This 1955 Chevy Bel Air Burned to a Crisp and There Is a Guy Who Thinks He Can Make It Run

The entire body of the car has gone scarlet after the blaze. Everything on board the 1955 Chevy Bel Air melted, and the 15-inch wheels and tires were cooked. The cars of the era were called tri-fives, because the Detroit-based automaker kept them in production over three years, through 1955, ’56, and ’57. Right now, it can barely be identified as a Chevy. Decades ago, this Bel Air was a luxury car. Now, it is just roasted and looks as if it will never set wheels on the road again. Wait a minute. What wheels? It doesn't have any!

Six hundred dollars, fees included. That is how much the Budget Buildz team paid to get this grilled Bel Air from a scrap yard. The other option for this pile of burned metal would have definitely been the crusher. Every single inch on the car looks like overcooked French fries. And still they saw potential in it and believed they could bring it back to life.

However, the first challenge is to get the car with wheels in pieces off the trailer that transported it to their shop. They can't believe what they are getting into. They don't even have the slightest idea about what is under the hood. But first, they put new wheels on it just to be able to unload it.

The good news is that there is a GM Performance custom-built big block under the hood, a massive 502-cubic-inch (8.2-liter) crate engine. All of a sudden, they feel this car is really worth saving. When stock, the almighty power unit can pump up as much as 508 horsepower and 580 pound-feet of torque. But this Bel Air was anything but stock.

The dipstick for the oil tank is bent by fire. That tank needs to be drained, it's got water inside. That is what the firefighters used to put out the fire. The combustion chambers also need to be drained and soaked before anything else.

The parts will cost them more than what they paid for the entire car

They hope to save the radiator, which is estimated at around $2,300. The cooling fans have disintegrated in the fire. They have no idea what this car has been through, but the more they work on it, the more they realize the previous owner must have treasured it. They do know it was a drag car running a nitrous system.

They crane the engine out of the engine compartment so that they have better access to its components. Michael Wagner uses Fogging Oil to lubricate everything. They also put a new ignition system on the car. All the parts they bought were more expensive than the car itself.

Two hundred dollars more expensive. But when they took on the project, they were all aware it might go that way. They have saved grilled cars before. Grills are their specialty.

Drain the water, get the starter

The pan is also full of water, and so is the transmission, so they have to drain them before they go into the next stage. They come up with a makeshift wiring system, so they could get electricity into the crispy car.

The Budget Buildz team works its magic on what is left of the Chevy and eventually, Michael Wagner, who is actually a boat mechanic, gets the engine running. There is a lot of smoke coming through the side exhaust pipes. But that monstrous big block makes just the right sounds. However, they will need a cooling system, before the engine melts everything around it.

With the radiator back in place, they plan to have the engine running for a bit longer to clear itself. The idling is not that great, though. However, the engine breathes out power through every single joint.

Michael will also need to work on the braking system and on the suspension. But now that he brought the 1955 Chevy Bel Air back to life, he is planning to get it back on the road, rolling like it did in its good old days. And it seems like nothing can stop him. Once it got into his hands, there is no chance this Bel Air would end up in a barn or in some back yard, rotting away like many of its siblings do. And there is no way it is going back to the scrap yard.