There’s a certain magic when the formula for building big-block blown street cars is a common thread linking a marriage of over 50-years together. In fact the story of how Toni Moses of Geneseo, New York, gained her appreciation of hopped-up cars spans back to the day when she first met her yet to be husband Ken in 1964. Growing up in the sleepy town of Lima, New York, Ken came under the spell of high performance thanks to his older brother Bob who was very active in the drag racing world at the time when nitro ruled the strip.
By the time he graduated high school Ken had plenty of wrench-turning knowledge and went right to work at his brother’s collision shop. He didn’t just read rodding publications, he lived the hot rod life by building competitive street cars that also held their on the dragstrip. Soon after meeting Toni, the pair located a derelict 1942 Willys coupe and thanks to plenty of influence from the Stone, Woods & Cook Gassers, began their own build. The car featured a full race suspension and a 427ci big-block Chevy topped dual-quads on a tunnel ram intake with a Hilborn scoop. The couple made plenty of late-night passes on Lake Avenue in nearby Rochester till finally being escorted to the town line by local sheriff’s.
As the years passed plenty of cars followed but somehow they still longed for the power of a blown street car. Ken followed up with a Pro-Street 1971 Nova packed with a nasty blown 383ci small-block which gained plenty of acclaim however it was Toni who yearned for a car with even more horsepower. Having always been a fan of 1955 Chevy’s it would be the perfect formula for building her ultimate car. They were able to source a very clean car through friends in Florida who just so happened to have a disassembled 210 model in their shop. A deal was made and the pile was brought back to New York to finalize build style and get started.
For a rock-solid spine Ken had the original frame blasted clean and incorporated Art Morrison center section and crossmembers to tie it all together. To handle the power out back a Chrysler 8 ¾-inch rear was filled with 3.55:1 gears and hung in place by an Art Morrison triangulated four-link deftly matched to Strange Engineering coilover shocks. To give the car great handling and a bitchin’ stance a Fatman Fabrication IFS was added combined with Strange Engineering shocks wearing Hypercoil springs. To bring everything to a halt a Wilwood dual power master pushes fluid through stainless lines to matching 12-inch front and 10-inch rear discs with four-piston calipers. Linking it all to the street are a set of 18-inch rear and 17-inch front Billet Specialties Fast Lane wheels topped with rubber from BFGoodrich.
If you’re going to make a statement nothing does the job better than a big-block Chevy V-8. To get the message across Ken contacted Kirkum’s Automotive in Dansville who got started by massaging a 454ci block to 496ci. They filled it with a speed shop full of go-fast goods including an Eagle crank linked to matching rods wearing SRP 8.5:1 slug’s. A COMP Cam sets a heavy beat while Edelbrock aluminum cylinder heads make plenty of power. An 8-71 huffer from The Blower Shop sits on a matching intake while a pair of Quick Fuel Technology 750cfm carbs suck down the fuel. Spark comes from an MSD ignition and Wizard Cooling of West Falls keeps it cool. Spent gasses dump through Art Morrison headers to a 3-inch stainless exhaust and Spin Tech Performance mufflers. Power moves through a warmed-over GM TH400 trans to a custom driveshaft to put down an easy 800hp.
When it came time to bring the body back to life it was well worth starting with a nice solid car as a donor. Once the body was stripped to bare metal Ken flexed his talents and metal finished it completely while setting all the gaps. The only updates were to the hood to accommodate the blower and the addition of smoothie bumpers from Eckler’s Classic Chevy. He then prepped it and laid down a lustrous coating of PPG Tuxedo Black bringing it all to life, accented by classic silver metallic hood stripes.
To complete the car, the interior had to have plenty of personality so the factory dash was filled with dials from Dakota Digital with custom billet accents while an ididit column meets a steering wheel from Billet Specialties and shifts are by Lokar. For pure comfort JMB Upholstery of Canandaigua used plenty of vibrant red Ultraleather to cover 1964 Chevy Impala front seats and the custom rear’s as well as the custom console, side panels and matching headliner. It’s finished off with complimenting Daytona Red carpeting and tunes from Pioneer. This is one Street Shaker that rules the streets with Toni laying down plenty of miles.
The post Street Shaker of the Month Terri Moses’ 1955 Chevy 210 appeared first on Hot Rod Network.