Two-door sedan
From Junkyard to Boulevard . . . .
When Dennis J. O'Boyle of Milwaukee, Wisconsin first saw the classic George Lucas film American Graffiti back in 1973, he told himself that he just had to have a 1955 Chevy. A few years later, while driving around the dairy farms of Wisconsin, O'Boyle discovered a salvage yard that specialized in older cars -- All Auto Acres -- near Rio, WI. A deal was struck with the owner, Roger Gavitt, and O'Boyle took delivery of the shell shown at top left.
Six months later, thanks to toiling until midnight most days of the week at the West Allis Auto Club, O'Boyle had the car ready for its first show at the Wisconsin State Fair Park (top right). Work on the project motivated him to start a business which lead to a career in advertising; turning wrenches helped improve his skills as a technical writer.
The middle pictures give a before-and-after view of the firewall. All the rust, paint, grease and grime were removed in the acid dipping tanks of Restoration Specialists in nearby Hales Corners, Wisconsin. By the way, the second person in the photo is O'Boyle's long time friend Joe Paterick, also a writer and originally from Escanaba, Michigan. Both Paterick and O'Boyle were counselors at St. Charles Boys Home.
The lower pictures show the engine installed, and finally the car sitting in the sun to bake on the fresh red-oxide primer. O'Boyle says, "Choose a goal, make a plan, work hard and smart as you go for it. It's the American way!"
Today the car has been stripped down to bare metal once again. O'Boyle has a beefy 454 +0.030" big block with all the high-performance goodies ready for installation. Rumor has it that the motor puts out about 750 horsepower, oh, my! O'Boyle reports that he's looking forward to a thunderous return to the boulevard, yes indeed!
A blue '69 GS was my first car, sniff, sniff--oh,
look away, look away . . . . .
