HIDDEN AGENDA – STEPHEN CANNELL 1956 CHEVY BEL AIR
We Croweaters are well aware of Adelaide’s reputation on the eastern seaboard as being an oversized country town and a little behind the times. That’s cool – that’s just the way we like it. However, what we are extremely envious of are the relaxed rules for left hand drive vehicles when compared to our archaic regulations. We drool over Yankee feature cars with modifications ranging from mild to wild that wear a rego sticker while maintaining their original steering structure. Meanwhile, over here, we can’t even fit a modern stereo to play some tunes. This disparity can be a similar story for right hook cars.
Stephen Cannell has successfully tip-toed through the minefield of regulatory rego rules and is now free to enjoy cruising in this 6-71 blown ’56 Chevy. Cars have been a lifelong addiction for him, starting at the age of 15. He hung out with his slightly older neighbour, an apprentice mechanic who spent his spare time hotting up an EK Holden. By the time he was 17 he was pedalling a 192 powered Ford Prefect down the drag strip.
Fast forward nearly 40 years; he’s a qualified diesel mechanic who owns and operates a business, he’s married and has raised three revheads of his own. Out in the shed there’s a nitrous sucking 13B rotary powered ’54 Morris Minor ute and the ’75 Camaro that his wife bought him for his 40th. The former has frolicked in the Summernats playground while the latter became his inaugural foray into the world of the 6/71 blower.
Prowling the streets of the ‘Nanna State’ in either of these two rides was always a temporary proposition, which eventually resulted in Stephen being berated by the ‘black and whites’. Consequently, these days they are in permanent hibernation. In 2010 he went in search for his next attempt at a cool cruiser with his sights firmly fixed on a shoebox Chev. Stephen wasn’t going to jump on the ’57 bandwagon for as demonstrated by the Morrie ute, he’s a little more left field than mainstream. He contemplated a ’55 as they were the trailblazer of this golden era but ultimately it was the less popular ’56 he focussed on. Searching the four corners of our country yielded squat so naturally he turned his attention Stateside. It was in the Texas town of Amarillo where he discovered a likely suspect.
The pillarless sedan had undergone a cosmetic rebuild that included paint, trim and a bit of bling under the bonnet. The most precarious part of buying a car sight unseen is the paint so he had it checked out and it received a relaxed thumbs up – no show car but not doggy doodoo either. The black and white shoebox soon found itself traversing the big blue to become a stable-mate for the Morrie and Camaro.
Apart from tending to the obvious issues – some sill panel repairs – it sat around while Stephen contemplated exactly what he was going to do with it. Being left hook meant that it would need to be absolutely stock and in excellent condition to pass the scrutiny of big brother. The stock part of the deal wasn’t floating Stephen’s boat and was never likely to so next it went under the grinder for its steering transformation surgery.
The four bolt 350 was made as stock as possible and with disc brakes fitted up front, this middle brother of the tri-five tribe was subjected to the testing, poking, prodding and inspection by the powers that be. At the end of the ordeal it was deemed to be compliant and given approval to be registered. Despite the giant step forward, it was short-lived for a week later, Stephen had the engine out.
With the regulatory reigns loosened Stephen decided to up the ante in the grunt department. The 350 was packed full of high performance goodies and due to the height of the hood and depth of the engine bay, he thought he’d have another crack at 6/71 forced induction for the street. The sleek lines and low slung hood of his Camao make its 6-71 induction an imposing structure which probably wouldn’t go down well with the constabulary in any state. Not wanting the ’56 to also be sentenced to time behind doors, the aim was to squeeze the blown small block completely under the hood and out of sight. It’s close in standard form so it quickly became a game of millimetres. Engine mounts were modified to get the engine as low as possible, which was ultimately determined by the pulley to cross-member and sump to tie-rod clearances. Next in line was the manifold which was machined to gain a few extra mm’s, as was the carby adaptor plate. Lastly, he milled the tops off the carbs and finally, the bonnet closed.
With that challenge overcome he set about other ancillary changes like relocating the battery to the boot, fitting a radiator with twin thermos and bolting up a set of Corvette headers and new exhaust. The Turbo 350 was also given a birthday with new internals that included a shift kit and a B&M 3200rpm converter. Once it was back on the road, it was soon discovered that the standard diff couldn’t cope with the added force from up front and spat the chewy. Stephen has since added a Yukon 3.08 LSD centre which has thus far coped with all applications from cut loose to cruising.
He also picked up where the previous resto left off. Externally, many of the mouldings were meticulously massaged back to their former glory and then polished to a brilliant shine. A complimentary finish was achieved with a liberal dose of chrome to steel parts while the paint received some attention to detail along with the sill panel replacement. Now that wheels could be anything other than steelies and hupcaps, he chose fashionably tuff Centerline Convo Pros.
Apart from the flip in steering location, the interior has received significant refinements. As part of that process the dash received a repaint and the fascias were all replaced. New carpet adorns the floor for added crisp while the shifter and gauges are in line with the wheels in that they give a hint there could be something other than a stock small block lurking behind the grille. However, diametrically opposed to this is the rear venetian – maybe we’ll put it down as an optical distraction for the wallopers.
Stephen’s strategy and execution have enabled the Chev to maintain and exert a youthful exuberance while being governed by geriatrics. The Cannell family have been cruising the ‘56 for eighteen months now without having red and blue flashing lights appear in the rear vision mirror.
