The top had holes in it and we chose to put it down, (so we could look "so cool.") As we drove home, Leaves, dust and dirt blew up around us on the wind and out of the car in a cloud... But WE were "cool."

Our 1954 Chevrolet Bel-Air Convertible had set for many years, having only been driven 39,xxx miles. It had rusted badly from sitting under an oak tree on a farm. The Convertible was purchased in 1975 from my uncle Bob who had gotten it from the farm, with no reverse gear on the powerglide, it was quite a find for him and later for me. A charge of the battery was all it needed. It started right up and we drove it home. The most impressive thing about this car, other than its rare body style, was that it was sold, when new, having every power option available from the Chevrolet Dealer in 1954. There was Power windows, seat, top, steering, breaks, head lights, radio and many more. in the photo on the right Rose can be seen riding shot-gun the day we took our new car home.

A year later the car was totally apart and in boxes. That is when the marathon restoration started.

If it is true what THEY say, "The devil IS in the details," THEY must have never figured four kids into the mix, We sure didn't. This restoration has been waiting for the kids to get out of school. Even though it could not be finished at one time, the restoration has continued, a little at a time, ever since the year 1976.

This page of images show how much steady progress and work has gone into the restoration.

As said before, where the car was stored for years, there were many oak trees and it's top had been damaged by falling branches. Leaves piled-up inside it and caused the floor to rust badly. The rear wheels also sunk in the mud which rotted the quarters. The photos above show the damaged quarter panels, the passenger side was much worse than the drivers.

In the late 80s, a trip was made to Colorado to purchase two rust free quarter panels. After they were welded into place, the body was removed from the frame and it was bolted to a stand that rotated it, so it could be worked on easier. The these four photos show the damaged panels and one of the new quarters welded in place. At this point the frame had not been removed for its restoration.

To keep the frame protected in storage, the frame was covered with strips of cardboard and was put into a storage garage to await the new motor and transmission.

It would take another two years before it could be worked with again. During this down-time however the stock Chevrolet wheel rims were blasted, painted and the same as the frame. A new set of four US-Royal wide white-wall tires were ordered.

The car was painted bright yellow with flames that started off in white around the grill, moved through yellow, orange, and on to red at the tips.

This wonderful street rod was bought in 1974 with out a motor, fixed and driven for 2 years. It was restored in 1976 and driven deep into the mid 1980s. Rose sits on the front fender of our daily driven 1954 Chevrolet, "La-Bomba." This image was taken in 1977 at one of our favorite State Parks, Alley Springs, near Eminence Mo.