Gassers, by definition, should be a little rough around the edges. After all, they are--or at least mimic--race cars. Joe Gateley had a couple of friends who built a pair of '55 Chevy Gassers, both powered by big-blocks with Turbo 400s, but both were finished in primer. Joe wanted to see what a "finished" one would look like and started the search for a worthy candidate.
It wasn't long before he found a 150 sedan on eBay and ended up as the top bidder. You already know the story. As it turned out, it had been sitting in a field for a long time and was in worse shape than Joe had hoped. The seller wouldn't even come out as Joe was loading it; he had his wife complete the transaction.
Once Joe returned home and got deep into the teardown, he found out just how bad the body really was. If he had it to do over again, Joe says he'd find another body; but at the time, he just kept working away at it. The fact that Joe builds custom cars for a living made things a little easier, although he built the '55 at home on weekends and evenings.
Joe's goal from the start was to build a safe, reliable, and modern Gasser that still had the look of a vintage racer. He pulled it off by powdercoating parts black, like the aluminum fuel cell and radiator, to help hide their modern lineage. He plumbed the chassis with Earl's Pro-Lite 350 Nylon braided hose because it's black and just as tough as steel braided line.
When it came time for the drivetrain, he wanted to do the opposite of his buddies and went with a small-block backed with a four-speed manual. I'm not sure if the small-block would outrun his buddies' big-blocks, but it sounds mean enough to scare most away.
Joe is thrilled with the final results and believes the greatest compliment is when someone asks him if it used to be an old race car. It may not be the best long-haul cruiser, but it's got to be hard to beat for short and quick runs around town.