Tampa Bay Classic Chevy Club
Ron and Claudia Cahill
The first "new" car I ever drove was a '56 red and white Chevrolet that my dad owned. I've had many "old" cars in my 70 years, but the '56 Chevy has always held a special place in my heart. My wife and I were visiting relatives in 1996 when I discovered a "56 Chevy sitting in a front yard in Zephyrhills. The sign said $1,500. What a deal!
It was an old drag car with a few pieces missing - no engine, no interior, front fenders were a disaster, rear quarter panels were cut for drag tires, and the top was caved in. It was love at first sight!
When we bought the car we lived in Sun City Center, Florida - an exclusive adult community south of Tampa. We dragged the '56 home on a trailer and had to hide it in our garage as we worked on it. We stripped paint, stored parts on the lanai and in bedrooms, and assembled parts on the kitchen table and sanded and primer painted in the garage late at night.
We spent three years scrounging parts. I bought a Camaro for the donor engine and got a '58 model rock crusher for the transmission. I "robbed" a '55 Pontiac for a front seat - only to discover that it was a seat from a '57 Chevy. A friend was building a '57 and he had a seat for a '56, so we did a swap. Another friend found brand new door panels at a flea market. After all this we had a complete, original interior for our '56 Chevy 210.
The engine from the Camaro was a 350, I bored to 60 Over. I added a nice thumper cam, a set of headers, and Flowmaster exhaust, a new set of rear quarter panels, complete rebuilt front fenders, all new stainless, and body work and painting by Bill's Hot Rod Shop in Tampa. The car is Viper Red base coat/clear coat, with tan leather and tweed interior, done by Stanaland Upholstery in Pinecrest, Florida.
The dash was cut and pretty well destroyed. I completely rebuilt it and installed the original dash.
The door handles and deck lid are shaved. Both are opened by cellenoids operated with a remote. The hood has been shaved, and the "bird" and all chrome has been removed. There is new tinted glass all around with Bowties etched in the back seat windows. I added electric wipers, power disc brakes and air conditioning.
The door handles and deck lid are shaved. Both are opened by cellenoids operated with a remote. The hood has been shaved, and the "bird" and all chrome has been removed. There is new tinted glass all around with Bowties etched in the back seat windows. I added electric wipers, power disc brakes and air conditioning.
A few years later, a friend added free-hand graphic in red, yellow, blue and white to the sides. In the beginning I outfitted it with Firestone red line wide oval tires on the old style Cragar wheels. In 2008 I changed to Diamondback white sidewalls with Dodge Lancer hubcaps and added rebuilt fender skirts to change its appearance. Folks who have know the car for years didn't even recognize it!
Under the hood there is a lot of chrome - intake, water pump, valve covers, steering box cover, Chevy logo spark plug wire holders, air cleaner. There is also a chrome 1-wire alternator and chrome compressor for the AC. To keep the radiator cooled, there is a six blade swamp cooler fan with shroud behind the 4-core radiator. The battery is stored in a custom '56 Chevy battery box in the trunk of the car.
For the past 10+ years I've participated in hundreds local shows, taking Best of Show at several, traveling locally as well as south to Sarasota and north to Dade City. I've taken the '56 back to my hometown of Goshen, Ohio, for the annual Pumpkin Run Car Show and to the Chevy Show in Pigeon Forge, TN. I've been to at least six CCI shows in Kissimmee/Old Town, and to several of the Turkey Rod Runs in Daytona Beach at Thanksgiving. I'm just a 70 year old kid hot roddin' around and having a great time!
Ron Cahill
Ron Cahill
