Words: Chadly Johnson
Pretty much anyone who has thumbed through a hot rod magazine has dreamed of discovering a hibernating hot rod or custom. A forgotten relic lost to time and alteration... a frozen snap shot of how things were truly done “back in the day.” Most of us will never stop keeping an eye open for open garage doors for such a find, but since coming across one is highly unlikely, most of us have attempted to build something as true to the era as possible.
Mark Moriarity of Mound, MN has been hunting, finding, preserving and restoring when necessary, customs and hot rods for decades. When you build a strong reputation as the “right guy” to be the caretaker for old customs and hot rods, they eventually start finding their way to you.
Mark received a phone call from his good pal Chuck Miller (builder of original Zinger cars) that the Astorian was for sale. Mark already had one amazing custom TriFive in his collection in the form of the “Miss Elegance,” but there was definitely room for another stovebolt as incredible and rich in history as the Astorian. A deal was struck, and Mark became the new caretaker of the coveted Chevy. Let's take a look back at this survivor's amazing life.
During the early 1960s, in the era of wild customs, Rodney Rice wanted a full custom '55 Chevy. Living in Michigan, Rodney took the '55 to the top shop around - the Alexander Brothers. The pair put a number of custom touches on the Chevy, including a custom grille and quad headlight pods built from tubing, split front fenders and pulled in to meet a rolled pan, and rounded hood corners. To make the '55 sit right, which meant sit low, the brothers cut the coils then, C'd the rear of the frame and Z'd the front. Finally, the '55 received a 3” hard cut that was featured in a “do it yourself” article in the November 1963 issue of Custom Craft magazine.
Rodney cruised the Chevy in this format for a bit, but then turned his attention to making the rear of the car match the front. For the car's rear treatment, Rodney turned to Jack Florance of Fostoria Customs. 1963 Olds taillights were chosen, so the rear fenders were extended and shaped to flow. A rear opening was built from tubing, then filled with chrome plated tubes. At the end of the rear opening the license plate was recessed in an asymmetrical shape, which was very popular in the early '60s. Rodney was also involved here and shaved the door handles, as well as frenching the antennas. All the body work was performed in lead before Jack and Rodney collaborated on the paint, and sprayed the candy green over gold.
Under the hood, Rodney replaced the factory mill with a brand new 283 corvette engine, which still resides in the '55 to this day. The small block was fitted with a Duntov cam, solid lifters, Headman headers and a tri-power. Before installing, Rodney smoothed the engine block and shot it in silver Imron paint. As you can see, nearly every possible component under the hood was sent off for chrome plating - a treatment that would be financially devastating in our present day and age. A full synchro speed featuring a Shieffer clutch and HURST shifter kept Rodney running through the gears smoothly.
Moving inside the TriFive, we find another smorgasbord of chrome treatments and a wild asymmetric pattern to the upholstery work, performed by Holland Auto Trim in Holland, MI. The bucket seats utilized may not seem all that unique today, but in the early 1960s they could not simply be purchased; all four were hand built by Rodney.
In the end, Rodney had a wild custom that had been heavily reworked by two amazing custom shops, and that is how the Astorian received its name: by combining the names of the two shops. The Astorian collected its fair share of trophies and Rodney loved cruising it, but by the mid 1960s the muscle car movement was taking over and customs were old news, so the Astorian was sold in 1966. Rodney quickly regretted the decision to sell the Chevy, so he kept tabs on its whereabouts. In 1981, as luck would have it, Rodney was able to purchase the Astorian back, and got busy restoring it back to its early glory days.
Rodney only made a handful of changes during the Astorian's restoration, such as the molded side pipes. This time around, when it came to the paint work, Rodney handled the gun himself, laying down fresh coats of candy green over gold. The pinstripe work was handled by “Rotten Ron” at the Des Moines, Iowa KKOA event in 1982.
After owning the Chevy for nearly another four decades, it was time to say goodbye, and Mark was the perfect match. Mark has changed very little himself, as the '55 is intended to be preserved, but a replacement set of chrome reverse wheels and BF Goodrich “Silvertown” tires were added, along with a chrome phone which had been missing from the interior. Mark states the seats took a little bit of getting used to, as they are solid mounted with no springs, and there is nothing keeping the seats stationary - which means as you turn the car, the seats turn as well.
Mark says the '55 is a real sweetheart to drive and he enjoys taking it to pick up coffee in the morning, and to the local drive in at night. As with all of Mark's cars, the Astorian will live a life of leisure, but not of dust collecting. Mark drives his cars and lets them be enjoyed by the world, not locked away to be forgotten... and I can't help but think that would be the desire of the cars as well.