What Mike purchased was actually between levels. The backstory was that the car was found in a Texas barn and it had been dormant since the mid ’70s. In 2007 Jeff McAdoo pulled it from its resting spot with an eye to making the conversion. It was still wearing its original black and white paint and six-cylinder backed by a three-speed. From there it was taken to Kentucky where the makeover started. The inline-six gave way to a 327 small-block with a cross ram and dual quads, fenderwell headers, and a Muncie M20 four-speed. It also shed its front bumper and the front was raised in proper gasser fashion with a set of old-school spindles and the obligatory Cragars mounted at all four corners. The two-tone paint was also ditched in favor of International Harvester Emerald Green single-stage paint with a matte clear. In 2013 he sold the car to Larry Small and it migrated to Virginia where it would see further additions. While in his hands the 327 suffered a catastrophic failure and was replaced with a fresh 383 stroker from Skip White Performance in Kingsport, Tennessee. Small also christened the car “Honky Tonkin’” and added a bunch of additional period-correct lettering. Mike points out, “[Small] has a fantastic eye for making something look period correct.” He also upgraded the rolling stock with a set of Rocket Racing Launcher wheels wrapped in Excelsior rubber up front, while the rear was fitted with Mickey Thompson aluminum slots and Mickey Thompson Sportsman Pro tires. The exhaust was also finished off with a set of Hedman glasspack mufflers along with a fuel tank up front. It had reached the point where Mike’s chapter was about to commence.

After bringing the car up to Pennsylvania in 2015, his wish was to take it further. What was done was spot-on, but he notes, “The car had the right look but there were things that needed to be fixed. It still had all of its original wiring, and it had no interior except for early-’70s Chevy van seats up front. It was only a rubber mat car and it had no headliner, door panels, and the dash was spray bomb painted.”

Moving forward, he decided to tackle one thing at a time in an effort to not sideline the car indefinitely, so the first task was to swap out the wiring with an updated harness from the folks at American Autowire. Tackling the missing interior was the next challenge, and one that was multi-faceted in its approach. From a safety perspective the addition of a rollbar was high on the list, so he had one custom made and fitted by the crew at MD Race Cars in Warminster, Pennsylvania. With that in place, it was sent over to Village Auto Body in Feasterville, Pennsylvania, to have the dash repainted. As that wrapped up, it then made its way to Maucher Custom Upholstery in Ivyland, Pennsylvania, for a new headliner, carpet, custom door panels, a restitch of the van seats, and the fabrication of a rear seat delete box. While that was going on, all the glass and headlights were removed and given a coat of House of Kolor Clear Candy Yellow by Paint Zoo in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.

Mechanically, the car was halfway to its destination. The 383 was fresh with 0 miles logged, but the rear was a weak link. Mike explains, “I had the original pumpkin rear in it with 4.88 gears. In 2017 I took it to the Tri-Five Nationals with 31-inch piecrust slicks mounted and I blew the rear.” His solution was to have MD Race Cars install a Ford 9-inch with a set of ladder bars and CalTracs. They also added a new driveshaft, driveshaft loop, and trans mount. The addition of the rear also ushered in a number of braking upgrades. “It had drums all around,” he explains. “I added Wilwood brakes up front and their dual master cylinder, and the 9-inch received the big 11-inch drums at the back.” With regular spirited driving as part of his routine, the M20 “grenaded” itself, so in its place now resides a freshly built M21 by Ronnie Dicks in Piperville, Pennsylvania.

For Mike the bulk of the stones have been turned, and he’s reached that sweet spot where he feels comfortable with the ’55. “I am very happy with the car,” he states. “I love taking it out during the summer on two-lane country roads. It has a fantastic sound to it with that big cam. It’s badass looking, and with no creature comforts, it’s just raw.”

Body: GM stock with cut rear wheel openings
Paint: Axalta International Harvester Emerald Green with a matte clear
Lighting: GM stock painted with House of Kolor Clear Candy Yellow (front), GM stock (rear)
Hood: GM stock with Offenhauser aluminum scoop
Grille: GM stock
Bumper: Bumper delete (front), GM original (rear)
Glass: GM stock painted with House of Kolor clear Candy Yellow
Bodywork and Paint By: McAdoo Collision Center (Mayfield, KY)
Lettering By: Dave Richards (Roanoke, VA)
Glass Paint By: Paint Zoo, (Langhorne, PA)