John and Martha Goss bought the original car in 1992 in Sylmar, California. The 1955 Chevrolet 210 post was in rough condition, as it had been a pro street car since the early 1980s in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Over the next four years, our family continued working on the car—replacing the motor, cleaning up wiring, fixing ignition issues, and more. In 1996, during one of its many breakdowns, a friend of mine, Brian, offered to trailer the car to my office so we could work on it. Unfortunately, the car was involved in a trailer accident, which ultimately led to an eight-year, ground-up rebuild.
It took many friends and family members to complete the project.
While the body was off the frame, it was sent to Devin Noonan at Unique Colors for his magic touch on the bodywork, paint, and candy flames. At the same time, I worked on a new custom-built frame, suspension, brakes, motor, and transmission. This included boxing the frame, narrowing the back half for tubbed tires, grinding and smoothing every detail, and applying a gloss black paint finish that was color sanded and buffed to perfection.
A chrome Chris Alston FAB9 sheet metal rear end was installed with a Detroit Locker and 3.73:1 gears, along with a set of 12-inch Wilwood disc brakes to complete the rear.
Up front, the suspension consists of RideTech A-arms and spindles, RideTech airbags, and 12-inch Wilwood disc brakes. All suspension components were finished in gloss black powder coat or chrome. A custom underbody power brake master cylinder was fabricated and mounted to the frame rails, with polished stainless brake lines and fasteners running to all four corners. A custom polished aluminum fuel cell and stainless fuel lines were also installed and concealed within the frame.
Next came the 388 cubic inch small block Chevrolet, producing approximately 800 horsepower. It was custom built by my friend Jim Vangordon at Vangordon Racing in Upland, California. The engine features top-tier components including JE custom pistons, Manley connecting rods, a custom stroke forged crankshaft, an Iskenderian custom roller camshaft, Airflow Research heads, a Blower Shop 6-71 supercharger, and dual Holley carburetors modified by The Carb Shop. The finish is entirely polished aluminum, chrome, and powder coating, and it gleams like a piece of jewelry.
The transmission is a custom-built Turbo 400 with a 3,500 RPM stall converter, finished in gloss blue paint to match the engine, with additional chrome accents.
In 2001, the body and paint were completed, and reassembly began. Custom wiring was installed by my friend Zack Phillips, including Dakota Digital gauges and a set of AutoMeter mechanical gauges in the custom center console. An MSD ignition system with boost control was hidden under the dash, along with a concealed windshield wiper system.
The full custom gray and black leather interior was completed by Mark Lopez and his team at Elegance Auto Interiors, featuring a two-tone leather headliner and a fully finished trunk.
Final assembly was completed in 2004. The only modifications since then have been a new set of Billet Specialties “Magnitude” wheels—20×15 in the rear and 18×7 up front—added in 2026.
She still looks great after 22 years on the road and has brought my wife, my family, and me a lot of joy—whether at car shows, events, or even high school proms. And after all these years, when you put your foot in it, she still makes me smile.
John Goss
Phoenix, AZ
Photos by
Rod Loveless