INSIPRATION CREATES INNOVATION

THIS OWNER-BUILT '55 GASSER HAS TRAVELED THE COUNTRY

- TODD RYDEN

Dale Golucke can recall two distinct influences that pushed him to build his 1955 Chevy. The first experience came at a very young age from his brother Lanny, who at 11 years Dale’s senior, already had his license and his own ‘55 Chevy. Lanny would treat Dale and his twin brother, Dean, to short blasts around the neighborhood in his green ‘55, which sparked a fire in young Dale.

“My brother's car only had a 283 with a lopey cam and a four-speed, but at 5 or 6 years old, it sounded and felt fast,” Dale recalled. “After watching Lanny work that four-speed, I couldn't wait for my own.”

The second Chevy that really stoked Dale’s fire came from the famous 150 sedan from Two-Lane Blacktop. This may not come as a big surprise when you look over Dale’s silver ‘55 Chevy. The big-block, the straight axle and white fenderwell headers, the tach location, and of course the stance are all influential styling cues. Between the film car and his older brother's green hardtop, it should come to no surprise that Dale wanted to build his own ‘55.

It wasn’t until he was retiring from a career as a firefighter that Dale got serious about fulfilling his desire. Once he located a solid, rolling 210 shell that came from California, he set about enacting his plan by removing the front sheetmetal and lopping off the frame rail a few inches in front of the firewall. This is the point when Dale’s desire and vision for a straight-axle ‘55 may have surpassed his plan of how to achieve the goal. He had messed with cars most of his life. But at this time, he had no experience with welding, let alone designing and fabricating a front suspension. Undeterred, his next step was to buy a welder and learn to use it.