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Was 1955 The Most Significant Year In The Classic Car Era?
1955 saw more complete changes to more cars than ever before. While 1949 had major changes to the bodies most of the engines basically stayed the same. Oldsmobile and Cadillac got new engines but that was about it. 1964 was another year of big changes with the debut of both the Mustang and the GTO as the first muscle car, but overall I'd have to say that 1955 was the winner.
The 1955 Chevrolet brought out its brand new V-8 in an all restyled body. The engine was a engineering masterpiece that was predicted to be a disaster by many at the time but as we know it was the miracle that Chevy said it was. It had 265cid and up to 180hp which was enough to make the 55 one of the hot street machines. Chevy's boast as the 1955's "Hot One" was not an idle one. My memories of 1955 are definitely fond ones even thought I didn't own one until 1964. The one that brings back the memories was a 1955 black Chevy Bel-Air 2 door hard top. It was owned by my friend "Possum". He had a good job and wasn't married so he had the means to buy a new Chevy every other year. At the time the 55 came he was driving a 53 and his next purchase was one of the best classics ever. The Chrysler C-300 came out in 1955 and was an instant hit. The C stood for coupe and the 300 was the engines horsepower. Although the Hemi came out in 1951 it was 1955 when it came into its own. Although the 300 has a lot of luxurious features and weight over 4,000 lbs. it is still regarded as a muscle car. The 1955 Buick Century was a true muscle car that utilized the small Special body (the same shell as the Chevrolet) and their largest engine the 322cid putting out 236hp. Although it came out in 1954 the Century came into it's own in 1955. The 1955 Pontiac came out with an all new car design along with the Chevy and finally had a new V-8 engine with 288cid and up to 200hp. Sales increased 57% over 1954. 1955 also saw a big change in the Dodge when it came out with a completely restyled line of cars. The engine was bored out to 270cid delivering up to 183hp. Plymouth also got a completely new look for 1955 as well as a new 260cid engine with 177hp.The engine was pretty anemic compared to the rest of the 1955's but it was a huge step up from 1954. Even the DeSoto got a whole new makeover for 1955 with all new styling and a new 291cid engine putting out 200hp. Ford like most of the other cars got a new body style with panoramic windshield. The larger engine option of 292cid at 193hp was also avaiable. Mercury got a new styling and a new series called the Montclair. The new V-8 that Mercury got in 1954 was punched out to 292cid with 198hp. Lincoln also got it's share of the restyling going on at Ford and had a 341cid engine putting out 225hp. It was most famous for winning the Baja Road Races 3 years in a row. During the classic car and muscle car period almost every year saw an important car or engine launch, such as the 1949 Olds 88 V-8, the Hemi V-8 in 1951 and the 1964-1965 Ford Mustang. During the mid 1950s is when the most changes in engines took place until that was over shadowed by the engine wars of the the 1960s right up to the death of the muscle car in 1972.
It was only in 1955 that so many big changes were made, although the numerous body changes in 1949 probably made it the second most significant year in automotive history with 1964 rounding out the top 3. The Author: Don Levy has a 60 year love affair with all classic cars, muscle cars & hotrods. He lived through the times that he writes about & witnessed the evolution of the classic car and muscle cars first hand. His website at http://classic-car-hunter.com/ has over a thousand classic cars & trucks, muscle cars, hotrods, street rods & classic car parts for sale along with an area to list your car for sale. Remember, restore them don’t crush them.
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Contributor's Note
See the virtual car show and sales at http://classic-car-hunter.com
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