRS works with a pair of coil-over shocks instead of the usual transverse leaf. In fact Jason fitted coil-overs on each corner. As a result, this ’55 handles, stops and drives like a plus-size Corvette.

As with the chassis, so with the engine: “I didn’t want the hassle of stuffing around with a modified engine,” Jason says. That’s why there’s a stock 5.7-litre LS1 up front, bought as a crate engine. And while the chassis and drivetrain were under way, there was also the body to consider.

Externally, the door handles were replaced with push buttons and the winged emblem was removed from the bonnet for a smoother look. Cutting the floorpan, firewall and boot floor out of a rare Sports Coupe would be a brave move by most people’s standards but Jason had no such qualms. With the body appropriately braced, he lowered the shell back onto the chassis.

Channelling the shell over the chassis dropped the body the depth of the rails closer to the ground and a flat-sheet floorpan gives the underside a smooth finish. To tighten up the rigidity of the whole deal, Jason welded the body to the chassis, eliminating the rubber isolators that normally separate the two. Pretty full-on but Jason was a man with a mission — a classic car with a ride as tight as any modern machine.

All that’s great but when the Chev debuted at Summernats 21, it wasn’t the Corvette suspension and brakes or the LS1 powerplant that had people talking. Keeping with the theme of using GM components, Jason has installed the dash, console, wheel and seats out of a VX SS Commodore. Yep, everyone was talking about the ’55 with the Commodore interior. Not only is it all in there, the stuff actually works too. He sourced it all, along with the automatic transmission, straight from Holden.

Jason can change the entertainment through the buttons on his airbag-equipped steering wheel, and all the instruments work too. There’s even a VX Commodore handbrake beside the console. Of course they had to make a few modifications here and there, with items like the ABS not installed, and a few warning lights had to be excised from the system.

Some people might disagree about doing away with the classic Chevy dash but Jason’s very happy with the way it’s all turned out.

“It just makes cruising a little more fun,” he reckons. The funniest bit is that the dash almost didn’t happen at all. “I said to my wife: ‘I’m thinking about putting a Commodore dash in it’,” Jason recalls. “She reckoned it was a lot of work and I agreed. Then she started paying out on me, saying: ‘Can’t you do it?’ and that just urged me on.”

While the dash itself was fairly simple to fit, all the surrounding parts to make it look like it belonged were a bit harder. However, Jason reckons there was more work in the floorpan and trans-tunnel.

His hard work paid off, though. “I hate squeaks and rattles,” Jason confesses. “I was so happy when I jumped in it that the car didn’t have any.”

JASON PETTS
1955 CHEV SPORTS COUPE

THANKS
Wife Vanida, Mum, Dad, daughters Wailani & Latisha; Corey, detailing; Jeremy, garage; Peter, display; Fitzy, info; Rob, Meguiar’s; Brett, F&G Smash; Shaun, Ulterior Trim (0417 747 724); Brendan Buckley, wiring; everyone else who helped.