"Nemesis" 1955 Chevy Gasser

Those of us who were (or still are) car crazy kids remember the Monogram “Badman” ’55 Chevy gasser model kit. The Tom Daniel art on the box cover was an epic depiction of the gasser wars, showing the Badman leaving the line with its front tires in the air. And right there in the foreground we see just enough of its competitor to know that it’s another ’55, only this one is a distinctive orchid color.

Scott Elston built the Badman kit when he was 8 years old, and it made quite an impression. Not only did he fall in love with mean, nose-up ’55 Chevys, he also loved the box art. So, when grown-up Scott set out to build his own full-scale version, he started to wonder about the other car. What did the Badman’s rival look like? This car is his answer, and it’s called “Nemesis” because, as Scott puts it, “they’ve been racing each other on that model box for 50 years!”

We believe that Scott’s Nemesis would give the Badman a run for its money. Scott built the ’67 327 up with 2.02 double-hump heads and a Comp 292H cam. The Mickey Thompson cross ram was the first part that Scott bought for the car (before he even had a car to put it on) and it’s topped by vintage Carter carburetors. A mag-look distributor from Joe Hunt lights it all up and Speedway Motors fenderwell headers handle the exhaust. Scott grabs gears with a Hurst shifter tied to a Muncie M21 4-speed.

The perfect high and mighty stance is courtesy of a gasser axle kit from Speedway Motors, complete with the disc brake kit that bolts up the magnesium Americans. A ’58 Ford 9” spins matching mags and M&H Racemasters. And those ladder bars? They’re taken right from the model kit, custom made to look like those on the Badman.

Scott says that driving the Nemesis around town causes people to stop in their tracks. And for him, it’s just like going back in time to the days when 55’s roared down the strip all over the country, just like they did on the model box that he couldn’t forget.