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Every once in a while you come across a car that is “just right”. There is no one feature in particular that stands out as better than any of the others, but the car just stands out as a whole. We ran across just such a car at the recent Goodguys [2] Autumn Get-Together in Pleasanton, California. Owned by Bob and Kat Foote of Santa Barbara, California, this 1955 Bel Air strikes all the right chords.
Sitting on a powdercoated, one-piece chassis from Classic Chassis Works, the gorgeous red and white paint was laid down by Randi Lance, and the stellar gray and red leather with wood trim interior was done by Zuniga’s out of Northridge, California. The car is powered by a 427 cubic-inch small-block Chevy that was assembled by Bob himself, with the machine work done by Get Real Performance. The engine is backed by a true driver’s transmission – a stout Tremec [3] TKO 600 five-speed. The ‘55 lays dark black stripes down the pavement thanks to a 9-inch rearend.
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QA1 [6] adjustable shocks keep the ride perfectly tailored to the situation, while disc brakes at all four corners are sure to reign in all Bel Air when Bob gets on it. All six of the Bel Air’s windows are electric-powered, but that’s not often needed, because there is a Vintage Air [7] air-conditioning system installed in the classic cruiser.
We’re not sure if it’s the cars killer paint, spotless interior, beefy small-block, power everything, air conditioning, or the modern five-speed manual that “do it” for us, but wherever it goes, it turns heads. Especially when Bob and Kat are cruising it down the California coast, windows down with the wind in their hair.
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