Phil Dolman’s 55-year love affair with his 1955 Chevy Del Rey.

How many times have we listened to someone reminiscing about his or her first vehicle and how much they regret selling it? You can hear the same story when bench racing, attending car shows or reading interviews. Decades later, many of these same folks spend hundreds of hours searching to no avail, or tens of thousands of dollars, to replicate a 4-wheeled first love. Often, the search for their old car goes unrewarded, creating even greater frustration. Or the new project turns into a tribute, with many compromises or upgrades during the re-creation. The finished product then comes with an apology or explanation of the project being similar “but not exactly as I remember it.”

Dolman has never babied his baby, slamming gears to wring the most out of the 327-cu.-in. 365-hp Corvette engine. He’s kept the timing slips to prove it.

Phil Dolman of Canoga Park, California, doesn’t understand any of the above, and he doesn’t have to. He still owns his very first car. In 1960, Dolman knew he wanted a 1955 Chevrolet and would settle for nothing less. So before he was old enough to drive, with money saved up from his paper route, he began his search. When he found a 5-year-old Del Rey model in a Dodge dealer’s used car lot, Dolman was smitten by the quality of the exterior and interior. With only 35,000 miles put on the clock by the proverbial “little old lady” running errands around town, he knew this was his car. The like-new factory colors of Harvest Gold and India Ivory paint with Emerald Green interior were temporarily acceptable. He negotiated a buy price of $995, a less-than-a-grand purchase for a grand car. He vowed that the 6-cylinder and three-on-the-tree would not be in the chassis very long, and the factory radio delete selected by the original owner would be fixed as well.

The detailed scrapbook that Dolman has on his Chevy since 1960 is impressive. The first two years, he kept the Chevy in the original yellow and white. Then in 1962, the car was reshot all in yellow. A full-color change to a metallic charcoal came along in 1965. In 1979, when Dolman admitted he “didn’t like the color anymore,” he changed the Del Rey to a brilliant custom red lacquer coat. The car wears the same paint today. The coat looks as good as new, though in 1987 Dolman succumbed to the coaxing of his painter to add some graphics.

The interior, upgraded with 1964 Corvette bucket seats, is wrapped in the same black vinyl installed in 1979, and this part, too, remains impeccable. VDO gauges monitor the car’s vital signs and a later generation 5-in. Autometer tach broadcasts the revs.

Dolman has never babied his baby, slamming gears to wring the most out of the 327-cu.-in. 365-hp Corvette engine. He’s kept the timing slips to prove it. He recited from an old slip with an elapsed time in the 15s at 97 mph measured in the traps at the San Fernando drag strip. He earned that slip while the car was still running a 3-speed manual transmission and an open rear end.

Through the years, Dolman has updated the original 3-speed transmission several times. First he went to a 4-speed and currently changes gears via a Richmond 5-Speed (4+1) with a 1:1 top gear. he admits the current box was chosen for “the 1st-gear launch ratio.”

The rear end, a stout Ford 9-in., was chosen from a Lincoln Versailles for the width and disc brakes that fit under the unmolested ’55 fenders. Traction Master traction bars are utilized, too. “I selected the 9-in. for its strength and disc brakes, to replace the GM 12-bolt with drums that I had been using,” Dolman says.

“After running a 265-cube engine, I wanted more power,” Dolman says. “I chose the 327/365 engine as it was the highest horsepower rated small block with a carburetor. Sure, Chevrolet had just introduced the 396 Big Block, but I wanted the big horsepower small-block, for a much better power-to-weight ratio,” he adamantly says. “I still remember that the 327 was ordered as a complete package, back before anyone offered a crate motor, through my local dealer (Rancho Chevrolet) in 1965 at a cost of $599.36. It came from the factory with 11.0:1 compression with forged aluminum, domed pistons and a forged-steel, small-journal crank-shaft. A potent 0.480-in. lift, ‘30-30’ solid lifter cam was used with brand-new 2.02 heads.” Dolman is still thrilled to this day exclaiming, “They delivered it to my house!”

“I still remember that the 327 was ordered as a complete package, back before anyone offered a crate motor, through my local dealer in 1965 at a cost of $599.36. They delivered it to my house!”

The vintage Corvette engine received a total re-fresh in 1981: ported heads, stainless-steel valves actuated by a stout Comp Cam and a complete valvetrain upgrade with roller rockers. All that is now fed with a Holley 650-cfm double-pumper. The engine has been topped with an assortment of intake manifolds as Dolman kept up with air-fuel distribution technology for carburetors. Currently, the engine sports a high-performance manifold ordered from the Chevrolet Racing Parts catalog. The valve covers have been frequently swapped out through the years.

Dolman’s wheel choice has changed just a few times, with the Chevy rolling on GM 8-in. Rally wheels for some time. In 1992, in order to capture an earlier traditional look, the Del Rey was updated, or rather back-dated to classic American 5-spokes and BFGoodrich T/A’s (15 x 7F with 195/60, 15 x 8.5R with 255/60). The proper rake for the 2-door sedan was achieved in 1984 by cutting the front coils and installing lowering blocks in the rear.

The highest compliment to his build is that other ’55 owners have acknowledged that his car influenced their later projects, sometimes copying his early vision verbatim.

Dolman continues to drive his ’55 often, and hard, as he has frequently ventured out to events in Merced and Pomona. He enjoys being entertained by the engine sounds emanating from the S&S headers pushing exhaust pulses through a 2.5-in. system with Magnaflow mufflers and a crossover pipe. The red Chevy is recognized at cruises and gatherings all over Southern California and was awarded best Tri-Five at the national Super Chevy event in 1983. The highest compliment to his build is that other ’55 owners have acknowledged that his car influenced their later projects, sometimes copying his early vision verbatim.

Noted for its longtime pristine original condition, the car is now a virtual time warp for classic muscle upgrades as performed in the 1960s. This Del Rey was done right the first time and remains correct and functional. Dolman has owned his ’55 for nearly 55 years and counting. Like all true enthusiast cars, this Chevrolet remains a work in progress. His future wish list items include suspension upgrades, a sway bar and a 6-speed transmission. First purchased for less than a grand, Dolman and his beloved car have truly become a grand story.

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