Jane’s Story:

Once upon a time, back in 1969 when I was 5 years old, there was this 19 year-old punk, out there, driving a ‘56 Chevy around town. I guess he was waiting for me to grow up! Little did he know that in his second life, he’d be married to me having fun in his (OUR) ‘55 Chevy.

In 1998, Rich wanted to buy a 328i BMW Convertible. We looked, we drove, and we looked some more. We couldn’t get ourselves to write the check. It was soooooooo much money! One weekend, the family went to the Ventura Car Show and there was a sweet looking ‘55 Chevy Bel Air for sale. It was clean and about 30 thousand dollars cheaper than the BMW. I said to Rich, "Why don’t we buy this instead, and we can have a lot of fun for a fraction of the price." Well, that’s all it took. By the next Saturday, we’re driving up to Santa Barbara to meet the owner and close the deal. We have never looked back. I believe we made a good investment and decision. Our family is having a blast! Rich and I have fun in it alone too (if you know what I mean………..).

Thanks to all of you for the warm welcome into SCVCCC. I looked forward to many shows and trips.

Jane Bettencourt-Soto, Proud 55 Chevy Owner

Rich’s story:

When I’m driving ‘The 55’, I feel like I’m that 19 year old (no punk) kid again. The head turning, the ‘thumbs-up’, and the people, young and old, that approvingly say, "nice car!," make all the money and time worthwhile. When I’m not driving, just looking at ‘The 55’ sitting in our garage, brings a smile to my face. I just love the way the car looks and I think it’s beautiful! But the sounds of the duals take me all the way back to 1969, when I owned my ‘56.

In the summer of 1969, after graduating from high school, I purchased my second car, a 1956 Chevy "210" two-door sedan for $65.00. The car was running, but needed engine work. I owned the ’56 for about three years. During that time, I did my own mechanical work and learned all about cars. I pulled the original 265, installed and pulled a 283, and eventually settled for a 327 cubic inch engine. I installed dual glass packs, a ¾ racing cam with solid lifters, and swapped the automatic transmission for a three-speed on the floor. The car was quick off the line and would jerk your head back. On one occasion, I got pulled over by the police, because my car was too loud. The cop tells me, after we were both waiting at a signal, "I’m stopped in front of you and the ground is shaking." He makes me open the hood to check what I have, but didn’t give me a ticket. I quess he was looking for uncorked headers. When I’d drive up the driveways of friend’s houses, they would say, "It’s Rich Soto!" That is because their windows would be shakin’ and the dishes would be dancin’ in their cabinets. I eventually sold that car for $650.00 and bought a VW camper van. But over the years, since owning that ’56, I’d would reminisce and say, "I sure had fun with that car!"

Like Jane said earlier, one weekend in 1998, our family went to the Ventura Car Show. There was a nice looking blue & white ‘55 Chevy Bel Air for sale. I talked to the owner for a while and he gave me his "for sale" flyer. All along I’m saying to myself, "this car is set-up just like my ’56 was." Again I’m day-dreamin’ about those fun days way back when. I really had no intentions of buying the car, because I was thinking of buying that 328i BMW Convertible. As we are walking away from the car, Jane says these beautiful words, "Why don’t we buy this instead, and we can have a lot of fun for a fraction of the price." She sure surprised the hell out of me that day! I’d never thought she would say such a thing. I said, "Yeah, and it won’t lose value immediately after driving it off a lot!" I made an offer the following Wednesday, and was the driving the car home that Saturday.

Our 1955 Chevy Bel Air is a two-door sedan. It was the 41,091^st car produced at the Los Angeles, California assembly plant. It was assembled in early March of 1955. It is blue and white with gray tweed interior. It’s powered by a small block 327, 2.02 heads, a hydraulic ¾ racing cam, Mallory Unilite ignition, aluminum Edelbrock Performer manifold, Holley 4-barrel carb, headers with Flowmaster mufflers, a Muncie M21 4-speed on the floor, and a nine-inch Ford posi-traction rearend.

My near-term plans include: overhauling transmission to fix second gear, pulling the engine for detailing, sending the headers out for ‘Jet-Hot’ coating, installing a security alarm, and upgrading the stereo system.

My long-term plans include: installing front disc brakes, air conditioning, straightening and polishing all the stainless steel trim, and a new paint job.

Like Jane said, we have met a lot of nice people at SCVCCC. It’s been fun going to cruise nights, car shows and talkin’ about our cars. It’s fun to hear things like; "You know, they said no burnouts, but I couldn’t resist." I’d think, "that sounds like what I was thinkin’ when I did my burnout leaving the AutoSpa."

Again, thanks to all of you for the warm welcome into SCVCCC. We looked forward to many more cruises, shows and trips.