The new-model-year blues have hit more than a few car buyers when they came to realize their car wasn't the latest and greatest anymore. It's a dilemma that has been going on since the beginning of automotive time, and one that has always helped sell new cars. This was particularly true in the '50s and '60s, when model year changes were much more significant than they are now.
Chevrolets from the '55-57 era provide a good example of how much a basic body design can be updated from year to year. Many consider the '55 model to be the most pure of the three, but both the '56 and '57 had at least one feature that was superior from a style sense--a gas filler hidden behind a taillight instead of inside a not-so-attractive flap-style gas door on the quarter-panel. Not only was this a cleaner setup, it was also a clever novelty for gadget-loving '50s car buyers.
It's a little surprising, then, that it took 50 years for a company to think of offering a similar taillight gas filler door conversion kit for '55 Chevys. That's just what the folks at Rocky Hinge have done. They not only developed a kit to relocate the gas filler behind the taillight, but also made the taillight open electronically with the flip of a switch from inside the car. We took a short trip over to Firehouse Fabrication to watch owner/fabricator Brett Maxwell make this subtle modification on a customer's double-nickel Chevy. Check it out and see what you think.
