ONE FINE ’55: Todd Pearce’s Double Nickel Chevy

The moment Todd heard that his dad, Ray Pearce, owner of R&R street rods, got a sweet little ’55 chevy pickup on a trade deal for some land, he instantly set his sights on owning the truck. It didn’t take him long to compile a list of must-haves for the ’55. The truck’s blue paint and small back window were the top two items he wanted to change. 

Todd got his wish to alter the cab and the color when the truck was involved in a small fender bender. He took the truck to the guys at R&R Street Rods to review the damage. The plan was to swap out the 1955 cab for a 1957 cab with a big back window. It wasn’t going to be a simple swap, but the guys at R&R worked their magic and did the metal work to get the newly acquired 1957 ready for paint.

While the truck was in the shop, Todd had Brandon Arnold work his metal craftsmanship smoothing the dash and vents in front of the windshield. Brandon did not stop there, though, he also shaved the drip rails and firewall and custom-fabricated a one-off roll pan for the rear of the truck. Todd’s dad, Rick, even got his hands on the project and made a custom hideaway license plate assembly. Todd didn’t stop there, instead of just leaving the factory door handles to stick out like an eyesore, a set of Kindig-It Deisgns door handles were worked into the door skins to give it a smooth, functional look.

Once all of the metal fabrication was completed, Todd took his truck to Hack Shack in Rogers, Arkansas, to have the body sanded and prepped for PPG Vibrant Candy Red paint. To accent the custom paint, a set of ghost flames were sprayed. Once completed and the truck out of the paint booth, Todd was truly ecstatic on how the exterior turned out.

“ Once Todd could drive the truck down the Arkansas highways, he finally truly enjoyed his masterpiece.”

It was time to call up his good friends at McCelland Upholstery in Siloam Springs, Arkansas and let them do their work on the interior. A Vintage Air system was installed to keep Todd cool while driving down the highway. One additional interior touch he wanted was a custom console that flowed between the new generation Chevy seat that had also received Black/Grey Ultra Leather hides.

To get Todd that cool low look, a Scotts front IFS airbag system replaced the stock setup.  The rear system also received an Airlift bag setup to help get the truck to ride height adjustability he was looking for. To give the truck its overall appearance he had planned for, Todd had Intro make him a set of 18″ Magnum rims to go along with the BFG G-Force T/A KDW tires.

With the truck completed and driving down the Arkansas highways, Todd could now fully enjoy his masterpiece.  He could not have done it without the help of Brandon and his dad Rick. He would like to take the chance to say a big thank you to everyone who had a help in making this ’55 Chevy one clean custom truck that he and his family can enjoy for years to come. ST

Editor’s Note: A version of this article first appeared in the May 2016 print issue of Street Trucks.