Much thanks to Terry for sharing some details about his 1954 Chevrolet 210 for our very first car feature and very first blog post.

Pre Sixties: What type of vehicle do you have?
Terry Johnson: 1954 Chevrolet 210 converted to a Belair trim

Can you give us some history of your car or truck? Where did you find it? How long have you owned it?
In 2008, I had a S10 minitruck but my wife and I were looking to start a family so we needed more room. I sold my truck and put an add on Kijiji looking for a ’54 Chevy. I got a response from a gentleman named Lloyd in Caledonia, Ontario. My dad and I went for a drive to look at the car, it was in good shape but held together with bungee straps and come alongs, there was no engine or transmission either.  We agreed on a package price for the car and a lot of parts. We went back the next weekend with a truck, van and trailer. We filled them all and brought it home.

What work has been done? What work have you done?
The car has a Mustang II inspired front suspension and a 2 link rear suspension. The suspension is airride using slam Specialties bags, asco valves, 5 gallon tank, AVS switch box and a York 210 belt driven air compressor. The door handles and gas door have been shaved, the taillight lifts for the gas door as well. The initial trim was a 210 package, I upgraded that to the Belair package, I like the look of more chrome on the body of the car. The gauges are Dakota digital VHX. All the bumpers, grill, bloomers, bezels and emblems are new as well. The engine is a 307 SBC, transmission is a 57 Chevy 150 3 speed manual and the rear end is a 57 Chevy posi with a 3.73 gear.

The final body work was done by myself and a friend (Mike Papoff) I painted the car in his personal booth, he taught me how to spray a perfect metal flake. The roof, dash trim inserts and visor are flaked. The paint is a hot rod flatz plum crazy metallic. The wheels are 15″ x 6″ original wrapped in 205/75-15 white walls that I won in a raffle at the Jalopy Jam Up in 2015. The hubcaps are 57 Cadillac that I made into floaters (they don’t spin with the wheels) All the mechanical, electrical and paint were done by me. My dad (Vince) did all the upholstery inside the car and made the interior panels.

Do you have any work planned for the future?
In the future I will be changing the 3 speed manual transmission to a 5 speed. The headliner still needs to be completed and the trunk needs to have panels and upholstery installed.

What’s a favourite memory with your car or truck?
My favorite memories with the car are all the family drives and photo shoots we have done using the car. Every year, on our anniversary, my wife and I go out in the car and drive around looking for antique stores, we’ve been as far as Barrie just to find some unique stuff in the car, we generally attract a lot of attention. When I was building, one of the last things I needed to do was the alignment. I called my 6 month pregnant wife to come and help me, I had her lay on the floor to hold the measuring tape for me! It makes for a great backdrop for our family and couples photos we’ve taken over the years.

Anything else you’d like to share?
The progress pictures are brown original paint, bare metal, green epoxy primer, purple.

Interested in having your car featured on our website? Let us know!