Street Feature: A True Pro-Street 1956 Chevy

We see a lot of late-‘60s and early-‘70s pro-street builds and it’s always cool to see the same treatment given to a slightly older hotrod. In the case of this ’56 Chevy, it does everything right in the way of a pro-street build. The owner, Will Welch of Spanaway, Washington, built this car from the ground up and knew exactly what he was doing.

“I’ve had this one for 25 years,” Will explained. “I finished it In 2002 and then redid everything in 2015. I took it back off the frame and put it on an Art Morrison rear and Jim Meyers tubular front end. It’s got the best of the best.” This pro-street classic is powered by a 454 cubic-inch big-block engine, automatic transmission, and a Ford 9-inch rearend with Strange 31-spline axles, 3.89:1 gearing, and an Art Morrison 4-link rear suspension system.

The interior has also been completely gone through and features a rosewood steering wheel, movie screen stereo, Dakota Digital dash, custom upholstery, and a B&M Shifter. It is also setup with a full roll-cage. We love the style and look of this car inside and out.

The exterior bodywork was done by Will, but the paint was done by Doug’s Classics, “I highly recommend him,” Will said. He is really happy with how the paint turned out and recommends Doug to anyone looking for paintwork. It’s cool to see the combination of 1950s car meets pro-street build with this ’56 Chevy. The fat, meaty tires and big-block go well with the large and loud style of the tri-five Chevy.

“I built this whole car, nobody else has done any of the work on it,” Will said. “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” It also features rack and pinion front steering and hydra-boost braking. “The steering is real smooth, a one finger kind of deal,” he explained, “and the hydra-boost brakes give you plenty of stopping power.”

We love Will’s car, and we’d love to see what you folks are driving out there. If you love it, odds are good that we will too, so shoot us an email with a couple pictures and a little information on your ride, you might just see it here as one of our Street Features. Still a work in progress? No worries, we’d always like to see a project for our What Are You Working On series.